Yoga Postures to Relax Your Shoulders and Neck

Spent hours slouching on your computer while you type away your reports? Often caught yourself rubbing your neck, desperately seeking a shoulder massage? Shoulder and neck pain are one of the common reasons why people visit orthopedics.

Let’s save you some money!

Yoga guru Zubin Atre from Atre Studios in Delhi has created a series of yoga exercises designed for folks like us to fix our ‘office bodies’.

To start with, take a break. It takes 2 minutes to do these exercises. Take a deep breathe in, relax your body and let’s start!

Posture 1:

• Stand erect and relax.
• Look to your right to activate the muscles on the left side of the neck.
• Breathe in. Breathe out.
• Look to your left to activate the muscles on the right side of the neck.
• Again, Breathe in. Breathe out.

Posture 2:

• Take a deep breath.
• Lift your chin up.
• Stretch your neck up, keeping your chin in line with the navel.
• Breathe out.
• Lower the chin to the chest.
• Stretch the muscles on the back of the neck.
• And between shoulder blades.
• Breathe in. Breathe out.

Posture 3:

• Interlace your fingers behind the head.
• Lower the chin to the chest.
• Stretch your upper back muscles.
• Stretch shoulder blades away from each other.
• Breathe in. Pull yourself up.

Posture 4:

• Bring both hands in front of the chest.
• Interlace your fingers.
• Turn the palms away, stretch both arms out straight.
• Lower the chin to the chest.
• Stretch the shoulder blades away from each other.
• Breathe in. Lower your arms.

Posture 5:

• Cover your left ear with your right arm.
• Stretch the right side of the neck.
• Cover your left ear with your right arm.
• Stretch the left side of the neck.
• Breathe in. Breathe out.

Producer: Vaishali Sood

Editor: Rahul Sanpui

(Zubin Atré has designed five structured series of asanas derived from his experience over the years and his understanding of anatomy and kinesthetics . His studio AtréYoga is based in Delhi)

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