Yoga for Shoulder Pain or Tightness - Aura Wellness Center

Yoga for Shoulder Pain or Tightness

yoga for shoulder painBy Faye Martins

Does yoga for shoulder pain work? There are several Yoga poses that effectively release tension and pain in the shoulders. Many of these shoulder-opening Yoga poses also help to release tension in the throat and neck areas. Our shoulders are often repositories of anxiety, anger, stress, and unresolved emotions such as grief.

 

Chain Reaction of Tension

When we hold our shoulders tensely, we also often hold our tongues. This emotional and muscular contraction will stagnant the free flow of energy throughout your body. Tension in the shoulders can also cause tension headaches as the muscle tightness creeps into the neck area.

 

Causes

Many people blame shoulder and neck problems on hours of office work, and while that is a significant cause, there are several reasons why people consider yoga for shoulder pain or tightness. Working at a computer or desk for several hours may also create tension in the neck, arms, and shoulders. Relieving this tension regularly, will help to increase your energy, open your heart and throat chakras, and support you in speaking your truth.

 

Shoulder Opener with a Belt

Through gentle manipulation, yoga for shoulder pain is helping.  The shoulder opener with a belt is one of the most approachable and effective ways to release tension in your shoulders. Before practicing this pose, grab a strap, belt, or towel.

Adjust the Belt

Stand at the front of your Yoga mat and take a few deep breaths. Remember to inhale and exhale fully and deeply. Hold the ends of your belt or strap in each hand approximately three feet apart. Adjust the strap according to your body stature and level of flexibility.

 

Learn Your Edge

With your next inhale, raise your arms over your head while holding the strap. Slowly extend your arms behind your head while keeping your arms straight. Only go as far as your flexibility allows on this particular day. With your next exhale, bring your arms forward and rest for a moment. Repeat two to four more times.

 

Thread the Needle

Come to Extended Child’s Pose on your Yoga mat with your knees apart and your arms extended out in front of you. Take a few deep breaths as you enjoy a nice stretch. To enter Thread the Needle pose, with an inhale, come to your knees and raise your right hand toward the ceiling and parallel to the wall.

Progression

With your next exhale, thread your right arm under your left arm as far as you can comfortably go without strain. Keep your right palm facing the ceiling and your right arm parallel to the front of your Yoga mat. Hold for several breaths and feel the stretch through your right shoulder, neck, and upper back. Come out of the pose with your next inhale and rest in Balasana or Child’s Pose. Repeat on the left side.

Additional Thoughts for Teachers

The causes of tightness in the shoulder area are many. Some causes are related to old injuries that gradually come back to haunt us. In some cases of frozen shoulder, the limitation in range of motion can be sudden and chronically painful. A gentle sequence of warm-ups and postures can do wonders, but students need to understand this is a gradual process and there are no promises.

Reasonable Goals

Students should avoid pushing into pain and teachers should not create an atmosphere of unrealistic expectations. Even if a teacher has a high success rate with helping students increase their range of motion, expectations should be restrained, but painless gains should be praised.

 

Gentle Approach

The point is that students often push when we are not present and they should be informed that pushing can have severe consequences. Yoga for shoulder pain is a viable solution, but students need to understand the underlying concept of gentle manipulation.

 

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Related Research

R.C. Manske, D. Prohaska
Diagnosis and management of adhesive capsulitis
Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med, 1 (2008), pp. 180-189

I. Morén-Hybbinette, U.S.B. Moritz
The clinical picture of the painful diabetic shoulder–natural history, social consequences, and analysis of concomitant hand syndrome
Acta Med Scand, 221 (1987), pp. 73-82

T.D. Bunker
Frozen shoulder: unraveling the enigma
Ann R Coll Surg Engl, 79 (1997), pp. 210-213

K.L. Boyle-Walker, D.L. Gabard, E.M.V. Bietsch, RB
A profile of patients with adhesive capsulitis
J Hand Ther, 10 (1997), p. 9268913

Y. Arai, K. Shimo, M. Inoue, H. Sakurai, Y. Ohmichi, T. Matsubara, et al. Integration of a kampo medicine , nijutsuto , and western medical treatment in the treatment of long-term frozen shoulder refractory to western medical Treatment : a case series
J Evid Based Complement Altern Med, 20 (2015), pp. 157-161, 10.1177/2156587214568346

Related Studies

I. Kwon, J. Oh, T. Kim
Effects of 12 Weeks of yoga program in middle aged women with frozen shoulder. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 1 (2018), pp. 242-243

K. Roach, E. Budiman-Mak, N. Songsiridej, Y. Lertratanakul
Development of shoulder pain and disability index
Arthritis Care Res, 4 (1991), pp. 143-149

S. Moonaz, C. Bingham, L. Wissow, S. Bartlett
Yoga in sedentary adults with arthritis: effects of a randomized controlled pragmatic trial. J Rheumatol, 42 (2015), pp. 1194-1202

N. Sharma, S.K. Chauhan, A. Kumar
Effect of yogic asana on Adhesive capsulitis ( frozen shoulder ) to increasing the internal rotation
Int J Phys E Ducation, Sport Heal, 3 (2016), pp. 192-195

Feuerstein G. Towards a definition of yoga therapy. 2000; 10:5-10

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5 thoughts on “Yoga for Shoulder Pain or Tightness”

  1. Shoulder-Opener with a Belt is one of the most approachable and effective ways for releasing tension in your shoulders. So Yoga poses are very helpful for shoulders.

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