#2: Chest & Shoulder Opener

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You may not have realized it before, but your body has always known about how to stretch even before you learned about it. Since you were a child, your body has been able to reach and move in ways that pull it out of cramped positions and make it feel better.  When we were kids, after long hours of sitting at our desks at school, we wanted to run and climb and play, literally "stretching our legs" and the rest of our bodies out. As we get older, although our bodies still need to be stretched out, we respond to this instinct less and less, choosing instead to sit and rest to recuperate from sitting at work all day. Although resting is a good thing, it’s nowhere near as good as giving the body the loosening-up it needs on a regular basis.

Today's stretch is one we find ourselves doing as we wake up or after being at a long meeting or computer session. As we age, our chest and front shoulders tighten and our upper backs loosen, causing our posture to lean forward into a hunch. This stretch is easy and comfortable and if done regularly, will counteract this hunch and open up your chest and shoulders and stretch the sides of the back.

CHEST & SHOULDER OPENER

1. Lie on a flat, supportive surface – mat, bed, sandy beach – with your feet close to your hips to provide support for your lower back. Flatten your waist and lower back into the mat, lifting your lower pelvis slightly to reduce the arch in the waist and lower back area.

2. Stretch your arms overhead, making sure your hands and elbows and shoulders touch down.  Hold the position and take deep breaths to expand the chest, stretch the shoulders down and aid in allowing the body to relax. Count the time spent in the position in several long breaths rather than in seconds.  Aim for at least 5-6 breaths.

Things to watch out for!

a. Aim to touch the back of your shoulders onto the mat.

b. In the beginning, if the shoulders are off the floor during the stretch, bend the elbows more to allow the shoulders to sink lower.

c. When you try to stretch the arms further overhead, the waist and lower back tend to come off the floor. Be aware of this and adjust your arms so that your waist is as near to the ground as possible throughout the pose.

The area of the upper body – the neck, shoulders, chest and upper back – tighten and hunch up with stress.  Aside from all the relaxation aids like music and scents, just breathing deeply and thinking positive thoughts will really help in releasing the tension held here.