From childhood to now, I have always felt that a person with temperament and cleanliness is particularly attractive, and a person with temperament must be straight-backed, full of vitality and full of confidence in everything. From a morphological point of view, the more flexible, younger and more energetic the shoulders are.
Since junior high school, I have consciously paid attention to my health, and inadvertently found myself in a state of high and low shoulders, which may be the reason for doing homework at my desk for a long time, and there are also some slight scoliosis. Because I am used to doing homework, my right elbow is on the table and my left elbow is on the table, but my left elbow is hanging down. Then I put my elbow on the table, and I slept on my back for almost half a year. By changing habits for a long time, physical problems have basically improved.
Of course, I improved my posture in a slow and controlled way before I came into contact with yoga. Therefore, when I decided to start the zero-based yoga series, my first thought was to open my shoulders-to help everyone better open their shoulders and chest in a simpler, more scientific and more effective way.
Description of shoulder extension:
-Warm up properly before stretching to relax and soften muscles.
-Stretch slowly, not too hard, until you feel slightly uncomfortable.
-Don't hold your breath when stretching, and breathe deeply through your nose normally.
-If you have any shoulder pain or pain, please consult your doctor before starting any stretching.
Note: All the postures in this article are just one side, and the other side is opposite.
-With the help of the wall
-standing on the left side of the wall, the distance between the foot close to the wall and the wall is about two fists wide.
-Spread your feet to hip width and align your toes and heels neatly.
-Put your left hand on your waist, straighten your right hand, surround the wall from bottom to back, put your fingertips back, separate your fingers, and stick your palms on the wall.
-when inhaling, keep your hips still, consciously expand your chest, and lift your spine upward; When exhaling, the gluteus muscles are tightened, and the body consciously turns left, but keep your right hand on the wall, feel the stretching of your right shoulder and armpit, and keep breathing for 5~ 10.
-With the help of the wall
-Face the wall, bend your knees, spread your knees outward, sit on your heels, with your knees about two fists away from the wall, with your hands and five fingers lying on the wall separately and your palms pressed against the wall.
-Keep your upper body stretched and your head straight.
-consciously stretch the spine upward when inhaling; When exhaling, push your chest to find the wall, relax your abdomen, let your forehead or chin stick to the wall, feel the stretching of your shoulders, armpits and back, pay attention to your hips, and take 5~ 10 deep breaths.
-Knees together, heels down, back straight, abdomen adduction.
-Lift your left hand to the side, clench your fist, lift your right arm up and back, bend your elbow to the back of your head, and let the back of your head touch your elbow. At the same time, your right hand comes to the left and grabs your left arm.
-when inhaling, consciously straighten your back, tuck in your abdomen, and lift your arms up; When exhaling, with the help of the resistance of the back of the head and elbow, help the arm to open back more and keep 5~ 10 deep breaths.
-On the Integrated Premium Edition
-Knees together, heels down, back straight, abdomen adduction.
-Lift your right arm up to the back of your head, bend your elbow and press your elbow against the back of your head. Press the five fingers of your right hand down to the depression between your shoulder blades to keep it. Lift your left arm up, bend your elbow and press your left palm against your right elbow.
-when inhaling, expand your chest, extend your spine upward, and consciously lift your arms upward; When exhaling, relax your shoulders, open your elbows more backward, and keep breathing 5~ 10 times.
-Lie on the mat and keep your body in a straight line.
-straighten your right arm to your side, lift it horizontally, palm down, and press your five fingers on the floor separately (advanced version: bend your elbow with your right hand and put your five fingers forward)
-Keep your right leg firmly pressed on the floor mat at all times, bend your left knee and press your sole on the floor, lift your left body off the floor mat, deepen the twisting of your body, bend your left elbow, press your palm down on the floor next to your body to give you better support, and turn your head to look left.
-When inhaling, the calf, buttocks and abdomen move forward, but they remain pressed against the floor mat; When exhaling, push your left foot downward, push your body to stand upside down more, put your consciousness on the stretching of your right arm and armpit, and keep breathing for 5~ 10.
-Lie on the mat and keep your body in a straight line.
-straighten your right arm to your side and lift it horizontally, with your palms facing up, your back pressing on the floor and your fingers facing outward; Bend your left knee, press the sole of your foot to push your left body to turn away from the floor mat, bend your right knee to make your feet touch the floor mat, and at the same time, your left knee sinks in the direction of the floor mat, open your hip joint, hold your left hand upside down and press it on the floor with your right hand, and then turn your head to look left.
-When inhaling, your feet help your body stretch upward and your shoulder blades contract; When exhaling, the left arm is clamped backwards and sinks to the ground, and the left knee continues to sink to find a cushion, which deepens the twist of the body and keeps the prolonged breathing of 5~ 10.
-Advanced version of previous pose
-Bend the left elbow on the right elbow to deepen the rotation of the left shoulder joint, with the thumb close to the inside.
-ditto
-Sit on the yoga mat with your legs straight.
-Put your hands behind your hips, put your fingers back, lean back, straighten your arms until you can't go down any more, and your head naturally hangs down. If your neck is under pressure, let your head lean back and look forward.
-when inhaling, expand your chest, adducte your shoulder blades, and let your ischium sink consciously in the direction of the cushion; When exhaling, keep your hands moving backwards, feel the rotation and extension of your shoulder joint, and take 5~ 10 deep breaths.
-Use yoga bricks or thick pillows.
-Sit on the mat with your legs together, put the yoga brick/pillow about 3-3.5 fists behind your hips (at the thoracic vertebra under the scapula), put your hands behind your hips, and walk back with your hands, so that your body can lie on the yoga brick and your head will naturally hang down. Raise your arms straight up behind your head, open your hands and put your fingers back.
-Adjust the yoga bricks under your body to completely relax your body and keep breathing for 5~ 10 times.
-On the Integrated Premium Edition
-Add another brick vertically/horizontally above the original yoga brick (depending on your own situation), so that your body lies on your back on the yoga brick, your knees are slightly bent, your feet are pressed on the mat, your ischium is not lifted off the mat, your hands are raised to the back of your head, locked behind your head, and your head hangs naturally.
-Let yourself come to the most comfortable and relaxed state, feel the chest opening and shoulder joint stretching, and take 5~ 10 deep breaths.
-Use yoga bricks or chairs (personally, chairs are more convenient to operate)
-Kneel on the mat, put the yoga brick or chair in front of your head, bend your elbows and cross your hands, put your big arm on the yoga brick/chair, and pull your head back to the middle between the two arms and the brick, and naturally hang down. The forearm should be vertical to the brick/chair as far as possible, while the thigh should be vertical to the floor mat, and the calf and instep should be pressed against the floor mat.
-Maintain prolonged breathing of 5~ 10.
In modern fast-paced life and work, our energy is consumed by foreign objects so much that we hardly have time to calm down and talk to our bodies.
From now on, try to observe your body, feel the subtle changes in your body, practice these comfortable and slightly challenging postures, stick to it, and slowly, you will see a different self. I'm not lying to you.
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