Reach your right hand over the top and back of your head, with your elbow pointing in the direction of the armpit. Allow the water to massage your lower back while you try to bring your hands as close to the floor as you can. Keep your elbows squeezed close to the sides of your body. Place both hands on a wall so they form a 90-degree angle to your body. 3. Slowly begin to walk your hands forward, keeping your arms straight, and lower your chest towards earth, releasing your forehead to the mat (if your forehead doesn’t easily rest on the floor, try placing a low block underneath it). With left arm on top of right arm, push your left arm slightly forward, lift it straight up, and rotate it back, making a large arch in the air. The best approach is to move frequently - forward, backward, and to the sides - throughout the day. Let your left arm fall as far as possible to the left side, Yoga Stretch for Opening Shoulders and Upper Back without letting your hips move in the direction of your arm.

Move with your breath. You can hold the pose for 3-5 breaths or lift and lower 3-5 times-moving with your breath. Take a deep breath in, then exhale into Cat, inhale into Cow and exhale back to Child’s pose. Roll your shoulders underneath you, interlace your fingers, straighten your arms, press your little fingers into the mat and lift your chest up and back to get the most effective stretch. 9. Lower your knees back down after a few breaths and press back into Balasana (Child’s Pose). Lift your left hand off the floor and "thread" it through the space between your right arm and right leg, letting the back of your left hand and arm slide along the floor. 4. Keeping ahold of your heels, inhale to lift your hips up towards the sky. Focus on keeping your shoulder blades flat against the wall (not allowing them to stick out or wing). 7. Keeping your forearms parallel, spread your fingers, press down through your elbows, and strongly lift your shoulders away from the floor.

6. Use your left palm to press your forearms back to the center with your fingers pointed up. 8. Hug your elbows toward one another and broaden your collarbones as you press your thighbones back. If your upper back and shoulders are tight, you can try starting each day with this sequence. Try to bring your nose down to your knee. Try these 5 Yoga Poses to help open up your back and shoulders. This stretch improves the circulation along the back length of your legs. Do this routine every day to improve your circulation and activate all of your muscle groups. It’s good for mobility and general all round circulation. Get our mobility guide to ease pain and soreness. This series of poses is designed to ease upper back and shoulder pain. 2. Slowly begin to rotate your right palm toward the back of the room, thumb pointing to the right. 1. Begin standing with your feet about a leg’s length apart and parallel with all of your toes pointing straight forward.

6. Tuck your toes under and begin to lift your knees up, taking your hips up and back. Opening up the chest can also help to ease upper back and shoulder pain. Opening your chest and releasing deeply held tension in your shoulders not only feels better physically, it will also help you relax. We also tend to hold a lot of tension in our shoulders, neck, and jaws, thanks to our nervous system’s stress response (or hyperarousal). 1. From the Tabletop Pose on your hands and knees, lower your elbows to the floor directly underneath your outer shoulders, and parallel your forearms, pointing your index fingers straight forward. 7. Inhale and lift your elbows any amount; exhale and lengthen your hands away from your face. 2. From Tabletop Pose, place your forearms on the floor with your elbows directly underneath your shoulder heads. 2. Wrap your right arm under your left, then wrap your forearms to bring your palms to touch. Then come down onto your back for Bridge pose. With your back to a wall, stand with your palms facing out.