Eight yoga asanas for flexible shoulders

When you have five minutes to spare, try and take this small test: lift your right arm overhead, bend it at the elbow and place your hand on your back - place it as far down as it will go. Now take your left hand behind your back and try to interlock the fingers of both hands. Switch hands and repeat.

This is a standard flexibility test, to determine whether you have the full range of motion in your shoulders. If you are able to interlock the fingers, you have excellent shoulder flexibility. If, however, your fingers are more than two inches apart during this exercise, you have some serious room for improvement.

Most of us start to lose the flexibility in our shoulders as the adjoining neck and back muscles tense up in the office, and repetitive movements cause wear and tear on our shoulders.

Our shoulders have an incredible range of movements. We can move them up, down, forward, back and we can rotate them - when we are flexible. Happily, we can regain lost flexibility through exercise.

Yoga has some great poses for this. But before you begin, know that it’s always better to practice with a trained yoga teacher who can correct your posture and coach you to breathe properly throughout your session. If you have had a shoulder injury, do check with your doctor before trying any workout.

That said, here are eight yoga asanas to improve the flexibility in your shoulders:

Shoulder rotation

• Sit cross-legged on a mat. Make sure your back is straight and elongated
• Bend your arms from the elbows, and rest your fingers on each shoulder
• Start rotating your shoulders in the clockwise direction
• Do 10-15 rotations
• Now do the same in the anti-clockwise direction

Cat-cow pose

• Come down on your hands and knees
• Curve your spine upwards and look at your thighs as you exhale
• Hold this position for 10-20 seconds
• Come back to the starting position
• Now curve your back to make a trough and look up as you inhale
• Stay in this position for 10-20 seconds
• Come back to starting position. Do five repetitions

Camel pose

• Kneel on the mat, making sure your knees are slightly apart. The tops of your feet should be on the mat (do not curl your toes)
• Place your hands on your back, just above the buttocks. Point the fingers downward to give maximum support to your back
• As you breathe in, lift your chest and push the shoulder blades down and back
• Lean back and try to place your hands on your heels. If this is not possible, keep your hands on the back and try to hold the pose for 30 seconds
• If you can place your hands on your heels, try to hold this pose for 1 minute
• Rest for a few seconds, and repeat four more times.

Sage pose

• Sit on the mat with your legs straight in front of you
• Now, bend your right knee and place the foot on the mat. Try to place the foot close to the left thigh
• Take your right arm back, and place the hand on the mat
• Breathe out as you twist your spine to turn right. Try to look behind you
• Use your left hand or arm to push against the outer part of your right leg, to increase the stretch. Make sure both hips are still on the mat, and not lifted
• Hold the position for up to 1 minute before switching legs
• Do five repetitions on each leg

Eagle pose

• Stand with your feet together
• Bend your knees slightly
• Lift your left foot slightly off the mat and cross the left foot across the right shin. You can tuck the toes of your left foot behind the right calf for a firmer stance
• Try to balance in this position
• Now, raise your arms in front of you till they are parallel to the floor.
• Bend the elbows. Twist the arms around each other and join your hands in a namaste
• Hold this position for five to six breaths
• Return to the starting position. Switch legs and arms, and start again
• Do three repetitions

Upward facing dog

• Lie down on your stomach, with your palms next to your shoulders
• Breathe in as you slowly lift your torso off the mat
• Straighten your arms, but make sure your shoulders are relaxed
• Balance your body weight between your feet and palms
• Stay here for 30 seconds
• Come back to the starting position
• Repeat five times

Dolphin pose

• Come down on your hands and knees
• Curl your toes
• As you breathe out, straighten the knees to lift your buttocks towards the ceiling. Your forearms and palms should be on the floor. If this is not possible, straighten your arms as well as your legs to come into an inverted “V”
• Make sure your head is in-between your arms; try to look at your toes
• Remember to breathe. Hold this pose for about a minute
• Come back to the starting position. Rest for a few seconds
• Do five repetitions

Half Frog pose

• Lie down on your stomach with your palms next to your shoulders
• Use your arm strength to lift your chest slightly off the mat
• Bend your right knee and try to hold the ankle with your right hand. Keep the left hand on the floor for support
• Hold for 30 seconds. Release and repeat on the other side
• Come back to starting position and rest for a few seconds
• Do three repetitions on each side

End your yoga practice with savasana or sleeping pose. If you find it hard to relax completely in this pose, try these steps:

• Lie down on your back, with your legs apart and arms at about a 45-degree angle to your hips
• Now, tense up the legs and lift them a few inches off the floor. Release your legs and let them flop down. Let the feet fall to the sides
• Make fists with your hand, lift the arms to tense up the upper body. Release and let the arms flop by your sides
• Look right, look left. Squeeze your eyes shut. Squeeze your features into an exaggerated duck face. Release
• Stay there for five minutes. When you are ready, turn to one side and sit up in a cross-legged position

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health. To know more about this topic, please see Yoga Asanas for the Shoulders .