7 Simple Stretches to Loosen your Tight Shoulders

In our hectic lives, we are pretty much stressed every day. Almost every part of our body suffers the tension until we release it. A long sitting job, your posture, or some exercises can cause your muscles to misalign, which can lead to stress, pain and stiffness. Other than a massage, there are numerous ways in which can loosen your tight shoulders. Given below are 7 stretches that can help you combat the problem of tight shoulders and get rid of shoulder pain in no time. 

Also read: The Shoulder Injuries You Can’t Ignore

Shoulder Rolls 

• Keep your back straight while sitting or standing
• Now, roll your shoulders up, then back, and down
• Repeat this movement 10 times 
• Reverse and repeat 
• Now, roll forward for about 10 minutes

Shoulder Raises 

• Relax your shoulders and neck 
• Gently lift both shoulders towards your ears 
• Then, slowly bring back them to the starting position 
• Repeat this 10 times 

Cross Arm Stretch 

Also read: Troubled due to back and shoulder stiffness? These yoga moves are better than a massage

• Bring your left arm up at about your chest height 
• Grab your left arm by your right hand 
• Stretch out to your shoulder and hold for 30 seconds 
• Repeat on the opposite side 
• You can do this even when you are not working out

Cat-cow Pose 

• Align your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips
• Centre your head in a neutral position 
• Drop your belly towards the floor while inhaling, lift your chin and chest and look up at the ceiling 
• As you exhale, roll your spine as you tuck your chin into your chest 
• Inhale and come back to the cow pose, and exhale and return to the cat pose 
• Repeat this 10-20 times, paying attention to your shoulders 

Chin Retraction 

• This can be while standing and sitting 
• Extend your chin as far as you can without putting too much stress on it 
• Then slowly pull it back slightly in toward your throat 
• Try to keep your chin straight while doing this stretch 
• Repeat at least 10 times 

Wide-legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)

• Stand in a mountain pose (Tadasana)
• Keep your legs 3-4 feet apart 
• Rest your hand on your hips in a way that your inner feet are parallel to each other 
• Lift your inner arches by drawing upon the inner ankles and press the outer edges of your feet into the floor 
• As you inhale, lift your chest, making the front torso forward the hip joints 
• As your hip reaches the floor, press your fingertips onto the floor directly under your shoulders 
• Move your spine evenly into the back torso so that your back is slightly concave from the tailbone to the base of the skull
• Now, bring your head up, keeping the back of the neck long and direct your gaze upward 

Thread the Needle 

• Start on all fours with your legs underneath your hips and your hands underneath your shoulders 
• Put (‘thread’) your left arm through the space between the right arm and right leg 
• Rest your body on your right shoulder as you turn your head to the left
• Hold this for about 30 seconds 
• Now release and come back to the original position 
• Repeat again on the opposite side 

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