Move · Videos · Yoga · 14 min

Yoga Mobility for Rounded Shoulders and Upper Back

Yoga Mobility for Rounded Shoulders and Upper Back — video by SarahBethYoga Play · 14:26

Video by SarahBethYoga on YouTube · Open on YouTube

A yoga teacher leads a mat flow of chest openers, cat-cow shoulder blade work, prone thoracic twists, shoulder angels, thread-the-needle and puppy pose. Easier options are offered for the chest opener and shoulder angels.

  • 14 min
  • All levels
  • Low impact (no jumping)
  • mat

Good forBetter posture

Open in VideosLog it in Train

Step by step 9

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Seated shoulder shrugs: lift the shoulders to the ears, then roll them down, three times. 0:03
  2. Seated chest opener: hands behind, fingers pointing back, lift the chest; scoot the hips in to go deeper. 0:59
  3. Wide-knee child's pose: arms long, forehead down, three deep breaths. 2:00
  4. Cat-cow: pinch the shoulder blades together in cow, then round and press up between them in cat. 2:44
  5. Prone thoracic twists: on the belly, arms active at 45 degrees, lift one arm and roll open; both sides. 4:03
  6. Shoulder angels: tuck the tailbone and hover the arms, or sweep them from overhead to behind like a snow angel. 6:28
  7. Thread the needle: one arm under to rest on the shoulder, top hand presses to twist, then reach up; both sides. 8:31
  8. Puppy pose: walk the hands forward, hips over the knees, and lower the chest toward the mat. 11:00
  9. Child's pose with a resting thread-the-needle twist each side, then three final breaths. 11:55

The steps are a summary in our words, checked against the video — the coach shows every move.

Form cues from the coach

  • In cat-cow, pinch the shoulder blades together on the cow part
  • Keep the arms active and lifted in the twists
  • Move at your own range; do not compare your shoulders to hers

What it works

Tap an area for more videos that work it.

Joints it uses 3 takes load

  • Shoulders takes loadshoulder angels with arms lifted, chest openers, puppy
  • Wrists & hands takes loadhands-behind chest opener, tabletop, puppy pose
  • Upper back takes loadthoracic twists, shoulder angels, cat-cow
  • Lower back movesprone twists and arm lifts, cat-cow
  • Hips moveschild's pose, puppy pose, twists
  • Knees movestabletop, child's pose, puppy pose
  • Kneeling. Pressure on the kneecaps — a folded towel or cushion under the knees helps.
  • Weight on your hands. The wrists bend back under load. Fists, push-up handles or your forearms ease it.
  • Down on the floor. You get down to the floor and back up again.

Easier option from the coach: Rest in the chest opener; hover the arms just an inch in shoulder angels

A guide to the joints this video’s moves load, from what the coach does — not medical advice. Some ache is normal; stop if a joint hurts sharply. How joints are rated

More like this

Browse all 764 videos

Video by SarahBethYoga; the summary, steps, cues, body areas and joint notes are Notbroken’s, written from what the coach actually does in the video and checked a second time. Warm up first, take the easier options until a move feels easy, and stop if you feel sharp pain, chest pain or dizziness. General instruction, not advice for your body. About & safety