No one is immune to neck and shoulder pain. These yoga exercises for shoulder muscles are easy to perform and will help release tension that causes stiffness and pain around those regions.
Bow and Arrow Pose
The bow and arrow yoga pose is also known as the Akarna Dhanurasana. This pose does not require any special equipment other than a flat surface to stand on, ideally a yoga mat, but you can do it anywhere on a floor, carpet or in the woods!
- 1. Stand on your yoga mat with your feet shoulder width apart.
- 2. Keep your arms by your side and move your right foot forward as if you were taking a small step forward.
- 3. Make a fist with your right hand, inhale, and bring your right arm up in line with your eyes, slightly past being parallel to the floor. Imagine you’re holding out a torch.
- 4. Exhale as you make a fist with your left hand and bring your left arm parallel to the right, with your left hand slightly behind your right hand, as shown below. Imagine that your are now holding a bow and arrow and are ready to fire your arrow.
- 5. Inhale as you slowly pull the left fist back to your left ear as if you were pulling back the bow. Keep your eyes fixed on an imaginary target and keep your arms tense. Tilt your head back a little to work out the neck muscles as shown in the figure below.
- 6. Exhale while releasing your imaginary bow and bring the left arm parallel to the right, as shown in the first picture.
- 7. Repeat four more times in this position.
- 8. Bring your right foot back and step forward with the left foot.
- 9. Repeat the same yoga exercises for shoulder pose with the opposite arm.
Discover more yoga exercises for shoulder muscles and background information about yoga.