Feeling uptight?

Meaning, are your shoulders scrunched up by your ears and squeezed in tight? 

This is a protective shape the body takes, almost in an effort to “hold it together” and “keep your head on straight” amidst life stressors.

But overtime it can become a habitual posture that can leave you feeling like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your back. 

When my upper back is hurting it’s almost always due to stress. 

Yoga Postures for Back Pain 

To free your neck and upper back into more comfortable alignment, start by relaxing uptight shoulders.

Here’s a 35 minute yin yoga practice with simple shoulder stretches to relieve pain in the neck and upper back.

Which is the Best Yoga Bolster for Restorative Yoga Postures?

For this practice, I’d recommend a Square Yoga Bolster at the very least. 

The Narrow Bolster is a wonderful addition to this practice for

• the eagle arms variation (at 18:37) to relieve upper back pain in between shoulder blades 
• constructive rest with the yoga bolster pillow behind the head (28:56) and
• resting along the spine in savasana (32:42)

A narrow yoga bolster is also handy in this practice if you’re dealing with excess tension or tenderness from scar tissue or injury. 

In fact, this exact yin yoga sequence helped me with a quick-recovery after a snowboarding spill left me with a partially dislocated shoulder. In just one week, the soreness was gone and my range of motion was back to normal!

Enjoy your practice and please take comfort and take care.

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