If you're like most people(myself included) you might spend your time doing any number, or all, of these things:
Sitting hunched over a computer keyboard
Looking down while chopping veggies and stirring pots
Gripping the steering wheel with less-than-perfect posture in traffic
Finding yourself with tense shoulders because of holding and nurturing babies (yours or otherwise)
The list can go on and on and the result is a pain in the neck! Well, the neck and shoulders. BUT, there is a remedy, a quite simple one, to help ease your pain. This is a great one that can be done anytime, anywhere: Eagle Arms.
I LOVE EAGLE ARMS. The stretch is really wonderful and goes deep into the middle of the upper back and shoulders.
To practice Eagle Arms bring one elbow on top of the other and continue winding arms around each other until your palms touch or you touch your wrist. Then press your shoulders down away from your ears and lift your elbows up towards your face. Play with the amount you press the shoulders and lift the elbows until you find a juicy stretch in between your shoulder blades and HOLD for 3 to 5 breaths or more. Then repeat on the other side.
If your shoulders are tight or it is hard for you to get into the position of Eagle Arms, don't worry! You can get the same benefits of the stretch by stacking your elbows and wrapping your arms around yourself like a big hug.
If you want a little bit more of a stretch throughout your back and in your neck you can drop your chin to your chest and round down through the spine. This can be done in either variation. Breathe all the way down your spine and feel how the entire back of your ribcage expands.
This is definitely a pose in practicing self love. By taking good care of yourself you are more equipped to take care of others around you. This goes for people you know and love and those you don't! (Ever smile at a complete stranger?) One of the reasons I love practicing yoga is that it is a form of "loving movement"(to use a FLY Lady term ). A lot of other exercise programs are harsh and seem almost violent, pushing hard through the workout in hopes of certain results. In yoga we are encouraged to turn inward, listen and feel, soften and experience, to be in the moment intimately with our own life force; our breath. The practice brings awareness to every moment that we are alive, that we are able to move our bodies and to be deep in gratitude for that fact. And sure, with the practice may come strength, flexibly and muscle tone, but that is not why we do it. We practice to be connected more deeply to ourselves, at our deepest core, so that we may more fully connect with each other.
I hope that you take time away from whatever may be causing you tension in your shoulders and practice this pose. Like I said, it can be done anywhere, at your desk, in the kitchen and even in the car. You have no excuse not to try! Let me know how much you love Eagle Arms too! (Or not....and that's okay, too. As long as you TRY.)
