How do you feel when your yoga teacher tells you to “take your shoulders away from your ears”? If it ever made you tenser then read on!
Sometimes it feels, like Atlas, I’m carrying the weight – not only of my neck and head on my shoulders – but the weight of the world. Our poor shoulders tend to carry such a lot of the emotional baggage – not to mention real baggage!
When in yoga we hear the cue ‘take your shoulders away from your ears’ or ‘take your shoulders down your back’ this can also, unwittingly create tension. Somehow we can start to engage muscles and create tension, instead of letting our shoulders hang freely.
Even doing a pose such a trikonasona, which I love for the full-body length and stretch and sense of freedom, I can find myself with my shoulders tight from the tension of holding my arms out. So I do understand that it’s really hard for us to ‘let go’ of residual tension.
New Opportunities
And why do we want to let go of the holding on? Because that creates space in our bodies and minds for new opportunities, for being more open to new perspectives and new people and experience which may serve to enrich our lives and the lives of others around us.
But the ‘how to’ of unravelling the shoulders is a big one, even though we know it’s a good idea. This week we have a fabulous new class with Jean Hall which may help you to unravel shoulder tension.
Other things I’d recommend that help me with my stressed out and ‘stuck’ shoulders are Forrest Yoga, because I really do think that Forrest Yoga is great for helping with modern life, with the strains and tensions in our necks and shoulders and weakness in our abdominals and legs. And of course we have our perennially popular Stoop Anditoteclass and our gorgeous Neck and Shoulder Release classes!
Do let us know in the Facebook Movers Group how you’re getting along with your shoulder releases!
With love
Kat and team MFML
xxx
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