Yoga Pose Tutorials › Back and Shoulders
“You are only as old as your spine”
Goes the saying. It’s really important for you to keep your spine moving so that it stays strong, healthy and flexible. But you knew that already. These videos are great if you have a desk job and don’t move as much as you could, or if you already have stiff spine, shoulders or hips. Just remember to do the practices in these videos. Every day. We have got videos of different lengths here so you don’t need to put your back out trying to fit it in your schedule.
We don’t guarantee that you’ll be ready to join the Chinese circus, but we think that your back will appreciate the extra loving you give it and will reward you with less pain. You’ll start feeling that your life has some backbone, quite literally. This will lead to you making better decisions, possibly leading a life from a position of courage. You may start to feel your back is longer, you may start to sit up taller, you may start to notice when you slump or st... Show more
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22:01Flying Plank: Strengthening Yoga
Join Clive for this strengthening yoga class: a progressive sequence of flying plank for developing arm and core strength. Starting from all fours and including variations from downward dog, high plank and forearm plank. There are 5 sequences in total. Build it up over time and go at your own pace. Leave the class feeling energised and motivated for the rest of the day. Great standalone practise or an add on to your other classes and movement practises.
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12:22Tutorial: How The Shoulders Work
This yoga tutorial looks at how the arms and shoulders help to support movement, expression, circulation and spinal health. Learn how to move and open your shoulders for greater connection to your body. This is also a great tutorial to help counter the effect on the shoulders of chaturanga and to support those with previous injuries to their shoulder such as tennis elbow, frozen shoulder or bursitis. No need for a yoga mat, this tutorial can be done anywhere!
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07:12Forearm Balance Tutorial
A tutorial for pincha mayurasana, or forearm balance. Build strength and confidence with some preparatory poses, then learn the correct and safe way to enter and hold this asana, using props if need be. You will need a strap, block and your mat against a wall.
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01:10:19Yoga Tutorial for a Healthy Spine
A yoga anatomy tutorial all about the spine; essential for any yoga students and teachers looking to expand their knowledge! The more we know about the spine the more remarkable and astonishing it becomes; it is fundamental in so many movement patterns allowing us to move in so many ways whilst staying light, graceful and steady. This video will teach you about the intricate structure of your spine and begin to respect its subtle changes and adaptations that make life on two feet possible and enjoyable. Class starts by offering you a way to gain a felt sense of your spine and its various ranges of movement and functions. Then discover how to find good posture in standing and sitting to limit those all too common issues of back ache. Finally, learn how to use your spine to inform your alignment, ease and freedom on your yoga mat. NB: All advice and recommendations in this film are given generally and do not constitute any form of an individual diagnosis or treatment plan. A consultation with a medical practitioner or registered physical therapist is recommended.
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44:25Backbend Toolkit
In this vinyasa yoga class, while we flow we solidify the fundamental principles behind back bends. We learn tips and tricks that support a back-bending practise which will help you take care and avoid injury when moving into backbends. Expect a heating, energising flow yoga class with practical tips that you can incorporate into all of your future yoga practise.
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26:55Frozen Shoulder: How Yoga Can Help
This anatomy yoga video will teach you about the shoulder joint and what can go wrong with it. Frozen Shoulder has become a catch-all phrase to explain a range of shoulder issues. In particular, we focus on a condition called adhesive capsulitis (which we could call a true frozen shoulder) and how best to adapt your yoga practice to best support your recovery from this condition. NB: Please note that all advice and recommendations in this film are given generally and do not constitute any form of an individual diagnosis or treatment plan. A consultation with a medical practitioner or registered physical therapist is recommended.
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49:02Low Back Pain: How Yoga Can Help
In this yoga anatomy class, learn about the anatomy of the spine and the most common causes of low back pain in adults, followed by suggestions on how you can strengthen and support your spine during a yoga class. It’s estimated up to 8 out of 10 people in the UK are affected by back pain at some point in their lives with around a third of the population suffering an episode of low back pain each year. Understanding the anatomy of our lumbar spine and the importance of core stability can truly help you to support and maintain a healthy back on and off your yoga mat. NB: Please note that all advice and recommendations in this film are given generally and do not constitute any form of an individual diagnosis or treatment plan. A consultation with a medical practitioner or registered physical therapist is recommended.
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11:25Learn Crow Pose
A workshop-style tutorial class in which Adam will help you develop your bakasana (crow or crane pose) practice with three different training variations. We will explore this shape in varying orientations to help you develop the requisite skills to execute it well. If this pose is difficult for you, you will find a path forward or learn some options on what to do instead. You will need a block.
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09:07Flying Splits Tutorial
A tutorial of Eka Pada Koundinyasana - a yoga arm balance called the flying splits. This class shows you different ways to approach this advanced level arm balance. For practitioners who are working on conditioning, creating strength, flexibility and space for the pose.You’ll need to be warmed up before this class, ideally having practiced a well rounded hip-focused class.
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04:43Tutorial on Chaturanga
There's no 'right' or 'wrong' in any yoga pose, so long as movements are made slowly and in a controlled way, mindfully and with the breath, and of course so long as there is no pain or pre-existing injury! With that in mind, Chaturanga or low plank, is one of the hardest yoga poses to master. This short tutorial on the yoga pose Chaturanga shows the action needed for the pose. Do take heed, the pose needs a LOT of strength in the shoulders and abdomen, which you'll need to build separately and whilst you build that strength, or if the pose is not suitable for your body, do please practice with your knees to the ground, or simply do a high push up, rather than the low push of Chaturanga. Enjoy!
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14:03Permission To Play (1): Shoulder's Tea-time
Mobilise and gently strengthen your shoulders creatively. This playful movement class is a must for those dealing with shoulder injuries or tight shoulders. If you have an injured or weak shoulder, or are just protecting your shoulder, but would like to retain strength in your shoulder, the shoulder's teacup is a fabulous exercise, inspired by qigong. Also a fantastic warm up for safely practising specific movements like wild thing and crowning your pigeon. You will need two blocks or books.
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17:34Shoulder Health and Self-Massage
This yoga and self-massage class focuses on the shoulder rotator cuff to rebilitate and keep your shoulders healthy during yoga practice and in life. Learn how to keep your shoulder healthy and injury free, and how to self-massage the rotator cuff to keep the whole shoulder area mobile.
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26:07Release Your Neck; Reduce Fatigue
This class is a workshop-style yoga class to target areas that hold tension in the neck, causing fatigue. The class focuses on head and neck alignment, jaw release and strength and shoulder mobility. With exercises to gain awareness of where we might be unnecessarily straining our neck and holding tension, we explore head aligment and then use neck and shoulder stretches and strengthening exercises to help release tension. You will need a blanket, foam block, cushion and a strap.
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48:44Scaravelli Workshop: Shoulders and Upper Back
We all love a good shoulder massage. Join this workshop-style Scaravelli class to focus on creating more awareness in your upper back and shoulder area. Learn to relax the arms, let go of the shoulders, and find some more space and ease in your upper spine. You will need a bolster, two blocks and a strap.
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34:28Lengthening the Spine
Walk taller with this work-shop style scaravelli yoga class with focus on the spine and how to lengthen the spine in our yoga practice. There is a division at the back of the waist - from this point the spine lengthens down towards our tail and feet, helping us feel grounded and balanced. When the body finds this connection, we are free to experience lightness rising up into the upper body. Our movements become more free and spacious. Discover the magical key to balance at our gravitational centre, and wake up your spine to wake up your body! Showing how to practice with real length in the spine in our everyday yoga poses. You will need a strap.
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12:10Butt Conditioning to Ease Back and Hip Pain
This short yoga class brings awareness and strength to the glute muscles which can ease tight hips and help ease lower back pain by strengthening and toning the Gluteal muscles, therefore creating more balance and support across this hips and pelvis. Practice this twice a week to support your yoga practice. You will need a block and a cushion.
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55:56Live at Yoga Garden Party: Scaravelli-Inspired: The Intelligence of the Shoulder Blade
Find your body's inner intelligence. Explore the relationship between the shoulders, arms, ribs, upper spine and the breath. Learn how to soften through gentle, deliberate and focused subtle action. A subtle exploration into the shoulder socket. You may need a foam block. None of the movements made in this class are difficult, but the subtle movements are profound and can change the way you use your body in everyday life.
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22:33Upward Dog Upgrade
Open up all along your spine and learn the correct sensations in your abdomen and shoulders for the perfect upward dog. Ashtanga yogis will be in upward dog up to 60 times a day, so it's worth mastering this posture. You will need up to 3 yoga blocks and an extra, rolled up mat.
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