Mindful Movement Lesson – Shoulders

How are your shoulders today? We tend not to notice them too much until they are sore and stiff. A common response to stress is to raise and tense the shoulders.  Pains can be enhanced by leaning forward over a desk for long periods of time causing the muscles of the upper back, neck and shoulders to tighten.  Tense shoulders can significantly restrict the flexibility of your neck, chest and back. Try out this short lesson to restore some of the flexibility in your neck, chest and back while eliminating some muscular tension in your shoulders.

Make Each Movement Easy 

As you do each movement, use as little muscular effort as possible.  Do not strain or stretch. Insist on making small, light, easy and comfortable movements. 

Go Slowly 

Do each movement slowly, slow enough for you to pay attention to what you feel and become aware of unnecessary muscular effort.  

Rest Briefly After Each Movement 

Do not repeat movements quickly, one after another.  Rest for a few moments between each movement. 

Breathe 

Keep movements so light that you can breathe freely. 

Repeat Each Movement 6 – 8 Times 

Take a mini pause in between each repetition as if it was the first time you were doing the movements.

---

Sit comfortably tall in the middle of your chair without leaning back.  Rest your feet flat on the floor and place your hands, palms down on the desk in front of you.   

• Take a moment to sense yourself. 

• Can you sense the distance between your shoulders and your ears? 

• Which feels closer? Does the left shoulder feel closer to the left ear or does the right shoulder feel closer to the right ear?  Don’t correct anything, just observe.  

Imagine a piece of string connected to the tip of your right shoulder and the bottom of your right earlobe.  Sense the length of that string.  The imagine a piece of sing connected to the tip of your left shoulder and the bottom of your left earlobe.   

• Which piece of sing feels longer?  

Slowly raise your right shoulder upwards a few centimetres in the direction of your right earlobe, then slowly guide it backdown again. Repeat this movement 6 – 8 times 

• Make each movement small, easy and comfortable. 

• Do not move as far as you can, a few centimetres is all it takes. 

Rest. 

• Do you feel any changes in the sensation of your right shoulder compared to your left? 

Slowly lower your right shoulder downward a few centimetres in the direction of your pelvis then slowly glide it back to ‘neutral’. Repeat this movement 6 – 8 times. 

• What happens to your breathing when you do this movement?  

Connect the downward and the upward movement of the shoulder and make a mental note each time you pass through the middle.  Notice the length of the movement. Repeat this movement 6 – 8 times. 

• Does it make more sense to breathe in as the shoulder rises and breathe out as it lowers?  Play about with this. 

Rest. 

Slowly glide the shoulder directly forward and then back to neutral. Repeat this movement 6 – 8 times. 

Rest. 

 Slowly glide the shoulder backwards a little. Repeat this movement 6 - 8 times. 

Connect the backward and forward movements of the shoulder and notice when you pass the ‘middle’.   

• Which line is longer? the forward or back movements, or the up and down? 

• How does your right shoulder feel compared to the left? 

Rest. 

Take your shoulder in a small circle and observe what part of the circle feels smoothest to you? Circle your shoulder slowly about 6 – 8 times. 

Rest 

Change the direction of the shoulder circle. 

Stop circling the shoulder and sense the distance of your right shoulder from your right earlobe, how does it compare with the other side?  Does it feel more relaxed? 

Repeat the above with the left shoulder.