Shoulders and Backbends – Weekly Advanced Class 450

This class combines chair backbends with targeted shoulder-opening variations to improve mobility through the shoulders and thoracic spine. It begins with reclining variations over blocks that focus specifically on opening the upper back. Extending the arms overhead with a belt looped around the wrists, together with Baddha Hastasana arm variations, helps to release stiffness in the shoulders and establish actions that are later revisited in chair-supported Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana. Two shoulder-focused adaptations of Pincha Mayurasana using a yoga chair further develop mobility and freedom around the shoulder girdle. Restrictions in the shoulders and thoracic spine can cause the lumbar spine to take on too much of the workload when practicing backbends. By improving movement and distributing the backbending action more evenly between the shoulders, upper back and lower back, this sequence helps create a more balanced foundation for poses such as Urdhva Dhanurasana and Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana. In addition to improving your backbend practice, the class will be particularly beneficial for releasing accumulated tightness and tension from the shoulders and upper back, leaving these areas feeling more open, mobile and spacious.