Tight shoulders or upper back? Try this:
Seated Shoulder Rolls
Shoulder rolls are an easy mobility exercise to reduce the feeling of upper back and shoulder stiffness from prolonged sitting. Rolling the shoulders through elevation, retraction and depression encourages movement at the shoulder girdle and can help you find a more relaxed resting shoulder position. Keep it slow and smooth and avoid shrugging aggressively toward the ears.
Key Body Areas:
Shoulders
Upper Back
How to Do Seated Shoulder Rolls:
- Sit tall with your back straight, feet flat on the floor and arms resting loosely at your sides.
- Inhale and lift both shoulders up toward your ears (shrug).
- Exhale and roll your shoulders back and down.
- Continue the roll forward to complete the circle.
- Perform 8-10 slow circles backward.
- Reverse: perform 8-10 slow circles forward.
Modifications for Seated Shoulder Rolls:
- decreaseDo one shoulder at a time with a smaller circle.
- increaseMake the circles larger only if you can keep the neck relaxed and the movement smooth.
Type: passive StretchDifficulty: beginnerPosition: seatedMuscles Stretched:Anterior Deltoids • Trapezius • Rhomboids
