Shoulders, upper back, neck and lower back
Thread the Needle: Movement
Warms the upper body while improving comfortable rotation through the spine and shoulders.
How to do it
- 1
Start on all fours with hips over knees
Hands under shoulders, back in its neutral middle. This one keeps moving rather than settling into a hold.
- 2
Slide one arm under and across as you breathe out
Thread it through slowly, palm up, letting the shoulder travel towards the floor. Go only as far as feels comfortable.
- 3
Return to the start as you breathe in
Slide the arm back out and come up to the neutral start position. In and out is one repetition.
- 4
Keep it slow and continuous
Do not pause at the end of the range or push for a deeper turn each time. Shift your weight back a little and take a smaller range if it feels sticky, and keep the neck neutral rather than turning the head.
- 5
Do 6 to 10 slow repetitions on each side
Rest for a breath, then change arms. A block under the supporting hand can make the base more comfortable.
What to watch for
The movement turning into a rock driven by the hips and shoulders. Keep it slow enough that you could stop anywhere in the range, and make the range smaller rather than reaching for the end each time.
Ways to adjust it
- Reduce rotation
- Smaller range
- Block under the supporting hand
- Perform in smaller range
- Slow continuous movement
- Neutral cervical position
- Shift weight backward
- Reduce rotational range
If this one is too much today
Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.
Other ways to do this movement
Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits.
Before you try it
Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.
Also part of sessions for
Each of those explains what the condition is, what the published guidance recommends, and where this movement fits.
One movement is a start. A session is the thing.
A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.
Start your first sessionFrom the clinically authored Vinys movement library.