Shoulders and upper back

Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Classic

Opens your shoulders and lengthens your torso in one simple movement.

How to do it

1. 1

   Stand tall and interlace your fingers

   Feet about hip width apart, arms in front of you at chest height, fingers laced together.

2. 2

   Turn the palms away and reach forward

   Turning the palms out lengthens the arms and sets the shoulders up before anything rises.

3. 3

   Raise the arms to the height your shoulders allow

   Take the laced hands upward and stop where the movement is still smooth and comfortable. Staying below head height is a complete version of this, not a lesser one.

4. 4

   Keep the ribs where they are

   A light engagement through your middle stops the front ribs pushing forward as the arms travel. Elbows may stay slightly bent.

5. 5

   Hold 60 to 90 seconds, then swap the interlace

   Lower the arms, change which fingers sit on top, and repeat so both patterns get a turn.

What to watch for

Letting the ribs and lower back push forward so the arms look higher than the shoulders actually went. All the height should come from the shoulders, so if the front of your ribs is leading, lower the arms and keep them there.

Ways to adjust it

• Slightly bent elbows
• Stop at the height the shoulder allows
• Don't push the ribs forward: light core engagement

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

• Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Sitting

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits.

• Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Block
• Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Sitting
• Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Strap

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.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.