Shoulders and upper back

Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Strap

Improves overhead mobility comfortably.

How to do it

1. 1

   Hold a strap wider than your shoulders

   Take a grip on each side so the strap is taut between your hands, with your arms in front of you.

2. 2

   Set the hand spacing to suit today

   A wider grip makes the overhead reach easier, and you can change the spacing at any point during the practice. That adjustability is the whole reason for the strap.

3. 3

   Raise the taut strap overhead

   Keep a gentle outward tension between the hands as the arms travel up, and go only as far as stays comfortable. Partial height is a complete version.

4. 4

   Stop before anything turns sharp or pinching

   If the reach pinches, widen the grip or lower the arms rather than pushing on.

5. 5

   Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, then lower

   Breathe normally through the hold and bring the arms down slowly, keeping the strap taut.

What to watch for

Using the strap as a lever to haul the arms further than they want to go. It is there so you can widen the grip, not so you can force height, so widen or lower at the first sharp or pinching feeling.

Ways to adjust it

• Wider grip on strap
• Partial elevation
• Stop before pain

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: Classic
• Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Sitting

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.