Shoulders and upper back

Urdhva Hastasana: Standing

Improves comfortable overhead reach and upright posture.

How to do it

1. 1

   Stand with your feet about hip width apart

   Weight even through both feet, knees soft. Lengthen up through the crown of your head.

2. 2

   Sweep your arms out to the sides and up

   Take a wide path upwards, palms facing each other at the top. Keep the elbows soft, or take the arms lower and wider if that is more comfortable.

3. 3

   Stay stacked over your feet as you reach

   The reach is upwards, not backwards. Keep standing tall through your whole body instead of leaning back to gain height.

4. 4

   Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, breathing normally

   Lower the arms slowly and shake them out. Repeat two or three times if you would like.

What to watch for

Leaning back and shifting your weight into your heels to get the arms higher. Stay balanced over both feet, and take the arms wider or lower instead of arching to reach.

Ways to adjust it

• Arms lower, wider, or elbows bent

If this one is too much today

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

• Urdhva Hastasana: Seated

Other ways to do this movement

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

• Urdhva Hastasana: Seated

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.