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Yoga Exercises For Shoulders


Submitted by Kevin Pederson on August 4, 2010
Importance: Exercises for shoulders are important because, besides carrying the weight of your head the whole day long, they also help you in many essential physical activities throughout the day – turning, nodding, lifting, jerking or hunching. This makes the shoulders prone to some common injuries or problems. Stress and tension also tend to make them stiff and sore. Exercises for shoulders will help to ease this feeling, strengthen your neck muscles, and to some extent build up your chest and back muscles. This will also help prevent injuries. Another advantage is that these exercises would also give you a toned look.  

Areas to exercise: The shoulders can be divided into 3 specific areas for the purpose of exercise – the anterior deltoid (front), the posterior deltoid (rear) and the side deltoid (lateral). Each set of muscles have a specific function. The front deltoid helps to flex and rotate the arm inwards, the rear deltoid helps to extend and rotate the arm outward, while the side deltoid helps to move our arm away from the body.

Types of shoulder exercises: Most exercises for the shoulder also include the upper body (chest and back) along with the upper arm. Exercises could be done with weights and include ‘pushing’ exercises with or without weights. You could also do various overhead presses, front raises, lateral raises and upright rows. Neck and shoulder rolls are quite beneficial too.

Regardless of all this however there are some precautions that need to be taken. If you are a beginner, always consult your doctor before starting an exercise program. Also take the advice of a proper physical trainer when you embark on the program. Start with smaller weights and fewer repetitions, and gradually progress to heavier weights and more repetitions. This will allow your body to get used to the regimen, and will also prevent any exercise-related injuries.

Yoga: Yoga exercises for shoulders have found favor with many people who have suffered from shoulder injuries, and also with those who wish to tone their shoulder muscles. These exercises not only help to strengthen the shoulder muscles and make them more flexible, they also help to release tension. Yoga postures are known to be beneficial in cases of frozen shoulders too. As with all exercises, if you are a beginner, it is better to consult your doctor and a yoga expert before starting the exercises.

You could start with simple yoga poses like the Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), the Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) and the Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). From these you could graduate to more advanced poses like the Triangle Pose (Trikonasana), the Bow Pose (Dhanurasana) and Fish Pose (Matsyasana).
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