15 min Yoga for Shoulder Flexibility & Mobility – FREE UP YOUR SHOULDERS

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Duration: 15-30
Style: Hatha Yoga
Level: All Levels
Focus: Yoga for Flexibility
Teacher: Kassandra Reinhardt

Overview

Hi everyone, thanks for tuning in. Today I’m going to take you through a shoulder-focused yoga flow meant to help you improve your range of motion and mobility. Personally my shoulders tend to hold a lot of tightness and if you’ve been struggling with backbends, often it isn’t spine flexibility that we need to focus on but instead it’s shoulder flexibility!

In this class I’m going to take you through poses and movements to free up your shoulders and increase your flexibility which will also open up your chest and upper back. You’ll want to have a strap for this class or a belt or theraband. We’ll be doing some shoulder flossing and going through poses like dolphin, puppy pose and laying chest openers.

110 Comments

  1. Bridget Taylor

    This was perfect for today since kayak season just opened! I could feel the stretch from the position, slightly from the breaths.

    • Kassandra

      Ah yes!!! So sweet

  2. Susie Peace

    I think i was feeling the intented swnsation from the breathing exercise. I could certainly feel my diaphragm engage.

    • Kassandra

      Great!

  3. Jennifer Keenan

    I really enjoyed this, and I could feel how the breathing exercise would work, although I barely felt it since I have always had hypermobility in that area. Really energized me; thank you!

    • Kassandra

      Glad you enjoyed it

  4. Katie Holt

    I think i need more practice. My shoulders are extremely tight but i got a couple breaths where i felt the stretch.

    • Kassandra

      Give it another go soon!

  5. Kim Drury

    Yes, i did feel tge breathing exercise, maybe not as intensely as you, but it was good. This was a nce shoulder release. I dont know iffi have tight shoulders, but I certainly have a “clicky” right shoulder, and this felt good.

    • Kassandra

      Glad it helped

  6. Shanik29

    I didn’t feel the breathing exercise 😕 but loved the practice, my shoulders get ususally very tight so this felt so good. Thanks

    • Kassandra

      Don’t we all!

  7. Noémie Sauvé

    Am a massage therapist and this was perfect for my stiff shoulders this morning ! Thank you so much 🙏🙏

    • Kassandra

      Amazing! The irony of being a stiff masseuse but you all work so hard

  8. Christina Barr

    I Loved this one! I felt the breathing exercise fairly intensely. I carry all of my stiffness and tension in my upper shoulders. I will be doing this practice again! Thank you

    • Kassandra

      Great! Glad it helped

  9. Christina Becker

    I felt the stretch. I really enjoyed the practice, I will try to do this more often. I’m sure my shoulders will thank me

  10. Nicole Lasas

    Love the breathing exercise. Really felt it. Nice expansion. Thank you.

    • Kassandra

      That’s wonderful

  11. Anastasia Paveloff

    THANK YOU for this!!! I have a lot of tightness in my shoulders from multiple past sports injuries. I’ve been hoping you’d release something like this for a while! I ABSOLUTELY felt that breathing exercise. I even had to keep my knees up and not do the variant as I normally do in poses… I’ll definitely be doing this practice multiple times! Someday I’d love to do full archer arms and gorudasana arms with ease! THANKS, AGAIN, Kassandra! 😊🙏

    • Kassandra

      You’re welcome! So glad it helped and filled that need for you

  12. Maggy Nicholas

    Wow! My right shoulder is always a problem area so this was really super helpful and I definitely felt the effect of the breathing exercise. Thank you so much ❤️

    • Kassandra

      Happy it helped!

  13. Caro_lien

    My shoulders are a bit forward, so it’s an exercise I will definitely be incorporating more often into my daily yoga practice. Breathing exercise instantly creates more space. Thanks as always dear kassandra

    • Kassandra

      Enjoy repeating it! Glad you found some relief

  14. Heather

    The breathing exercise was great. I definitely felt that. This entire practice is going into my favorites. I am a Dental Assistant so my back and shoulders take a beating. Will for sure be repeating this one. My right shoulder is the worst. Thank you. More like this would be welcomed.

    • Kassandra

      Amazing! Such a demanding job

  15. Elke Schwalm

    Oh, this is so good! I felt the breathing exercise and all the exercises and stretches. I really have tight shoulders and I will remember to do the strap exercise and broken wing, these really help.Thanks so much, Kassandra 🙂

    • Kassandra

      Wonderful!

  16. Colleen Leonard

    Thanks for another great class! I did feel the first exercise in my shoulders but even morenso in my sternum. In fact, most of the poses i felt in my sternum area. I seem to hold tension there so it felt great!

    • Kassandra

      Interesting!

  17. Shelley Gripich

    Breathing was good! Great classs💛

    • Kassandra

      Yay!

  18. Kate Gaskell

    Excellent sequence – especially helpful after my weekly 2km swim. Yes I most certainly felt the effect of that breath work! 🙂

    • Kassandra

      Amazing

  19. Patricia Bertke

    Breathing at the beginning was good, but i can’t push my belly out. However, I was able to get my chest to collapse. It felt good. I also felt some in my neck which was excellent, as I hurt there a LOT! Overall, very nice.

    • Kassandra

      Work on sending breath down into the diaphragm with your inhale. Glad it helped!

  20. Molly Berberich

    Stretch on the back in the beginning was hard to do but felt very hood! Just what my sore shoulders needed!! You are amazing

    • Kassandra

      Glad it was worth trying

  21. Melissa David

    Absolutely felt the breathing exercise in my shoulders and upper back. Very effective.

    • Kassandra

      Wonderful

  22. Donna

    So what I needed today. Absolutely amazing and absolutely a favorite! Thank uou Kassandra! I feel like I have a new set if shoulders!😀💕

    • Kassandra

      Love that! So glad

  23. Koleva

    Wow this was incredible! Thank you!

    • Kassandra

      So glad

  24. kevbre

    This is fabulous and a great stretch – my shoulders are tanking me. Not sure if I felt the ribcage depressing as you described, but diaphragm was working and felt so good.
    Thanks!

    • Kassandra

      Wonderful

  25. Loralee Pillsbury

    Great practice. Need to do this a couple of times a week since i sit at a desk for 9 hours a day. Felt some stretching with the first one on the outside of my rob cage up through the outside of the armpits.

    • Kassandra

      Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it

  26. Sujini B H

    This is a great shoulder strech session Kassandra 👏🏽😊💕 felt it reqlly open up a

    • Kassandra

      Thank you

  27. Monica Haaseth

    Short answer to your question: yes 😊

  28. MARA

    Nice stretches, really helped to open up the shoulders. The breathing exercise was good, I could have done it for a bit longer. I felt it subtly. Will revisit this sequence again and again. Thank you for this

    • Kassandra

      Feel free to come back and pause that portion to make it last longer!

  29. Sharen Small

    Great instructions Kassandra, easy to follow. The abdominal breathing was easy to focus on, however my shoulders were protesting lol. Definitely need to add this to my routine, several times a week i think!

    • Kassandra

      Good luck and wishing you happy shoulders!

  30. Anette

    This was great, i work in an office every day and have such tight shoulders, will be doing this one several times a week! Amazing the difference the breathing makes when you push your ribs into the floor!

    • Kassandra

      Wonderful! Happy that exercise worked well for you

  31. Lucia

    It worked very well for me. I feel a constant need to stretch my shoulders and this is the perfect workout

    • Kassandra

      Perfect

  32. Valerie MacMillan

    Your shoulder and upper back sequences are always my favorites. Thank you for this new one, I love it! Your classes are always fantastic, but when I’m missing some shoulder love, I usually tack on a little broken wing and puppy on blocks so it was nice these were incorporated here! The breathing exercise at the beginning was nice. Next time, I may try it in supported fish.

    • Kassandra

      Lovely!

  33. kuestenfuchs

    Phenomenal class! My shoulders and also my chest feel so good now. The flossing made my shoulders crack a lot the first few rounds.

    • Kassandra

      It’s so good (and also awful)

  34. Betty DiBrango

    Definitely felt the breathing exercise. I believe I have scar tissue in my left shoulder that prevents some movements. Was happt

    • Kassandra

      Wonderful! Glad it helped some

  35. Betty DiBrango

    Was happy to see this practice.

  36. Gigi

    After damaging both shoulders in a stupid tripping up the steps accident and having surgery on both shoulders this practice was a welcome sight. The poses were all similar to physical therapy exercises i used. I have protected my shoulders maybe a bit to much because concentrating on these moves i realized i have lost range of motion. Darn!! The breathing was hard for me and i really felt it. So a heartfelt thank you. This is going to be a 3 times a week practice added on to my daily practice.

    • Kassandra

      Glad it can help you out!

  37. Judith Bellamy

    I always have tight shoulders, the breathing exercise stretch I felt at the top of my spine and my really tight shoulder/neck muscles.

  38. Phair

    I did feel the breathing exercise was pulling on the shoulders and stretching. I have tight shoulders so definitely beneficial for me and losing mobility. It is an exercise I could do in bed, morning and evening. Thanks a lot, kassandra.

    • Kassandra

      Absolutely

  39. Amy Bogatch

    Wonderfully intense for tight shoulders. The breathing was sensation-full. I plan to do this flow weekly. Namaste!

    • Kassandra

      Enjoy the return and hopefully resulting relief

  40. Susan Hamill

    I struggled with the breathing exercise at the start. My shoulders are so tight, i couldn’t get my forearms flat on the ground. I’m hoping if i do this every couple of days, they will ease off a bit!

    • Kassandra

      It’s so easy to get tight in this area with life these days

  41. Sujini B H

    This was super ! Thank you 💕 i had an uncomfortable upper back today .. which released and felt good after this session . ❤️🙏🏽

    • Kassandra

      Glad it offered relief

  42. Maria F

    Thanks Kassandra – great class. I did feel the breathing exercise ❤️

    • Kassandra

      Oh yay!

  43. Dawn Dinwoodie

    Perfect for my extremely tight shoulders – they are frequently pinched after a walk or run.

    • Kassandra

      Happy to help

  44. Sally-Ann Soulsby

    Absolutely brilliant focussing on that tight area. I really benefitted and i felt safe with you leading it too. I tore my rotator cuff several years ago and it is still an area of difficulty. This helped thank you 🙏

    • Kassandra

      Oh what a wonderful compliment

  45. Sivi

    Hi there! My shoulders are my tightest area and this class was like a gift from the gods, thank you 💜 I definitely felt the sensation from the breathing exercises.

    • Kassandra

      Oh so glad it worked for you

  46. Sujini B H

    With little discomfort in my left shoulder in the morning maybe because the way i would have slept. Doing this really felt nice with release and mobility. Thank you 💕🙏🏽

    • Kassandra

      Hope you enjoyed the newest video as well

  47. Rachel Lee Walsh

    Wow, Wow, Wow. This was amazing for my shouoders and upper back, especially early in the morning, as I woke up quite stiff. Absolutely, that first pose, I felt it. Intense for me too, but it really helped open things up in my shoulders and upper back area.

    • Kassandra

      So glad it helped!

  48. KNM0rgan

    I suffer with my neck and shoulders and this has been fantastic thank you! Im going to try to do this more frequently each week to alleviate tightening in shoulders.

    • Kassandra

      Happy it’s helping

  49. KNM0rgan

    Loved the breathing exercise too definitely be practising this one again. 🙏

  50. Elke Schwalm

    Perfect start to cleaning Saturday 🙂 The strech is great, I have to do that on a daily basis. Thanks, Kassandra.

    • Kassandra

      Lovely

  51. Shelley Gripich

    Breathing and stretching 👍

  52. Maria F

    This was such a good practice – thank you! did feel the breathing exercise at the beginning, especially when I concentrated more on keeping the belly up while inhaling – wasn’t easy for me. I need to do this more (actually the whole). Love the eagle arms stretch too!

    • Kassandra

      How wonderful! Glad you really tuned into the breathing exercise

  53. Kimberly Pryor

    I felt the breathing exercise in my shoulders and this practice was very helpful for my tight shoulders. Thank you!

    • Kassandra

      Amazing

  54. Kate Anderson

    Loved that! I did feel the stretch during the breathing exercise.

    • Kassandra

      Lovely!

  55. Heike

    After a long swim (breast stroke) it was quite a bliss. I felt the breathing exercise im my shoulders but only slightly.

    • Kassandra

      Lovely

  56. Dvmedei

    This is the 2nd time I’ve done this class and the only thing I feel in the breathing exercise is my abs engaging from pressing my lower back to the floor. The other shoulder poses felt really nice though!

  57. Shelley Gripich

    Enjoyed the breathing! Good shoulder practice!!

  58. kevbre

    My shoulders have been giving me a bit of grief, so I’ve done this session 3 times over the last 10 days. Only on the 3rd go did I really feel the breathing exercise and it felt so good – added something to the following asana. I especially loved the last asana – lying twist with arm outstetched. Thanx Kassandra!

  59. Cathleen Whyte

    Yes Kassandra-I did notice the benefits of the breathing exercises. I will try to incorporate it more frequently in my practice. Really a nice class. Thank you.

  60. ZSonic

    i definitely felt the breathing. it felt a little intense but also really good! it was just what i needed. I’m excited to practice the breathing more!

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