You’ve probably heard me say that sitting is the new smoking, and let me tell you, the hours spent at our desks are affecting so many parts of our body. Today we’re going to talk about rounded shoulders.
Typing posture can round our shoulders forward, which increases strain across shoulders, back, and neck. And the result of strain? PAIN! Along with an ergonomically designed workstation, incorporating movements to counteract this rounding will make you feel much better!
This exercise will open up those shoulders and you have two options for how to do it – sitting at your desk, or laying on the ground. You’ll be working the muscles responsible for externally rotating the shoulders, as well as bringing the scapula down into the scapula depression position.
Note: If you have a lot of neck and shoulder tension or pain, start in the laying down position, then progress to doing it sitting up.
Option 1: At your desk
- Sit in good posture.
- Bring your arms out to a “T” position, just a little bit lower than shoulder height.
- Rotate the palms up and down. It’s very simple, just rotate the palms up, then rotate them down.
Looking at it from the front, you’ll notice that when you rotate the palms up, the shoulders roll open and down. That’s GREAT! So as you rotate the palms up, try to pull the shoulders down, away from your ear.
Option 2: On the floor
- Lay down in static back position – legs up on a block or chair to bring them to a 90 degree position with your body. Scoot in until you are firmly up against the block.
- Bring your arms out to a “T” and rotate your palms up and down.
Simple, right? But so effective! Tell me how it feels as you strengthen those muscles and open your rounded shoulders more each day.
Taking breaks throughout your work day to incorporate stretches like this will go a long way to undo all of that bad posture that we get from sitting at our workstations. I designed the 3 Week Desk Pain Solution specifically for counteracting the stresses on the body of daily desk work. Check it out to learn more about finding pain relief and posture correction! [/vc_column_text]
