the shoulder series
12 Episodes
Rounded and tight shoulders are becoming a common occurrence in our lives and unfortunately, it’s something that brings dysfunction and pain, ages us (ah!), and brings down our general mood and confidence. Overall, rounded + tight shoulders are a bummer!
Ok, so what’s causing this? Sadly, it’s our everyday life—sitting hunched over a computer, a phone, or a book (it all pulls our head forward which actually adds significant weight on the spine); being stationary for long periods of time (we lose mobility and our muscles stop switching on, creating tight chest muscles + weak upper back and core muscles); stress (brings us into shallow breathing, creating constant tension in our neck + shoulders); and lack of awareness of our body (so we don’t realign correctly when we stand).
In this shoulder series, we’ll start from the ground up, going over how our shoulder blades need to move for our shoulder health, releasing our tight chest muscles, and strengthening the muscles to keep the supple, lean, and strong.
Every single one of us needs this series to some degree, whether it’s just self-care or to heal some seriously rounded shoulders, it is worth it!
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09:39Episode 1
breathing to change your body
Episode 1
How we are breathing completely changes how our bodies function and feel. Strong external factors like stress and posture alter our breathing patterns for the worse so in this class we'll focus on breathing optimally using an exercise you can work on anywhere anytime.
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16:56Episode 2
release // the shoulders
Episode 2
We'll use a wall to release + stretch our chest, shoulders, and upper back in this class, which will keep our upper spine from being pulled forward as our shoulders are allowed to relax down our back and prevent pain in our neck and shoulders. It's a class that gives immediate feedback, leaving y...
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18:29Episode 3
strengtheners // upper back
Episode 3
This class is all about building functional strength in our upper back muscles, focusing on the postural muscles and deep stabilizers (to avoid building bulky shoulders), which support our chest and help keep us nice and open rather than hunched over. We'll use the wall as our prop because it hel...
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11:31Episode 4
release // shoulder blades
Episode 4
We're going to release all of that tension we keep in our shoulders and shoulder blades and shoulders. This class is a must-take if you find your range of motion is limited and/or your shoulders make noise. You'll finish feeling a freedom and a refreshing ease of movement!
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29:55Episode 5
understanding your shoulder blades
Episode 5
Creating healthy shoulders requires shoulder blade mobility and awareness. In this class, we'll become more aware of our shoulder blades and apply that awareness to movements in an upper-body flow, strengthening our upper back and arms.
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12:39Episode 6
release // neck + traps
Episode 6
Equal parts stretches + exercises that open the neck and shoulders while also strengthening our underworking muscles to prevent future neck and upper shoulder tightness and tension.
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08:24Episode 7
movement for chest opening
Episode 7
A feel-good way to relieve shoulder + chest tightness which will allow the spine to open + make it easier to breathe.
Props: we recommend a foam roller but a thick blanket can substitute
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09:37Episode 8
these arms of mine
Episode 8
No time to waste in this class where we'll go through 2 short sequences to get the shoulders moving and build strength in the arms + upper back.
Props: light hand weights (1-3 lbs or bottles of water, etc. whatever you have available!)
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prone back strengthers to open the chest
Episode 9
We're bringing all we know about our shoulders together in this class as we work all of our postural muscles, with an extra focus on our deep stabilizers of the back, creating a sleek + strong back, opening the chest, and improving alignment.
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12:00Episode 10
perfect push up prep
Episode 10
Push ups are a great exercise that require some fantastic upper body engagement. In this class we'll do a number of exercises (with modifications) that build the strength + awareness we all need in order to do the perfect push up.
Prop: a chair
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19:24Episode 11
release // the back
Episode 11
Free your upper back from the tension that's pulling it down with releases that relieve tightness from the shoulders to the lower back.
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17:12Episode 12
strengtheners // back + arms
Episode 12
This class focuses on building functional strength in the muscles that contribute to good posture. We'll use a resistance band to work our upper back, arms, + shoulders creating long lean muscles and good alignment.
Props: a resistance band