Ask Beth: How can I stretch tight muscles between my shoulders?

QUESTION: How can I stretch tight muscles between my shoulders?

Hi Beth,
I am extremely tight between my shoulders, at my spine. It feels as though the muscles have become so tight there that they are causing a nerve pinch between my vertebrae.

I am trying some massage and stretching but it is really difficult to get this area isolated for stretching. 

Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Rama

(P.S. Your Q&A site is great!)

ANSWER:

Hey Rama,

I feel your pain…or used to until I started yoga. Yes, yoga has saved me from many an ache and a pain. I used to have the tightest rhomboids, back and neck and was constantly doing random stretches and going to a bodyworker. I finally got fed up and realized that I needed to stretch out my entire body from head to toe to get the whole spine area to release. I also found that 10–20 minutes of stretching one area was not enough to make changes.

So my suggestion to you would be to figure out a good overall stretch routine or get yourself signed up for some basic yoga classes to learn all the poses. The great thing about yoga poses is that many of them target more than one area. I found that yoga was strengthening my super-weak small muscles (especially in the back and lower traps) which gave my aching muscles a break.

Good luck and try to find the time to do this. Yoga has totally improved my surfing, not to mention several other areas in my life.

Hasta,

Beth

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