Heart and shoulder openers are probably my least favorite types of yoga postures. My shoulders and thoracic spine are not flexible, and I know I’m not alone. Most people have tight shoulders, whether it’s from poor posture, sitting at a desk all day, or strength training. Luckily there are many postures that tap into this space and can help you prep for your backbends. Here are my favorite yoga heart openers that stretch your shoulders and feel good too!

Eagle Arms

Eagle arms is one of the most underrated heart openers. It seems counterintuitive since your arms are closing off the front of your chest. However, by freeing up space through the back of your heart, you’re giving your shoulder blade room to move through the backside of your body when you practice backbends. What I love most about this post is that you can get a nice full breath into your lungs. Your lungs are closer to the backside of your body, so not only are you freeing up this space for future shoulder movements in your backbends, but you’re freeing up this space to breathe deeper.

Eagle Arm Tips

Keep your elbows as close to shoulder height as comfortable and do your best to stay relaxed throughout your shoulder heads. Protract your shoulder blades – move them away from your spine, as you send your breath to the back of your heart.

Dancing Cobra

Dancing Cobra targets both shoulders in different ways when you move through this shape, and it feels so good! This series of movements offers insight into dynamic shoulder positions often found in yoga postures. By dipping your one shoulder down, you’re able to gently stretch your shoulder head and rotator cuff. Meanwhile, your lifted shoulder gets a stretch across your chest and deltoid.

Dancing Cobra Tips

Dont push or force this movement here, be gentle and explore your shoulder mobility. Don’t forget to maintain proper alignment throughout the bottom half of your body. Continue to press down through your pubic bone and activate your legs for stability.

Single Shoulder Stretch

I don’t really know if this pose has a formal name or not, but I like to practice this shape after dancing cobra. This stretch really works into the front of your shoulder and your chest. While this is a deep stretch, it’s important to not be too rigid here. You want to ensure that you can still take even breaths into your chest in order to experience the full benefits of this posture. Still, if you practice this posture regularly it can single handedly help with shoulder mobility and flexibility.

Shoulder Stretch Tips

It is really easy to go overboard in this posture since you are pushing against the earth to find your stretch. Take it slow and do your best to stay relaxed in your jaw and neck, this will help you relax the muscles in your shoulder and chest. If your looking for another variation you can try this standing at the wall, or with your arm bent like a goal post.

Puppy Pose or Melting Heart Pose

This shoulder shape and engagement mimics that of popular backbending postures in yoga. Not only is it a great prep for down down and sun salutations, but it is a calming heart opening pose on its own. That doesn’t mean it can’t be tricky. Sometimes props are needed in order to make this pose comfortable enough to breathe in, but like most yoga poses, the longer you can sit in that shape the greater the benefit.

Puppy Pose Tips

Stay active through your fingertips and press down through the finger pads of your palms. Do your best to save space between your shoulder heads and ears, there’s no need to overly reach. If you have notoriously tight shoulders, like me, feel free to take your arms a little wider to help create more space. Keep your hips stacked right over your knees so you’re not bearing all your weight into your upper body.

Heart Opening Yoga Sequence

The poses listed above are listed in sequential order with puppy pose being your peak pose. Puppy pose is a great prepatory backbend that moves into your thoracic spine and shoulders. By practicing the mini sequence above as a warm up in your yoga flow, you will have an easier time moving into deeper backbending postures.

I hope you enjoyed this little flow and series of postures, they are some of my all-time favorites and I practice them nearly every time I hit my yoga mat! If you have questions or requests for posts, let me know in the comments below.