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Yoga Exercise for Toning Shoulder

Simple Shoulder Workout

If you have attended a Kundalini Yoga class, you know there is going to be that phase when it’s time to do shoulder exercises and it’s going to test your pain threshold, at least just a little bit .  Being quite an obsessive personality myself, I remember spending a lot of time out of class simply testing my willpower by seeing how long I could hold my arms up, etc.  This was to better prepare me for completing the shoulder exercises during class.  There are a lot of excellent sets to work on your shoulders in Kundalini Yoga, but today I am going to give you just one simple shoulder exercise which will prepare you nicely for these sets that I plan to upload in the near future.

I call this exercise Shoulder See-Saw and it is excellent for warming up before jumping into more difficult exercises or more advanced yoga sets.  Although this exercise focuses on the shoulder region, it is also used extensively to work on the Heart Center or Anahat Chakra.  This is because, it uses the expanding and contracting theory of Kundalini Yoga exercises, to bring pressure and oxygenated blood to the heart region, allowing the muscles, organs and glands in that area to be cleansed and rejuvenated as well.

The following 3 articles will be useful to you, if you are new to Kundalini Yoga, as they will give you some good guidelines on how to do the workouts safely, as well as introduce you to how these Kundalini Yoga exercises work.

Beginner’s Guide to Yoga Practice

Guidelines for Kundalini Yoga Practice

Introduction to Kundalini Yoga – The Yoga of Awareness

Shoulder See-Saw Exercise will be added to our free ongoing yoga exercises e-book, which you can find here: Online Kundalini Yoga Exercises e-book.  In addition, be on the lookout for yoga sets incorporating this exercise in the near future here: Free Online Kundalini Yoga Sets.  And also, be sure to check out the Free Online Yoga Classes that we already offer on the website.  

Below you will find illustrations of this exercise, along with practice details, benefits and other related information.

Yoga See-Saw Shoulder Exercise

Illustrations for See-Saw Shoulder Workout

(Coming Soon)

Yoga See-Saw Shoulder Exercise:

A. How to Do See-Saw Exercise: 

• Sit in any comfortable position.  Cross legged is preferred.

• Bring your elbows up to shoulder level.  Bend your arms and have your right palm facing your sternum and your left palm facing away from you.  So right thumb is above and left thumb is below.

• Low clasp your fingers together to form a firm hold.  The fingers are not interlaced, but instead the fingers of each hand are cupped in the other hand.  This is called bear grip.

• Your hands should be 4 to 6 inches away from your chest.  Relax the shoulders.

• Now apply some gentle pressure by pulling trying to pull your hands apart, without breaking the grip of course.

• Then begin the following movement.

• As you inhale bring the left elbow up and at the same time bring the right elbow down.

• Then as you exhale bring the right elbow up and the left elbow down.  So you are going up and down like a see-saw.

• Begin at a gentle pace and then as your shoulders start to warm-up pick up your pace.

• Breathe powerfully and go faster as you feel more ready.  Remember to listen to you body at all times, and slow down or take a break when necessary.

• Soon you will start to feel it in your shoulders as they are given a good workout by this movement.  Try not to give up on the first sign of discomfort and continue on as best you can.
• To finish:  Inhale deeply, hold your breath and try to pull your arm apart with great force.

• Then exhale completely and again try to pull your arms apart with great force.

• Those that are more advanced can apply Triple Lock during the last step, when they have exhaled and are trying to pull their arm apart.  You can repeat the inhale/exhale/pull step up to 3 times.  You will find details of Triple Lock (Maha Bandha) in the following article:  Advanced Tantric Yoga Video to Channel Sex Energy.
  

B. Duration for See-Saw Shoulder Exercise: 15 seconds – 3 minutes.

C. Benefits of See-Saw Shoulder Exercise:  

• Excellent for warming up the shoulder muscles.
  
• Good for strengthening and toning the shoulder muscles.
• Opens up the Heart Center and promotes love, compassion and forgiveness.
  
• Good warm-up exercise to get the blood flowing and respiration going.
• Good for the respiratory system and builds fitness.
  
• Stimulated the flow of Kundalini (Energy) up the spine and to the higher centers.
• Helps build willpower and character.
  

D. Practice Tips and Cautions for See-Saw Exercise:

• Doing this exercise regularly will go a long way in helping you tone and strengthen your shoulder muscles.
• Stretching the shoulders after doing this exercise feels good, use Palm Tree Pose below while seated to do this after you finish.
  

More Shoulder Exercises:

There are also other great shoulder exercises already on the website, so be sure to check some of them out below.

Good Shoulder Stretch:

Easy Yoga Pose for Stretching and Warming Up – Palm Tree Pose

2 Good Shoulder Exercises for Building Your Aura and Magnetic Field:

Eagle Pose for Powerful Aura

Aura Cleansing Power Yoga Technique

Exercises to Strengthen Shoulders and Arms:

Jesus Pose for Sacrifice and Inner Strength

Hatha Yoga Position for Nerve Strength – Mountain Pose

Yoga for Upper Body Strength and Training

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