Simple Yoga Poses For Back Pain Between Shoulder Blades

Many people today experience back pain between shoulder blades mainly because of the modern sedentary lifestyle and the huge bundle of the diseases that comes along with it. Yet you can handle the issue effectively if you know its causes and understand the ways to deal with it.

Common Causes of Shoulder Blades Back Pain

pain between shoulder blades

While there are many of them we will mention just some very common ones:

  • Stress
  • Bad posture
  • Psychological trauma
  • Poor nutrition
  • Spine disorders such as scoliosis, etc

So, depending on the cause the treatment is prescribed. But you should never leave the pain not addressed and it may turn into a chronic pain and you will suffer a lot from it.

If you experience a mild case of the pain or it just started out recently chances are you can treat it at home. Of course I strongly suggest you to get consulted with a professional to have a clear picture of what’s going on, but you can also help yourself right at your own home.

Can Yoga Help Me To Get Rid Of Back Pain Between Shoulder Blades?

The answer is ‘yes’ if you use it properly. What do I mean? The point is that yoga therapy has many means to address a condition that include yoga asanas or yoga poses for shoulder pain, Pranayama or breathing exercises, mudras, bandhas, relaxation (shavasana, yoga mudra) and meditation – all these techniques and methods can be used to effectively treat sudden or even constant pain in the upper back. If you have an opportunity to learn yoga from a teacher – that’s the best solution; if you can’t I’ll try to give you some tips how to use yoga to treat back pain.

Chronic Upper Back Pain Relief through Yoga

If your condition is not serious and you have consulted with your doctor about it, you can start helping yourself through yoga practice. But yoga can be very helpful in chronic conditions as well. Keep in mind the following:

The key to successful practice for a yoga student is:

  • Being regular
  • Being gradual

Never ever forget about these two simple principles of proper yoga training program.

While I don’t know how severe your pain is so I cannot give the particular details related to your condition exclusively, yet I will show your simple yoga asanas or routines to help with your back.

Simple Yoga Sequence for Back Pain

Shavasana for back pain between shoulder blades relief
Shavasana for back pain

1. Shavasana – helps you to relax, which is essential; relaxation is the beginning and the end of any yoga workout as it prepares your body for the practice and after it the relaxation restores and enhances the flow of energy in your body.

When you perform shavasana, you simply lie on your back on a blanket or yoga mat and try to relax every muscle of your body, moving your attention to different parts of the body.

2. The second pose is very simple: stand straight with your hands down and at the sides of your body. Now raise your hands above your head with inhale, and slowly lean forward, lowering your hands to the ground with exhale. When you achieved the maximum bent of your body, remain in this position as long as you can breathe normally and trying to fully relax.

Padahastasana - a good remedy for back pain between shoulder blades
Padahastasana is a good remedy for back and shoulder pain

This yoga posture is a simplified variation of Padahastasana; when you’re completely relaxed being in a bending position, your back muscles and spine get relaxed and nourished with a fresh blood coming up side down. Your heart will have some rest in this pose too.

When you feel like you want to come back, just rise you hands above your head with inhale, and with exhale lower them to the sides of your body.

Do this posture for 3-5 times if you have a spare time. After that do shavasana for a minute or two.

This is one of the simplest yoga routines for back pain between shoulder blades; it is completely safe, simple and effective.

Notice: if you have high or low blood pressure, be careful doing this pose; keep track of what you feel while doing the pose, and in the case of some unpleasant sensation, slowly come to initial position, and lay down on your back to shavasana.

 

6 thoughts on “Simple Yoga Poses For Back Pain Between Shoulder Blades

  1. I need help for upper back between shoulder blades pain. I have this pain over three years now. Constant pain 24/7> tried chiropractors, medications, exercise, x-rays etc no help.

    what to do.

    all muscular pain.

    1. Hello, Sharon

      Is it indeed a muscular pain? If its origin is some kind of injury, you need to get consulted with a doctor. Muscle pain is easier to manage, but the possible complications during the yoga practice may come from other ailments you may have (if any?). If the cause of your upper back pain is a stress, then yoga can also help, even if you simply do the asanas or yoga poses. But consider reducing the amount of stress in your life.

      Here is a simple sequence for you for daily practice; do the first part on the first day, and the second part on the second day. Then repeat.

      I plan to describe all these yoga poses here on my website, but not sure how soon this is going to happen; meanwhile you can search online for their Sanskrit names given below to find the description and techniques, and simply follow the sequences I have given.

      1 Day. First two poses as described in the post above; then utthita trikonasana (triangle pose), parivrita trikonasana, parsvakonasana, virabhadrasana, parsvottanasana, parighasana, utkatasana, ustrasana, gomukhasana, paschimottanasana, viparita karani, shavasana.

      2 Day. Relaxation, sasankasana, adho mukha svanasana, urdhva mukha svanasana, janu shirsasana, bhujangasana, sarpasana, salabhasana, dhanurasana (or parsva dhanurasana), ardha matsyendrasana, navasana, paschimottanasana, viparita karani, shavasana.

      If you can, you can substitute viparita karani with sarvangasana. If some poses are yet too difficult to perform, don’t get upset or give up; do as much as you can, but without straining yourself too much. Hold each pose for 5-8 full breaths, trying to be relaxed as much as possible. Viparita karani and shavasana should be held for few minutes.

      If you have a high blood pressure, serious back, heart, stomach, liver or kidney problems, please, consult with your doctor before doing these poses. Do the same if you are not sure about what possible ailments you may have. I’m not trying to frighten you but rather make sure your practice will be safe.

      More tips:
      – Never hurry while doing yoga.
      – Follow the technique.
      – Listen to your body.
      – Practice regularly.
      – Do not push too much, be gentle.

  2. The poses you presented on this page seems like they would be very helpful. I have a few problems and if you can advise that would be great. I have had both knees replaced and can’t be on the knee caps. I also have 4 degenerated vertebrates in the T zone and 5 in the lumbar area. Have had a heart attack and a stent. Which poses would you recommend for such a broken down body, also saw that you have books and which would you recommend for me. Financially, I am unable to have a teacher so will have to be a do it yourself. thank you very much. In the past when I could get Physical Therapy I found that pulling overhead weight did a lot to help relieve the pain through shoulder blades. Years ago I performed on the trapeze so my body really had a lot of punishing and now that I’m 88 doesn’t help either.

    1. Sorry for the late reply, Jinx.

      It may be not a good idea to bend forward deeply, if you have degenerated discs. Back bends will be a better choice.

      If you had a heart attack you shouldn’t do poses that produce too much tension in the body.

      Of course it doesn’t mean you cannot do yoga – of course you can. But it would be much better if you do it under the personal guidance of a qualified teacher. And this is not about money only – a person who controls your practice can effectively prevent any possible injuries and help you achieve better results.

      It’s difficult to recommend a particular book because you have some particular ailments. But you can get a book called Yoga dipika by Iyengar and go through its therapeutic index to choose the suitable poses.

      If you want to be on your own, then the best advice would be: learn to listen to your body.

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