Here’s a relaxing chest-opening stretch you can do anytime you have a floor, a folded blanket—and your body. Too often, we close ourselves off like a book, hunching forward from too much screen time, too much stress. This stretch gives us a moment to relax our bodies toward openness, letting in more fresh air and letting go of the things that weigh us down.
Start with a blanket folded or rolled into a long thin log (see video below). Sit comfortably on one end of the blanket and think for a moment about your shoulder blades. Liz Owen, my coauthor on our book Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back, uses the image that your shoulder blades are helping hands that can gently ease your upper spine into alignment, which opens your shoulders and chest. Take that image with you as you lie back on the blanket. Your entire back from your tailbone to the top of your head is supported on the blanket. Another beautiful image Liz shares is to think of your spine as an elegant string of pearls that’s draped gently along the blanket. Rest your feet on the floor, with your knees bent.
Reach your arms straight out to the sides with your palms up and bring your attention back to those “helping hands” shoulder blades. You might even feel them snugging down over the edge of the blanket.
Now, slide your hands up until your elbow is at a 90-degree angle, what some people call “cactus pose.” Draw your shoulders down and away from your ears, and take a deep breath. In this position, you should be able to feel your “helping hands” cup the blanket as your front body, collarbones and chest, open and relax in a completely supported position. You can stay here for a few minutes or as long as is comfortable. If your arms don’t feel comfortable on the floor, you can place a lower blanket to support your arms.
When you’re ready to come out, softly roll to one side to come off the blanket, then come up into a comfortable seated position. Do you feel broader, softer, more open in your upper chest? We hold so much tension and tightness in our bodies. I hope this is an easy, daily invitation to open up and let go.
