Open your heart and stretch your shoulders

For the month of February we expanded our hearts by focusing on our shoulders and chest. A lot of our tension and stress sits in our shoulders and causes fatigue, knots and eventually chronic pain. You see, the primary muscle that supports the shoulder is the shoulder girdle which is quite a vulnerable joint. Now a days we do a lot of forward facing movement like sitting, typing, driving and overtime, this misuse leads to chronic misalignment of multiple muscles. leading to injury and pain. The shoulder is a spacious, shallow joint made up of 3 bones. Compared to the hip, the ligament is made up of thick, wide and strong tissue, and the shoulder is thin and strappy. Here's a visual for you - in the shoulder the ligament is like fettucine while in the hips its more like lasagne. There are 32 bones that extend outward from your chest attached to your axial skeleton with one joint. Just one joint!! Therefor with such unique architecture, the shoulder has 'a ball and socket' fit into the scapula. Our bodies are amazing!!

We also learnt about the Anahata chakra. Chakras are energy points in the body and Anahata means unstuck or undamaged. This chakra is the element of air and green in colour, also the bridge between the 3 lower and 3 higher energy points that connect the spiritual self and the real self.

When its open, it allows for compassion and love to enter your mind, body and soul. When your heart is in balance, you feel harmonious in your relationships and in your self. You feel generous, open and have an appreciation for life. When its overactive, we can overstep boundaries and be inappropriate while experiencing very high high and very low lows.

Below are some stretches you can use and modify to release tension, open your chest and relieve shoulder pain. Do these for a few breaths each side, if you'd like you can do multiple times.

Love your journey and empower others,

Bernie