Main menu
Page TOC

arm-stretches.html

A Sequence of Arm Stretches

For Stretching Chest and Shoulder Muscles
dragonfly arm stretch, stretch for the back of the shoulder

Most of the following arm stretches are gravity assisted. Stretches can be done in the order given.

In the gravity assisted stretches:

  • You can focus on relaxing the arm being stretched.
  • You can also resist the stretch so that the muscle being stretched is active.

If using resisted stretching, resist just enough so that you continue to move in the direction of the stretch.

Arm Stretches Index

To return to this menu click the TOC button at the top of your screen or the heading link at the top of each section.

Arm Stretches: Dragonfly arm stretch, stretch for the back of the shoulder. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Half dragonfly arm stretch

Arm stretches: Clasped half dragonfly arm stretch. For this bent arm stretch, one arm is across the throat with the hand reaching over the shoulder. The other arm is reaching up the back so that both hands can clasp. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Clasped half dragonfly

Arm stretches: Lotus for the arm external rotation arm stretch. Lying prone, arm being stretched is bent at the elbow with elbow pointing to the opposite side. Chin rests on the hand so that the weight of the head can be used to stretch that arms external rotators. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

External rotation arm stretch

Arm stretches: Dragonfly arm stretch. With body positioned belly down, both arms are positioned across the chest, one in front of the other with elbows straight. The weight of the body is then used to stretch the shoulders of both arms. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Dragonfly arm stretch

Arm stretchs: Bent Elbow arm stretch for the front of the shoulder and chest. aka bennittasana. Starting prone, one arm is placed out to the side with elbow at shoulder height and bent 90 degrees. Opposite side of body rolls up to stretch the front of the shoulder of that arm. Top leg reaches back to add weight to the stretch.Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Bennitasana arm stretch

Arm stretches: Straight elbow arm stretch for the front of the shoulder aka lappasana. Starting in a prone position, one arm reaches to the side with elbow straight. Opposite side of the body is rolled off of the floor to stretch the front of the shoulder. Knees are bent with feet on the floor and weight of the opposide leg and hip can be used to drive the stretch. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Lapasana shoulder stretch

Arm stretches: Puppy dog arm stretch for front of shoulders and chest. Starting on all fours, hands reach forwards along the floor so that the chest can sink to the floor. Spine is actively bent backwards. Shoulders stay active also. Chin is on the floor with gaze directed forwards. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Puppy dog arm /chest stretch

Arm stretches: Spiderman arm stretch for the front of the shoulders and chest. Kneeling in front of a wall, hands reach up the wall as high as possible. Chest is leaned forwards towards the wall. Spine is actively bent backwards. Shoulders are also active. Gaze is forwards, towards the wall. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Spiderman wall stretch kneeling

Arm stretches: Prone spiderman arm stretch for front of shoulders and chest. Lying with head towards a wall, arms are reached up the wall while lifting the chest. Spine is actively bent backwards. Shoulders are stretched by sinking the chest down while resisting the hands being pulled down the wall. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Spiderman wall stretch prone

Arm stretches: rack arm stretch. Sitting with hands on the floor behind the hips, hands are reached back with fingers pointing backwards. Legs are straigth and abs are used to pull the chest forwards, out of the shoulders. Palms can face up or down to vary the stretch. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Rack arm stretch

Arm stretches: Seated penguin arm stretch for the shoulders. Hands are placed against the sides of the waist with elbows bent and pointing forwards. Elbows are positioned to the inside of the knees which are bent with the feet on the floor. Knees can then be used to push the elbows towards each otehr. At the same time, the arms resist by pushing outwards against the knees. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Penguin pose shoulder stretch

Arm stretches: Pull back arm stretch for the back of the shoulders and upper back. Sit with feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent. Arms are crossed in front of the body with hands grabbing the opposite foot. Ribcage pulls back, away from the feet to stretch the shoulders.  Torso can be adjusted by lifting or lowering the chest  vary the stretch. Stretch one arm at a time by letting go of one foot. as shown. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Pull back arm stretch

Related

For muscle assisted shoulder stretches read
Shoulder Stretches.

For Yoga Arm Position Stretches read
Yoga Shoulder Stretches.

Cross Chest Shoulder Stretch/Half Dragonfly

In this shoulder stretch focus on relaxing both sides of your body downwards. The arm that crosses the chest is the arm being stretched.

dragonfly arm stretch, stretch for the back of the shoulder
dragonfly arm stretch, stretch for the back of the shoulder

While laying on your belly lift one side of the body and reach the opposite arm across your chest. The other arm can reach back beside you. To stretch the shoulder of the arm that is across your chest let the opposite side of the body sink down to the floor.

Let the weight of your shoulder, chest, pelvis and leg all sink down into the floor. (If the left arm is being stretched then focus on letting the right side of your body sink down.) Focus on relaxing.

You could focus on allowing the shoulder blade to move away from your spine. You can also experiment with moving the shoulder slightly forwards (towards the head) or rearwards (towards the ribcage and pelvis.)

Grabbing the Hands Behind the Back

A variation of the above arm stretch is to grab the hands behind the back.

dragonfly arm stretch, stretch for the back of the shoulder, hands clasped behind back

With your left arm across your throat bend the elbow and reach the hand over the shoulder. Bend your right elbow and reach your right hand up your back.

Try to clasp your hands together. If you can't then hold on to a belt with both hands.

External Rotation Arm Stretch

Andrey Lappa always used to call this "lotus for the arm" since the elbow is bent and the upper arm is externally rotated.

lotus for the arm shoulder stretch
  • Reach one arm across the chest while laying prone.
  • Bend the elbow so that the elbow points towards the opposite side of the body.
  • Rest the chin in the palm of the hand and use the weight of the head to press the forearm and back of the hand down towards the floor.
  • Allow the upper arm to rotate externally as you do so.

Dragonfly Shoulder Stretch for the Back of the Arms

Full dragonfly stretches both shoulders at the same time. In a prone position cross the arms beneath the shoulders with both arms straight. One arm will have to be in front of the other. Work at wiggling the hands away from each other. To add weight lift your ribs off of the floor, then your pelvis, and then your knees.

Move your body slightly forwards (or rearwards) so that your shoulders are more or less directly over your arms.

Rest and then repeat with the other arm in front.

Benittasana Arm Stretch

I learned a variation of this arm stretch from Jim Bennitt and so sometimes I refer to it as Bennittasana.

(In the original version you grab the top foot behind the back.)

bennittasana arm stretch for the pectoralis major.

From a prone (belly down) position reach the left arm to the side with elbow bent at 90 degrees. Have the elbow in line with the shoulder and keep the elbow, palm and shoulder on the floor. Slowly roll the right side of the body off of the floor. As you do so scissor the legs apart reaching the top leg backwards and the bottom leg forwards.

Keep the top leg off of the floor so that you can use the weight of the leg to help you go deeper into the stretch.

Press the opposite hand into the floor in front of the chest.

For extra leverage you can press the outside of the bottom thigh into the floor.

You may find it helps to allow the shoulder of the arm being stretched to lift a little. You can also lift the head off of the floor and work at lengthening both sides of the neck.

Try moving the elbow slightly forwards or backwards (towards your feet) to change the stretch.

Lappasana Shoulder Stretch

I call this shoulder stretch "Lappasana" simply because it is the pose most commonly associated with Andrey Lappa. It works on the front of the shoulder and arm, perhaps even stretching the biceps.

For the gravity assisted version of this arm stretch, lie belly down and reach your right arm to the right.

lappasana arm stretching exercise, stretching front of shouler, gravity assisted stretch, yoga poses
lappasana arm stretch, stretching front of shouler, gravity assisted stretch, yoga poses
  • Roll the left side of your body off of the floor.
  • Keep your palm facing down and your arm at about 90 degrees to your body (upper left).
  • When you are ready, bend your knees. Keep your feet on the floor as you point the knees upwards.
  • Sink the left buttock towards the floor.

An easier version is to do this stretch first with the palm facing upwards.

To vary the stretch you can grab the hands behind the back keeping the bottom palm facing outwards.

To add weight to the stretch you can put your legs in the double pigeon foot position.

If the right arm is being stretched then have the right leg on the bottom.

lappasana arm stretch, stretching front of shouler, gravity assisted stretch, yoga poses, shoulder stretch with legs in double pigeon

Relaxing Afterwards

resting pose, chin on hands, legs spread wide.

Generally after this shoulder stretch I like to relax for a few moments with my chin on my hands. This was something Andrey had us do to feel the effects of the pose. The sensations can be quite pleasant.

Puppy Dog Shoulder Stretch

Puppy dog can be done with the arms in a push up position first and then with the arms straight ahead second. In both versions use your spinal erectors to bend your spine backwards.

Also use the legs to pull the hips rearwards to help lengthen and decompress the spine and shoulders.

backbending yoga poses, puppy dog yoga pose, push up style puppy dog yoga stretch
arm stretch, backbending yoga poses, puppy dog yoga pose, puppy dog yoga stretch

Puppy Dog Junior: Puppy Dog Without the Arms

To focus on back bending the spine and stretching the front of the ribcage and neck you can do puppy dog chest stretch with the arms in a "push-up" like position.

Starting from cat pose (with your hips ahead of your knees) lower your chest to the floor like you are doing push up.

Move your hips far enough forwards that you can touch your chest to the floor.

From there work at moving your chest and pelvis backwards so that your chest moves closer to your knees and your hips move towards being directly over the knees.

Or you could leave your chest in place and move your knees forwards, closer to your chest.

backbending yoga poses, puppy dog yoga pose, push up style puppy dog yoga stretch

From this position you could then sweep your arms forwards while keeping the chest on the floor.

You could also slowly lower into the "arms ahead" version of puppy dog by starting in cat pose with the hands on the floor ahead of the shoulders. Push the ribcage back like you are doing downward facing dog. Slowly lower the chest to the floor.

If you can't get your chest to the floor start with your pelvis forwards, ahead of your knees.

Spiderman Arm Stretch

A pose that is similiar to the puppy dog arm stretch, is the spiderman shoulder stretching exercise.

It can be done while kneeling in front of a wall or from a laying down position in front of a wall.

The laying down version is a little bit more intense.

spiderman yoga pose kneeling
spiderman arm stretching exercise

Spiderman Arm Stretch While Kneeling

spiderman yoga pose kneeling prep
spiderman yoga pose kneeling prep 2
spiderman yoga pose kneeling

Kneel in front of a wall with your head touching the wall and your butt on your heels. Shuffle your knees towards the wall or away from it so that your head touches the wall while your butt is on your heels.

From here, sit up and reach your arms up the wall as high as you can (below left). You can lift your butt. Try to position your hands shoulder width apart or narrower.

With your hands on the wall, allow your ribcage to slowly drop down (above right).

Breathe into your ribcage. As you inhale feel your ribs expanding. As you exhale, relax.

While it can feel natural to look down, I find this shoulder stretch is a lot more comfortable if I look up.

If you are really tight in the shoulders and this is really uncomfortable, try lifting your ribcage up each time you inhale and slowly relax downwards as you exhale.

Sit up and rest for a few moments after doing the pose. Then if you like repeat the shoulder stretch stretch but with your knees closer to the wall.

With knees closer to the wall you may find that this stretch opens up the front of your ribcage turning this shoulder stretch into a ribcage or chest stretch.

You can use the kneeling version as a warm up for the prone version.

Prone Spiderman Shoulder Stretch

For the prone version lay down with the top of your head against the wall. From there prop yourself up on one elbow and reach the other hand up (shown below).

spiderman yoga pose prep
getting into spiderman arm stretch
spiderman arm stretch

Press that hand into the wall so that you can then lift and reach the other hand up.

With both hands on the wall keep pressing both hands into the wall to resist the stretch. Then slowly relax your arms to let your chest sink down.

You may be able to make the pose more comfortable (bearable) by pressing your hands into the wall as you inhale and then relaxing as you exhale.

Do both actions slowly and smoothly, in time with your breath.

Again my recommendation is to look up towards your hands when holding the pose, as if reaching towards your hands with your eyes.

As with the kneeling version, you can repeat the pose after a rest but with your body closer to the wall.

spiderman yoga pose closer to the wall prep
spiderman arm stretching pose closer to the wall

Resting Afterwards

You may find that it feels really nice to just rest with your chin on your hands after exiting either version of the above shoulder stretch.

resting pose, chin on hands, legs spread wide.

Rack Arm Stretch

When I first started learning the Rack Arm Stretch in Andrey Lappa's class he had us do it with our fingers interlaced. It was quite intense on the elbows.

Now I usually do it with my hands separated and I practice two options, one with palms turned down so that the arms are externally rotated. The other option is with palms turned up so that the arms internally rotated.

rack arm stretch, shoulder stretch with arms down and back
rack arm stretch, shoulder stretch with arms down and back

In either case you can make this pose less intense on your elbows by pulling your chest forwards, away from your hands. And move deeper into the pose by pulling your hips further forwards gradually.

With the palms facing down option you could increase the external rotation of the arms by rolling the thumb side of the hand upwards slightly. With palms upwards and thumbs inwards, you can increase internal rotation by again rolling the thumb side of each hand upwards.

Note that with your palms up you may find it more comfortable (and perhaps more natural) to bend your ribcage forwards and sink your chest.

Moving Your Hips Further Forwards

To move your hips forwards you can either wiggle them forwards (which is great when you are near your limits). Or you use your legs to pick your pelvis up and pull it forwards. Once your pelvis is in place you can keep your knees bent (shown below) or straighten them.

rack arm stretch, shoulder stretch with arms down and back

To get out of rack you can either pull your your hands forwards by lifting your chest or you can lift your legs and then use them to kick yourself back upright (shown below).

You may find it helpful to practice getting out while the pose is still easy (i.e. while your hips are still close to your hands.)

yoga poses, arm stretches, yoga stretches, yoga postures, rack, a stretch for the shoulders, exiting action for rack pose

A nice way to counterpose rack is with the pull back stretch for the back of the shoulders.

Penguin Dual Arm Stretch

While sitting (or possibly squatting) place the backs of both hands against the sides of the waist. Spread the shoulder blades and move the elbows towards each other using the muscle power of the arms.

In penguin shouler stretch place the back of the hands against the sides of the waist with elbows bent and pointing forwards. One option is to use the strength of the arms to move the elbows inwards towards each other. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.
In penguin shouler stretch place the back of the hands against the sides of the waist with elbows bent and pointing forwards. One option is to place the knees outside the elbows and use the legs to push the elbows towards each other. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

To increase this shoulder stretch widen the knees and place the elbows inside the knees. Then use the legs to stretch the shoulders by slowly squeezing the knees inwards.

As you deepen the stretch you can move your shoulders forwards and inwards. To resist the stretch press the elbows outwards. So that you still stretch the shoulders, make the knees stronger than the arms.

Pull Back

This shoulder stretch can be a nice to way to decompress the shoulders after doing penguin (the previous shoulder stretch.)

One option for stretching between the shoulder blades is to sit with feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent. Cross the arms and grab the opposite foot with both arms. Pull the ribcage back, away from the feet to stretch the shoulders. Move torso up or down to vary the stretch. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.
One option for stretching between the shoulder blades is to sit with feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent. Cross the arms and grab the opposite foot with both arms. Pull the ribcage back, away from the feet to stretch the shoulders. Move torso up or down to vary the stretch. You can also do this stretch one arm at a time by letting go of one foot. Neil Keleher. Sensational Yoga Poses.

Sit with knees bent and grab the outer edge of both feet with the opposite hand.

Pull your ribcage backwards, away from your feet to stretch the back of your shoulders. Try sitting up taller or hunching your back to vary the stretch.

Then switch your arms and repeat.

You can also do this pose one arm at a time either grabbing the opposite foot or the same side foot.

More Shoulder and Arm Stretching Options

For more shoulder strengthening, stretching and awareness exercises, check out the Yoga for Your Shoulders ebook.

Published: 2011 07 29
Updated: 2021 03 10
Clearly defined poses, exercises and stretches for improving stability, body awareness and flexibility.
Main menu
Page TOC

Return to TOP of Page