5 Puppy Pose Variations for Open Shoulders
5 Puppy Pose Variations for Open Shoulders
One of my favorite stretches to work shoulder flexibility - especially if you’re trying to open up your shoulders in your bridge - is puppy pose. And just like with any flexibility work, it’s helpful to work on both your passive and active stretching, so here’s a short sequence to help you do both, utilizing different variations of the classic puppy pose.
A quick note on shoulder position in puppy pose: I prefer to teach puppy pose with a focus on external rotation in the shoulders because that is typically the arm position we use when we are doing more advanced backbends. Yoga instructors may cue this pose with arms/shoulders internally rotated - there’s nothing incorrect or wrong with that variation (in fact, I find it feels more “relaxing”). But I find it’s more common for students to struggle with the external rotation required for deeper bridges, so I prefer to emphasize working that range of motion.
Follow-Along Video:
Pose Breakdowns:
“Regular” Puppy Pose
Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position
Keeping your hips stacked over your knees (thighs should stay vertical the whole time), start walking your hands forwards as your drop your head, chest, and armpits down towards the floor. Keep arms straight, and shoulder blades “hugging” towards the front of your ribs/chest (instead of squeezing together toward your spine)
A helpful cue to make sure your shoulders are externally rotating is to think about hugging the outside edges of your armpits down towards the floor
The goal is to feel the stretch somewhere in your shoulder girdle - depending on your flexibility, this may be the tops of your shoulders, somewhere in your armpits, or even in your lats slightly behind/below your armpits. Puppy pose should be a comfortable stretch. If you feel any pinching in your shoulders or tingling in your hands/arms, that might be a sign that you’re pinching a nerve - if you feel either of those, ease up and try to set up your puppy pose again, hugging the outside of your armpits towards the floor, but trying not to sink quite as low.
Relax and hold here for 20-30 seconds
Walk your hands back towards your knees as you lift back up to your tabletop position, and alternate gently bending one elbow, then the other to let some of the tension go, or take a round or two of Cat/Cow - think of this as a quick “reset” before doing your next round of puppy work
Options to make it harder:
Raise yourself up on your fingertips, lifting your wrists an inch or two higher off the ground
Elevate your hands on yoga blocks
2. Active Puppy Press
Start in your “regular” puppy pose (see above), making sure you are hugging the outside edges of your armpits down toward the floor
Keeping your head and chest low to the ground, start pressing your palms into the floor, like you’re trying to push the floor away from your face. Push hard, really make your shoulders work - your arms might even shake a bit you are pushing so hard
Hold this active press into the floor for a slow count of 10
Then relax: stop actively pushing your palms into the floor, and return to your relaxed “regular” puppy pose
Hang out in your relaxed puppy pose for another 10-20 seconds
Options to make it harder:
Elevate your hands on yoga blocks
3. Puppy Pose with Neck Extensions
Start in your “regular” puppy pose, with your forehead relaxing down towards the mat
If you are a bendy person and can normally get your chin on the ground in puppy pose, place your hands on blocks so you can feel a nice stretch even as your head drops down to the floor
Keeping your chest and armpits low, slowly lift your head, either gazing towards your fingertips, or even trying to look up towards the ceiling. You may find that when you lift your head, you’re able to relax your armpits even a half inch closer to the ground
Slowly lower your head back down to the mat. Repeat slowly lifting and lowering your head, about the speed you would do a Cat/Cow stretch (“slow and controlled” is the name of the game!)
Repeat for a total of 6-10 head lifts in your puppy pose
Options to make it harder:
Elevate your hands on yoga blocks
4. Bent Elbow Puppy Pose
Start on your hands and knees on all fours
Place your bent elbows down on the floor, shoulder width apart. You can interlace your fingers, or bring hands to a prayer pose
Drop your chest down towards the floor
Hold for 20-30 seconds
Options to make it harder:
Elevate your elbows on yoga blocks
Hold a yoga block between your hands to keep your hands farther apart
5. Puppy Arm Lifts
Start in your “regular” puppy pose, with your forehead relaxing down towards the mat
Shifting your weight to your left side, press firmly into your left hand so you can lift your right arm
Avoid letting one shoulder drop towards the floor, keep your chest square with the floor without twisting. You may need to lift your chest slightly now that you only have one hand for support - this will feel much harder than regular puppy pose!
Rotate your (lifted) right hand so your palm faces in and thumb reaches towards the ceiling
Slowly lift and lower your right arm, trying to keep it straight, thumb reaching towards the ceiling, 5-10 times
Repeat on the left side
Options to make it easier:
Lift your chest farther away from the floor (the farther away from the floor, the less work your supporting arm will have to do), or come on up to a tabletop to do your arm lifts
