One of the most common questions people have when they come to yoga is
Neck pain and tight shoulders are such a common problem that there could be classes with only yoga for neck and shoulders, and they would still be full.
Because yoga can help with these problems. Immensely. This is what yoga does, it helps you with tight muscles, and it relaxes you.
I’m going to tell you a little bit about my favorite yoga poses I do when my neck or shoulders hurt.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Neck pain causes
Before we get into the poses let’s quickly look at the common causes of neck pain.
The first, and probably the most common reason for neck pain is that we have tight shoulders.
The “office shoulders”
We sit with rounded shoulders in front of the computer all day, especially all of us laptop workers. And our shoulders become tight and imbalanced. And this can lead to extremely uncomfortable feelings up to real pain.
Neck pain from stress
Another typical reason for neck pain is stress. If you’re anything like me, you tend to pull up your shoulders when you’re stressed. You pull up your shoulders without noticing and everything gets tight.
Related: 10 easy Yoga poses for stress relief – Try them now!
Related: How to lower cortisol levels with restorative Yoga
Then your neck starts hurting and then you might even get a headache from your neck pain. Awesome! (Not!)
Neck pain relief
My first way to find neck pain relief is to do some yoga stretches that will release my neck and shoulders and help me let go of the tension.
Simple Yoga neck stretch
This one is my favorite of the yoga poses for neck and shoulder tension: Sit in easy pose, which means simply sitting cross-legged. And then stretch your neck from there.
So I’ll try to bring my right ear to my right shoulder while keeping the left shoulder down. Watch out for this, it will want to come up!
This leads to a nice stretch on the left side of the neck. I hold this for a moment. And then I move over to the other side trying to put my left ear on my left shoulder.
(Obviously, I won’t manage to put my ear there. But imagining that you’re trying to go there will give you the right stretch.)
I do this for a few times. And then I move into a few Yin yoga poses.
If you don’t have time for several yoga poses for neck tension, definitely do this one. It’s so quick and easy that you can practice it at your desk at any time.
Yin yoga for neck and shoulders
Yin Yoga has quite a few benefits for neck and shoulders. Because both of those areas can be quite vulnerable, it can be better to stick to relaxing poses that you hold for a while and let the muscles relax.
It’s basically rather restorative yoga for neck and shoulders.
Threading the needle
The first pose that is really nice to stretch your shoulders is threading the needle.
For this you start on all fours, with your hands over your shoulders and your knees over your hips.
Then you move your right arm under your left so that your right shoulder and your head move to the floor. Look to the left.
Hold this for at least 30 seconds up to two minutes.
And then you do the same on the other side. This will give you a nice to stretch in your shoulders and also help to release your neck.
Supported child’s pose
When it comes to restorative yoga for neck pain, you can’t skip out on a nice, supported child’s pose.
From being on all fours sit back on your heels and let your upper body fold forward over your knees.
Before putting your forehead on the floor, you might want to put a comfortable pillow there, so that your head and neck can completely relax.
(If you plan on doing restorative yoga more often, it’s a good idea to invest in a yoga bolster like this one.* But any other pillow that’s not too soft will do just fine as well.)
Related: 12 of the best restorative yoga gifts for some yogic R&R
Related: How to lower cortisol levels with restorative Yoga
Bring your arms alongside the body and imagine you’re breathing into your upper back and neck.
Let go completely and enjoy the feeling of sweet release.
While most yin yoga poses seem to rather focus on the shoulders, this one classifies as yin yoga for neck pain, too, in my opinion. Thanks to the pillow, your neck pain can get some real relief!
It also works really well if you’ve worked out too hard and need some yoga for a sore neck and shoulders.
Related: Yoga for upper back pain: 5 easy stretches that will bring relief
Puppy pose
Another pose that you could try is puppy pose.
And I personally do two variations of that. One of them is the classical puppy pose, which is getting on all fours and then while keeping your hips directly over your knees walking your hands out until they can’t go any further.
This means that your upper body and chest will come towards the floor, and you feel a nice stretch in the shoulders. Make sure to keep your neck long.
Don’t look up because this way you could compress your neck which is the opposite of what you want to achieve here.
The second way I do puppy pose when I feel have really tight shoulders is at the wall or even on my kitchen cupboard. It’s a perfect stretch for when I’m making myself a coffee.
Related: Get it straight: 7 Yoga poses to improve your posture
Eagle arms
Last but not least to additionally loosen my tight shoulders, I will do the eagle arms pose. Because I have a hard time describing how to do that properly, I will put a video for you below.
You can just follow along and you feel that awesome release in your shoulders and upper back.
No more tight shoulders!
I hope these poses helped you get some relief from your neck pain and tight shoulders. For me they are lifesavers, so I wanted to share them. If they helped you, why don’t you also share them with someone?
*These links are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Hi, I’m Leo, the Yogi behind Yogabullet. I’ve been practicing Yoga for over 10 years now.
My goal with this blog is to show people how Yoga can help anyone, no matter how fit they are, to love their body and their life more.
I’ve experienced the life-changing power of Yoga myself and made it my mission to share this with as many people as possible.
I am a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance, which acknowledges the completion of a yoga teacher training with a Registered Yoga School (RYS).