Child's Pose Arm Lifts

Flexopedia > Shoulders

Child's Pose Arm Lifts

Muscle Group(s) Stretched: Shoulders

Muscle Group(s) Strengthened: Shoulder flexion, shoulder external rotation

Type of Stretch: Active Dynamic

Difficulty: All-Levels

Suggested Prerequisites: none

If you want to multitask with some active flexibility for your shoulders in your child’s pose - this drill is for you!

How To

Step 1

Start in a comfortable child’s pose with both arms straight in front of you.

Step 2

Make a thumbs-up sign with your right hand, pointing your thumb towards the ceiling, wrapping the outside of your right armpit towards the floor. Keeping the arm straight, lift the arm off the floor, keeping the thumb pointing straight up (don’t let it start to point in towards your midline). Slowly lower back down.

Step 3

Repeat for 8-12 arm lifts, then switch sides.

Modifications

Need to make it easier?

Slide your hands closer to your knees to lift your chest - this will make it a bit easier to lift the arm off the floor

Want to make it harder?

Place your hands on yoga blocks to start in a deeper shoulder stretch (only recommended if you can lift the arm higher than block height to begin with)

Related Content

• Flexopedia: Child's Pose

• Flexopedia: Puppy Pose

• Blog Post: [Video] 5 Puppy Pose Variations for Open Shoulders

• Blog Post: The Importance of “External Shoulder Rotation” in a Backbend

• Blog Post: How to Get More Open Shoulders in a Bridge