With the glorification of unhealthy habits in our fast-paced world today, such as working at a desk for 8 hours straight, or constantly looking down at a phone, or stressing out the body by carrying all the grocery bags in one trip, it’s no surprise that the number of people suffering from neck and back pain are increasing rapidly.

In this blog post, we will explore the common causes of rounded shoulders, risk factors, and how you can fix it before it’s too late.

What causes rounded shoulders?

There are many causes of rounded shoulders, but the most common ones that we face today are:

• Standing or sitting in the same position for a prolonged period
• Constantly looking at a phone or computer that is not at eye level
• Sleeping in a poor position
• Carrying heavy items
• Overloading the upper body with certain activities or exercises done repetitively
• Not incorporating enough movement in your daily routine

What happens if you don’t fix rounded shoulders?

Everything you do, on a daily basis, helps shape your posture. If you already have rounded shoulders, leaving it untreated will only make it harder to correct in the future as the muscles are retrained into thinking that the hunched shoulders and bent neck are your natural state.

If you do not start to pay attention to your rounded shoulders, and correct them, these are some of the problems you can expect to occur over time:

• Upper, middle, and lower back pain
• Tightness and pain in the neck
• Text neck syndrome
• Postural kyphosis
• Frequent headaches and migraines
• Difficulty in breathing
• Poor blood circulation
• Increased levels of stress

How to correct rounded shoulders?

When we are reminded to “sit straight” or to “stop hunching”, we often just stand up a little straighter, or lengthen from our middle back. While this does improve the position of the spine, it does nothing to help our rounded shoulders.

To properly correct a rounded shoulder posture, we must change the position of the shoulder blades over the rib cage. The best way to do this is to gently roll the shoulders back, and down, squeezing the bottom angles of the shoulder blades lightly together without lifting the chest. This will move the shoulder blades aligning them on top of the ribs which help strengthen the trapezius muscles that are intended to hold the shoulders in place.

Once we get the shoulder blades positioned down and back, we now must work to keep them there. This requires a multi-faceted approach including body awareness, stretching, strengthening, and retraining the brain.

Here are a few exercises you can try to help correct rounded shoulders:

1. Cobra Pose / Spinal Extension

Start by lying face-down on your mat. Keep your palms under your shoulders. As you inhale, use your back muscles (avoid pressing into your palms initially) to lengthen through your spine and lift, peeling your head and chest off the mat. Keep your shoulders down and back and keep your neck in a neutral position – think of looking towards the top off your mat, so your head is not fully extended up or fully flexed down.

Now gently pressing into your palms, lift your upper body a little further. Keep your elbows tucked into your waist. Hold for 3 deep breaths, and gently release.

*Please note: This is not the conventional way to enter cobra pose. This has been modified, with different cues and muscle awareness, to help reverse rounded shoulders.

2. Cobra Pose

Start by coming on to your knees with your toes tucked, keeping them hip distance apart.

From here, place your palms on your lower back (fingers pointing down, pink fingers together). Roll your shoulders back, lengthen through your spine, and engage your glutes. Keeping your glutes engaged, push your hips forward as you start to drop your head back, rounding from the top of your spine down to your mid-back.

Option 2 (pictured above):

If you have practiced this a few times and would like to go a little deeper, try this option.

From your backbend, start to release your right palm towards your right heel, and then the left side.

Whichever option you are in, make sure you do not hold your breath. Keep breathing, and after 5 breaths, slowly come back out the same way.

*Please note: This is a deep backbend (especially option 2), so feel free to relax in Child’s pose for a minute after practicing this.

3. Downward Dog

Start on all fours, hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Tuck your toes and press into your palms and feet to lift your hips up.

Gently tilt your pelvis back (think of lifting your tailbone up), keeping your neck in neutral and your arms in line with your ears.

*Please note: if you have tight hamstrings, or you are struggling to lift your hips high, keep a bend in your knees, focus on getting your belly closer to your thighs, and try to align your arms with your ears.

Looking for more?

Practice with us now – our 25 Min Yoga for Rounded Shoulders + Better Posture video is live on YouTube: