A note about form: While your head is in the neutral position, be sure to tuck the chin somewhat so that the back of the neck is straight. This small movement helps improve your posture and makes the stretch safer. Always back off if you feel pinching or pain. 

Threading the needlestretches the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and upper back.

1. Start on your hands and knees.
   
   
2. Reach your right arm out to the side and then“thread the needle” by sliding your arm underneath the opposite shouldertoward the left side of the room.
   
   
3. You should now be resting on your right shoulder.
   
   
4. Lower your head so that it is resting on the floor.
   
   
5. You can use your left hand to stabilize the pose bykeeping it close to your right arm, or you can stretch it overhead for anadded side stretch.
   
   
6. Hold the pose for ten breaths before gently raisingyourself back to your hands and knees.
   
   
7. Repeat on the opposite side.

Eagle arms stretch your shoulders and upper back muscles. For this exercise, sit up as straight as possible using a chair, yoga block, or meditation cushion.

1. Spread your arms out to a T-position.
   
   
2. Holding your arms straight, cross the arms in frontof you with one on top of the other until the insides of your elbows meet.
   
   
3. Turn your hands so that you can see your palms andbend at the elbows.
   
   
4. If this is enough of a stretch for you, stop here!Otherwise, you can twine the arms around each other until the hands meet,palm to palm.
   
   
5. From here, hold and breathe for ten breaths.Optional: Add small movements by pulsing the elbows and hands up and down.
   
   
6. Repeat pulse ten times.
   
   
7. Repeat the exercise on the other side by crossingthe opposite arm on top.

 A note about form: Staying straight through the spine is important in this exercise. This shoulder pain relief exercise decreases in potency when you slouch. Your pelvis should be tipped forward slightly with your abs lightly engaged. 

This classic yoga pose is the perfect shoulder and chest opener. It can be done with your hands on the wall or directly on the floor, depending on your flexibility. 

1. Start on the floor on your hands and knees. If youneed to modify, start with your hands flat against the wall.
   
   
2. Gently lift yourself into a downward-facing down bystraightening through the knees and elbows. Keep a slight bend in both toprevent overextending your joints. If your hands are on the wall, slowlywalk them lower until you feel the stretch.
   
   
3. Stay here if this is enough of a stretch, thinkingabout lifting your sit bones toward the ceiling.
   
   
4. Optional: Rock from downward dog to a plank andback. Rocking helps work out some of the kinks in your shoulders.
   
   
5. When in a plank pose, be sure to press up throughthe shoulders, creating space between the shoulder blades. Engage thecore.

This classic yoga pose is the perfect shoulder and chest opener. It can be done with your hands on the wall or directly on the floor, depending on your flexibility. From a downward-facing dog, you can easily transition to this yoga resting pose. Child’s pose stretches the shoulders, neck, and chest.

1. Start on your hands and knees.
   
   
2. Press the sitting bones back until you are sittingon your heels (or as close as you can easily get them). If it is morecomfortable for your lower back, you can keep your feet together and takethe knees wide.
   
   
3. Stretch the arms out in front of you and lower yourchest toward the floor.
   
   
4. For those of you who work in an office, you can adda small side stretch in a child’s pose by gently walking the hands to oneside or the other. This will help decompress the mid and low back as well.

We all know that we needto burn more calories than we put into the body to lose weight. The same istrue of tension. To keep tension from building up and causing bigger problemsin the long run, we need to remove the tension as often as possible. Add a fewof these exercises to your day for shoulder pain relief.

When you're not stretching, Kailo canalleviate pain and help reduce tension. Apply your Kailopain patch near the area of your shoulder where you feel the pain and enjoythe rest of your day. You can also wear Kailo while you do the stretches forextra shoulder pain relief.