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Create a Free AccountYoga for the Upper Back
This class is a deep release for the shoulders and upper back, making it perfect for a variety of people, including musicians, new parents, office workers and athletes. It targets all of the muscles connecting to the upper back and shoulders, providing relief from tightness, aches and pain... all in less than 40 minutes!
This can either be done as a stand-alone class or as Day 12 of Grounding and Strength 14-Day Beginner Yoga Challenge.
Yoga for the Upper Back Playlist (to be played with the class)
Click on playlist below and press play when the class begins.



Note: You will need a subscription for access to Apple Music, and for music to play ad-free on Spotify and YouTube Music. You will also need to adjust the volume to your preference.
- Strap
Comments
Existing Comments
This yoga session is like magic for my upper back after I've been at the computer for several hours and unconsciously slouching and leaning on the elbow of the hand holding the mouse. My upper back pain can be unbearable for days until I remember to do this yoga session. It works every time and works even better if I keep doing it daily. Truely magic. Thank you David for creating and sharing this session with us.
thank you for this excellent sequence.
Amazing challenge and ways of employing arm twists to the floor. As always you are masterful and helpful, David.
Wonderful stretch and release class David, your expert directions throughout are invaluable. Thank you!
I LOVE this class. have done many times for my sore neck and poor posture.
Great help for my very sore neck. Thorough, extremely effective & I enjoyed the attention to savasana as well.
Wow - I can't remember the last time my upper back/arms/shoulders have felt so relaxed! I'm loving this feeling! Thank you!
Wow that was a tough one for me David, lots of shaking arms but at the end I felt wonderful and open. Thank you so much!
Wonderful practise. Thanks a lot🙏
Powerful and strengthening, thank you David
Very nice thank you David. I found the one challenging in the best way and look forward to returning to it again soon.
Got some super, much-needed deep stretches in my upper spine and shoulders
I'm rehabilitating a frozen shoulder: this class is perfect. David's meditation at the start and end leads you in and out beautifully.
JMcQ
My shoulders are always tight and these stretches, different from the ones you usually see, are very effective for me.
It amazes me each time I do this class, how effective it really is. This class has the equivalent effect of a chiro adjustment and massage for me. As I hold the poses and make the slight adjustments with David's ques, I can hear and feel my joints making small pops and letting go. SO helpful as a chronic headache sufferer.
I keep coming back to this class over and over again. Definitely one of my favorites on this site. Thank you David, for the gentle guidance and the wonderful release for the back and shoulders!
Wonderful as always!
This is my go-to class for anyone with a desk-job! My shoulders, neck and back thank me after doing this video and do it every couple of weeks for maintenance. Wonderful class.
This helped so much. Thank you!!
Incredible....exactly what I needed! Thank you!
This old arthritic body thanks you so much...
Perfect for my tight neck and upper back!
10.25
I'll be back for this class. Thank you!
Thank You David , detailed and thorough teaching with simplicity and grace.
For anyone who holds tension in their shoulders. There are some releases that I haven't done before, in addition to puppy pose, dolphin and a few others. My shoulders and back felt great afterwards!
Agreed: wow! I feel great - and humbled by how much stiffness I have in these areas. A great class to return to - so many gems in here. Thank you. Namaste.
Wow, great shoulder stretches. I really enjoyed that, thank you.
Excellent class for the upper back, with chest openers to support releasing the upper back - and amazing pec/front shoulder stretches for me. I had no idea I needed that so much! Thank you. ❤️
Gratitude for this class is what I am feeling. The pace and the excellent verbal instructions made this a perfect class for not only upper back and shoulder release but also for wonderful moments of mental and emotional release. Namaste David and thank you.
David led me to an opening in my back that I may have never felt before! Great release.
So good. I find this really helpful as a prenatal class as I’m experiencing some back pain in the 2nd trimester.
Thank you David, I love this class and your gentle way of teaching. After an frozen shoulder injury, this is exactly what I needed ❤️
I have been doing this class regularly for more than a year and love the long, extended stretches throughout. So good. Opens up and relaxes so many muscles. It is a great companion to David’s “Yoga for Lower Back Pain II”.
I have been doing this class regularly for more than a year and love the long, extended stretches throughout. So good. Opens up and relaxes so many muscles. It is a great companion to David’s “Yoga for Lower Back Pain II”.
This class is essential for anyone who works with their upper body. I feel more space in my upper back than I've felt in a looooong time.. I am so grateful for this website and all of the amazing teachers on here. Thanks so much, David!
FYI for those wanting to do this class -- it's not very glasses-friendly; if you need glasses to see what's going on, you might need to substitute out some of the stretches or you'll find yourself taking them off and putting them back on a lot.
Great shoulder and upper back work. Thanks David. Love how you took us through relaxation in corpse pose.
I found this to be a relaxed class with determined shoulder stretches. There is a nice slow beginning which David manages to maintain all the way through. It's a paradox that there is effort but the class also seems relaxing. The mysteries of yoga! Thank you David
This is a great class that I revisit often to help release my shoulders, neck and upper back ! It is challenging and very rewarding. Thank you so much !
Thanks David, a fabulous class to loosen up my notoriously tight shoulders. Thankyou so much for your work :)
Perfect way to release the neck, shoulders and upper back in preparation for sleep
This class is very helpful to release my shoulders, which eases up on a pinched nerve that causes a lot of neck pain. Wonderful on a rainy Sunday morning with my coffee :)
Felt a very unique sense of challenge in this one. I clearly need to revisit this. Thanks!
Thanks a lot- excellent release
I found dolphin post with elbows in tight as much as I can, and following David's guidance, to be the most intense top shoulder/neck stretch that I've ever found! Bunny pose type feeling but easier to go deeper!
Thank you so much for this class, it's really helpful. Haven't felt like this in years!
Namaste
Thank you, David! Excellent video! I feel like I have a brand new set of shoulders after this video.
I’ve had osteoarthritis for a decade and yoga has helped me keep mobile and enjoy life.
This was really helpful. Thank you, David. Namaste.
I have two pinched nerves in my neck. I’ve been doing the Yoga for Upper Back throughout the week for a couple of years. It’s really helped me, and I refer to it as my neck saver. Thank you!