I tried these six upper-back and shoulder stretches and they provided immediate relief

Less than 10 minutes of stretching can make a big difference

Woman sitting at a table with an open laptop in front of her. She has her eyes closed and her arms are intertwined in eagle pose. She is wearing a light blue sleeveless top and has shoulder-length brown hair
(Image credit: Koldunov / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
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My shoulders and upper back are almost always stiff. Whether it's from pushing myself at the gym doing upper-body dumbbell exercises or being hunched over my laptop for most of the day, these areas of my body hold a lot of tension.

To offset the damage of my desk job and ease muscle soreness, I'm trying to incorporate some simple stretches into my routine that will mobilize my shoulders and back.

Yoga instructor Emily Mouu recently shared a stretching routine on Instagram that fits this bill.

Mouu says her six moves will help to release tension and improve your posture. They will strengthen and stretch different areas of the upper body, improve mobility, and reduce stiffness and achiness, especially if done regularly.

I decided to give these stretches a go on my lunch break to bring some movement into my day.

How to do Emily Mouu's upper-back and shoulder mobility routine

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You won't need any equipment to do this routine—I just rolled out my yoga mat to cushion my knees although you could do these stretches directly on the floor or a towel if you prefer.

Mouu doesn't specify how many reps to do, so I performed each movement until I felt a deeper stretch and my muscles felt relaxed, which was about 8-10 times.

My experience trying Emily Mouu's mobility routine

The movements in this routine provided immediate relief from the tension that had built up in my shoulders and upper back.

My muscles completely relaxed particularly with the scorpion flip and folded circles, and I felt far less stiff after completing them.

The tabletop rock offered strengthening and stretching benefits, as I felt my core and shoulders engaged. I'll return to this exercise when I need a strengthening mobility move again.

This routine took me less than 10 minutes and when I was back at my desk, I sat up a little bit straighter, with my upper body feeling far happier.

I’ll try to incorporate these movements into my routine a few times a week to see long-term improvements in my shoulder and upper-back mobility.

Alice Porter
Freelancer Writer

Alice Porter is a freelance journalist covering lifestyle topics including health, fitness and wellness. She is particularly interested in women's health, strength training and fitness trends and writes for publications including Stylist Magazine, Refinery29, The Independent and Glamour Magazine. Like many other people, Alice's personal interest in combining HIIT training with strength work quickly turned into a CrossFit obsession and she trains at a box in south London. When she's not throwing weights around or attempting handstand push-ups, you can probably find her on long walks in nature, buried in a book or hopping on a flight to just about anywhere it will take her.

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