"Every now and then, I catch myself subtly squeezing my shoulder blades together while sitting at my laptop, in long conferences, or even waiting at the airport. It feels surprisingly satisfying, almost like a mini reset. Eventually, I learned why: my shoulders were constantly in a rounded, forward slump, and that small squeeze was my body's way of waking up my upper back."
"That's likely because the upper back tightens not only because of how we sit or work; it also reflects how we feel. Research shows that an upright posture is associated with higher self-esteem, better mood, and lower levels of fear, whereas slumped or rounded posture tends to reinforce negative emotions and fatigue. It's easy to forget our lifestyles-including how we sit and scroll-affect our physical and emotional states. And it's why the upper back deserves more attention than it usually gets."
Many people habitually adopt rounded, forward-slumped shoulders that prompt brief scapular squeezes as self-relief. The thoracic spine runs from the base of the neck to the bottom of the rib cage, allows twisting and reaching, supports the shoulders and neck, and attaches to the ribs to permit lung expansion. Balanced shoulder 'straps' draw shoulders back and down, lift the chest, and distribute head and neck weight evenly, creating space to breathe and move with ease. Upper-back tightness stems from posture and emotional state, and modern lifestyles increase thoracic stiffness and related tension.
Read at Yoga Journal
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