Ribcage Mobility & Care

This 10 minute quick-fix uses a therapy ball to help mobilize the rib cage and shoulders while helping to improve neck alignment and pain.

Join me online for a deep exploration of our neck and shoulders. Enjoy a therapy ball massage along your shoulder blade and rotator cuff muscles, decompress and realign the cervical vertebrae of your neck, learn chest opening stretches to improve posture and reduce strain and injury to your neck and shoulders, and learn how to gently release your neck in a way that will help to stretch your muscles and ‘floss’ the important nerves that travel from your neck into your shoulders and arms. Experience the neck and shoulder relief and repair that Therapeutic Yoga offers! I look forward to seeing you in class!

Join me for a relaxing class designed to improve the mobility of our shoulders, realign our neck, and reduce pain in the entire upper body. In this class we will learn how our upper back and shoulder alignment affect the health and alignment of our neck. We will explore techniques that help to improve our posture, reduce tightness and adhesions in our shoulders, and reduce any pain or misalignment in our neck. Explore the 'hidden culprits' that often fly under the radar of our awareness and quietly cause referral pain in other areas and learn how to release them through a safe process that will make both your neck and shoulders happier and healthier!

In this video we discuss the diaphragm, our body's main respiratory muscle. We debunk certain myths about how to strengthen the diaphragm, and learn the most effective ways to stretch, strengthen, and make space for your diaphragm to move better. Better breathing starts with this class!

In this class we will explore the ribcage, it's attachments, and the fascial network which connects the tissues of our arms, shoulders, and neck into this intricate structure of stability and mobility. With so many different layers of muscle crossing and affecting the balance of our ribcage, it's common to see adhesions running between multiple layers of muscle that can distort our healthy range of motion and lead to compensatory patterns that cause a wide array of misalignments and injuries which can affect our shoulders and arms, our neck and jaw, spine, lower back and pelvis, respiration, and even the alignment of our feet! When fascial forces start restricting movement and creating imbalances in the ribcage, not only will we see the classic signs of impingement, soreness, and cramping in the area between and around our shoulder blades, but also large scale postural shifts which often manifest and pain and injury in seemingly unrelated areas of the body. Join us for this class and explore how to identify, treat, and repattern the sticky areas in your ribcage which may be leading to your pain and misalignment!

The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle at the base of your ribcage which separates your lung cavity from your abdominal cavity and functions as your primary muscle of respiration, controlling over 75% of your capacity to breath. Since breathing is our most vital function, we can immediately appreciate how important the diaphragm is to living life! However, your diaphragm allows you to do more than just breath. It also acts as part of our body's core support system, helping to control our posture, it aids in digestive processes, mobilizes your abdominal organs, helps your kidneys filter toxins, controls internal pressure, prevents acid reflux, aids in lymphatic movement, and helps to control tone in our parasympathetic nervous system. This single muscle is the master of many important body functions, and yet it rarely receives the attention or care it deserves! In this class we will learn to strengthen, stretch, and mobilize this critical muscle, as well as exploring ways to remove fascial adhesions, increase efficiency, and repair any areas that have opportunities for better health and diaphragmatic happiness. This class will leave you feeling more relaxed, more alive, and more connected to your breath and the possibilities it brings to life!

Using a combination of decompression, fascial rolling, and stretching techniques, this class will help you to restore the natural mobility of your ribcage. Breathe better, reduce stress, and relieve pain in your upper back, shoulders, ribs, and neck with regular practice of this class!

Your lower back pain has an upper back story. Last week, we dove deep into the thoracolumbar fascia and its role in chronic lower back pain. This week, we follow that same fascial chain upward — because the TLF doesn't stop at your lower back. It continues all the way to your skull, meaning that tightness, stiffness, or dysfunction in your upper back and neck can be a hidden driver of lower back pain you may never have thought to connect. Think of your spine as one long, continuous rope of connective tissue — pull on one end, and the tension travels the entire length. In this class, we explore how the fascia of the upper back acts like a fitted stocking wrapped around the deep spinal muscles, anchoring into the bony ridges of your spine and fanning out to attach along your ribs. When we spend our days hunched at a desk, this tissue becomes thick, sticky, and immobile — and when you try to rotate or twist, instead of gliding smoothly the way it was designed to, it grips and tugs, forcing your lower back or neck to pick up the slack. Over time, that compensation quietly becomes your chronic pain. Through targeted yoga movement, we'll restore natural rotation through the upper back, coax those fascial layers back into fluid motion, and take the hidden load off your lower back for good.

In this class we explore ways to unravel the tension and fascial adhesions which so commonly cause pain and restriction in our ribs, neck, shoulders, and upper back. Ribcage adhesions are often the silent culprits behind many kinds of upper body pain, and this class will show you how to unravel the tension and improve mobility and capacity in all of these areas!

Join us as we discuss the anatomy of the Trapezius muscles and learn how to release them. These muscles are one of the common culprits in causing spasms in the rib space between our shoulder blades and spine, as well as pain in and around our neck and the top of our shoulders. First we will learn what and where the trapezius are, then to feel the activation and function of each region of this rather large muscle, we will learn how to use therapy balls and other rolling tools to massage and release, stretches to lengthen and repair. The result? Freedom of movement, feelings of increased vitality, and a happier, healthier upper back, neck, and shoulders! Please also remember that our traps can often be a source of tension headaches or triggers for pain in other areas. If you experience headaches or pain, please stop and be sure to leave me a comment in the Yoga on Demand Community Hub. We can adjust this routine to make it safe for individual needs, and let's face it, we all have different habits associated to our traps. I'd love to hear more about yours!

The health of our ribs affects absolutely everything in our body! In today’s class we will take a deep, therapeutic look at the function and health of our ribcage and its many interactions with our neck. We will seek to decompress, mobilize, and balance the tensions and forces that stabilize and move our ribcage, in turn balancing the tension forces that affect the alignment of our neck, as well as the movement possibilities for our lower back. We will hydrate and mobilize our fascia, improve space for healthy breathing, stretch and release our upper back, chest, shoulders, and neck, and leave class feeling open, vibrant, and balanced!

Break the cycle of chronic tension. In this class, we explore the vital role of ribcage mobility in overall health. You will learn to identify the root causes of ribcage dysfunction and understand how it manifests as pain or restriction in the shoulders, neck, jaw, lower back, and hips. Beyond structural alignment, a rigid ribcage can obstruct natural breathing, compromise balance, and impact organ health. Using a systematic approach of decompression, fascial rolling, and targeted stretching, we will unwind deep-seated tension to restore fluid movement and total-body balance.

Complete the chain and release the grip of tech neck. Complete your journey through the spine’s deep support network this week! After exploring the lower back’s thoracolumbar fascia and the mid-upper back’s thoracic fascia, our final live online class in this mini series targets the nuchal fascia. Located at the back of the neck, this thick band of connective tissue anchors your neck muscles to your skull and upper spine. Poor posture, "tech neck," and stress cause it to become stiff, thick, and dehydrated, leading to chronic neck pain, tension headaches, restricted movement, dowager humps, and spinal degeneration. In this session, we will use targeted fascial rolling, gentle stretching, and spinal decompression techniques to release trapped tension, restore hydration, and rejuvenate this vital tissue. Join me live online this week to unlock your neck and complete the chain!

In this class we will take a deep dive into our ribcage and learn how key fascial connections between the ‘serratus anterior’ and ‘rhomboid’ muscles, when tight or adhered, can often become a source of pain for both our ribs and neck. Loosening and mobilizing these tissues around our ribs can not only create easier breathing and less shoulder and upper back pain, but it can also increase the range of motion and health of our neck and shoulders. Our neck and head have an incredible amount of compensation that they are subjected to since they are the highest part of our body in the field of gravity. As such, they have to adjust to every misalignment, adhesion, and injury that is below them. Without restructuring the ribcage, it can be almost impossible to get the neck to heal, but when the ribcage improves, the neck will automatically benefit from the space created which, in turn, allows it to recognize new opportunities for better alignment with less compensation. Through decompression, fascial rolling, mobilization, and long-hold stretches, we will learn to give our ribcage what it needs to restore the natural movements which should be available to it, and set the foundation for what our neck needs in order for it to be able to heal and feel better!

Do you get pain and tension between your shoulder blades? Tight shoulders that feel pinchy when you lift your arms up? Do you experience tightness or restriction in your breathing or chest muscles? This class will help with all these things and more! Join me as we decompress and mobilize our thoracic spine by loosening key fascial structures surrounding the ribcage and shoulders, safely introduce new ranges of aligned motion, and nourish our spine to help reduce pain and speed recovery towards movement liberation!

Do you get pain in your shoulders or upper back? Do you feel pinchy sensations in the joint when you go to lift your arms up? Do you experience weakness, or a slow recovery from shoulder exercises? Do you use your arms regularly throughout the day? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are likely in need of some shoulder repair and maintenance! The human shoulder is and incredibly complex joint, and in this class we will take a multifaceted approach to it's care, learning how to decompress and realign the joints, hydrate and repair their fascia and musculature, and mobilize and balance their range of motion. When our shoulders are healthy and mobile, our upper back and neck can relax, our ribcage can function better, and we can enjoy the enhanced vibrancy and enjoyment that only happy shoulders can provide! Join me for this upper body exploration and learn what yoga therapy can do for your shoulders and your life!

The health of our ribs affects absolutely everything in our body! In today’s class we will take a deep, therapeutic look at the function and health of our ribcage and its many interactions with our neck. We will seek to decompress, mobilize, and balance the tensions and forces that stabilize and move our ribcage, in turn balancing the tension forces that affect the alignment of our neck, as well as the movement possibilities for our lower back. We will hydrate and mobilize our fascia, improve space for healthy breathing, stretch and release our upper back, chest, shoulders, and neck, and leave class feeling open, vibrant, and balanced!

Using fascial rolling, decompression techniques, and deep stretches, we will explore ways to release the tension and pressure that restricts our ribs and shoulders from enjoying their full range of motion. This routine will help to decompress your upper spine, mobilize your ribs, improve breathing, and release pain and restriction from your shoulders. Enjoy!