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Movement that Matters

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4 Yoga Poses to Improve Shoulder Mobility using Blocks

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Unlock strength, ease, and freedom in your upper body

Tight shoulders can sneak into our lives from all angles—long hours at a desk, heavy lifting, stress, or even poor posture. The result? Discomfort, limited range of motion, and tension that can ripple into the neck and back.

Fortunately, your yoga mat offers more than just a reset—it’s a place to rebuild mobility and restore ease. These four poses, each enhanced with yoga blocks, are designed to open the chest, create space in the shoulder joints, and gently stretch surrounding muscle groups.

Let’s break them down.

Fish Pose (Supported Matsyasana)

Opens the chest, shoulders, and throat

Using blocks under your upper back and head, supported fish pose is a powerful heart opener that gently draws the shoulders back and down. It reverses the effects of forward hunching (hello, laptops and phones) and promotes better posture by creating space across the collarbones.

How to do it:

  • Place one block at medium or low height under your upper back (right below your shoulder blades).
  • Place a second block (lower height) under your head.
  • Allow your arms to rest out wide, palms facing up.
  • Breathe deeply and soften into the support.

Pro tip: If you feel compression in your lower back, adjust the height of the block under your spine or bend your knees.

Thread the Needle (with Block Support)

Releases tension in the upper back, shoulders, and neck

This gentle twist targets the posterior shoulder (especially the rotator cuff and rhomboids), encouraging both flexibility and circulation. Using a block supports your head or arm, allowing the pose to be more restorative and less about force.

How to do it:

  • Begin in tabletop.
  • Slide your right arm underneath your left, palm facing up, resting your right shoulder and ear on a block for support.
  • Reach your left arm forward or wrap it behind your back.
  • Hold and breathe, then switch sides.

Pro tip: Focus on relaxing the muscles between your shoulder blades and letting gravity assist the stretch.

Camel Pose (Ustrasana) with Blocks

Opens the chest, shoulders, and hip flexors

Camel pose is a deep heart opener—but it can feel intense without proper support. Adding blocks brings the ground closer to you, offering stability and encouraging safer alignment while you work into shoulder extension.

How to do it:

  • Come to a kneeling position.
  • Place two blocks behind you at your ankles (choose a height that’s reachable).
  • Place your hands on the blocks as you lift your chest and press your hips forward.
  • Draw your shoulder blades together as you gently lean back.

Pro tip: Keep your chin tucked slightly if your neck feels strained, or lift the gaze if your spine allows it.

Extended Child’s Pose (Supported Balasana)

Lengthens the spine and stretches the shoulders

When held with intention, extended child’s pose becomes a beautiful shoulder opener. Adding blocks under the forearms allows the arms to elevate slightly, intensifying the stretch through the armpits and upper back while encouraging the chest to melt down.

How to do it:

  • Start in a kneeling position with big toes touching, knees wide.
  • Place your forearms on blocks as you extend your arms forward.
  • Let your chest soften toward the mat.
  • Breathe slowly, relaxing your shoulders away from your ears.

Pro tip: Add a folded blanket under your hips or chest if you want extra support or need to modify the depth of the pose.

Why Shoulder Mobility Matters

Strong and mobile shoulders are essential for almost everything—lifting, reaching, even breathing more efficiently. But it’s not just about flexibility; it’s about creating functional range of motion supported by breath, control, and awareness.

Yoga blocks are your allies here. They help you customize depth, reduce strain, and access postures in a way that serves your unique body—making each pose more sustainable and effective.

Questions? Email us at info@theflostate.com

The Challenge of Morning Workouts

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You go to sleep excited about tackling that early morning workout, but you wake up feeling … tired (of course) and the warm bed feels like a magical cocoon of sorts. Maybe I’ll hit snooze just one more time?

If this is where you find yourself most mornings, you are not alone. As the days get shorter, the nights get longer, and air gets colder, your bed and the snooze button can become not only your habit, but your achilles heel. 

How do we overcome this and “just get out of bed”? 

  • Plan ahead. Have a clear vision for exactly what you are going to do when you wake up and how much time you need to achieve it. “I’m going to do the 30 minute Total Body Strength Circuit workout today.”
    • Tip: Set your workout clothes next to your toothbrush the night before. (Make this as easy as possible.)
  • Find a workout partner that is willing to commit to getting up at the same time and for a workout.
    • You can text each other in the morning to make sure the other is up. Meet up and exercise in person together. Or, you can both login and do your on-demand workout while on speaker phone and laugh and chat together.
  • Enlist your spouse to push you out of bed. Although somewhat risky – this can be highly effective. 🙂
  • Decide that come hell or high water, you are going to drag your butt out of bed and get to business.
    • This is where your determination and grit are needed. You cannot rely on how you “feel” in the morning. (We always feel tired…) This is a decision, not a feel-good moment. You are allowed to be grumpy. Just do it. 
    • The first 5 minutes are the worst. It gets better after that!
      • Tip: If you are a coffee drinker, imagine that warm cup of coffee in your hands and let that pull you into consciousness! 

In Summary:

  1. It always sucks getting up early in the morning. It’s just a fact. You are human, and oftentimes, this is how we feel in the morning. 
  2. When you do drag yourself out of bed and actually do what you said you would do, it feels amazing. You will have a more productive and energizing day. Most importantly, you will feel good about yourself and the accomplishment.

Grab your yoga mat and skip the snooze! Your personal sense of accomplishment and thoughts of, “Oh my gosh I actually did what I said I was going to do” can be a very powerful motivator. You’ve got this!

How to Stretch and Release Tight Calf Muscles

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Oh our little calves. They seem to always take the back seat to other bigger and more sexy muscle groups like our glutes. But – they are such an important part of our body and may hold one of the keys to increased circulation and mobility.

Circulation

Did you know that your body has a second blood pump? It’s your calf muscles! With each and every step you take, the calf muscles pump venous blood back toward your heart. Our heart can pump blood to our lower extremities in seconds, but, since the blood is flowing against gravity, sending it back towards the heart will take more than a single pump from the heart. Because of this, the body uses the calf muscles to pump blood from your lower legs back to the heart.

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Here is how it works:

The veins in your calf act like a reservoir for blood your body does not need in circulation at any given time. These reservoir veins are called muscle venous sinuses. When the calf muscle contracts, blood is squeezed out of the veins and pushed along the venous system. One-way valves in the leg veins keep the blood flowing in the correct direction toward the heart. The valves keep the blood flowing in the right direction and prevents gravity from pulling the blood right back down.
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When you walk, your foot plays a role in the pumping mechanism as well. The foot also has a (smaller) venous reservoir. During the early motion of taking a step, as you put weight on your foot, the foot venous reservoir blood is squeezed out and ‘primes’ the calf reservoir. Then, in the later stages of a step, the calf muscle contracts and pumps the blood up the leg, against gravity.
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When you are immobile for long periods of time, like on an airplane seat or sitting at a desk for hours, your calf muscles are not contracting much and blood can pool in your lower extremities. That’s why walking is so good for the circulation in your legs. And it’s not just walking though,…the best way to improve circulation is to get moving in general! Whether that is walking, running, swimming or participating in a Flostate live or on demand class.

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Mobility

Abnormally tight calf muscles cause issues up and down the kinetic chain. You can think of your kinetic chain as interrelated groups of body segments, connecting joints and muscles that work together to perform movements. This helps explain how the movement of one joint can affect the movement of another joint within the kinetic link. In a nutshell – everything in the body is connected. The good news is we can use this information to help us figure out what is happening in the body.

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Calves can become tight for a variety of reasons. Maybe you’re a basketball player or a runner, wear high heels or even sit for extended periods of time. Let’s take one of these as an example. Wearing high heels puts the ankle in an excessive plantarflexion (“toe point”) position. This can lead to tightness in your gastrocnemius and soleus – the main muscles of your calves – causing your imbalances like overpronation or the flattening of the arch of the foot. This causes the knee to move inward and the hips to be misaligned – further altering movement patterns. This can lead to plantar fasciitis, shin splints, knee pain and lower back pain. That’s quite the chain reaction – all starting from our calf function.

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To get things back in balance, a few things need to happen. First, we need to release the tight muscles via inhibitory techniques such as foam rolling (Self-Myofascial Release). Then, lengthen the muscles by stretching. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, when self-myofascial release is applied in conjunction with stretching techniques, it was shown to significantly increase range of motion.

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Next we “activate” underused muscles with targeted strengthening exercises, and finally “integrate” via dynamic strength exercises.

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Step 1: Foam Roll

Sit on the floor, sporting your body with your hands. Place the foam roller underneath your calf muscles, possibly stacking one leg over the other for added weight. Roll your calf muscle across the roller – down, up and side to side – pausing the rolling action over painful areas until a “release” is felt in the area or the pain sensation dissipates a bit. Hold tender spots for 30-90 seconds depending on the intensity of application.

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Step 2: Stretch

Place your hands against a wall with arms relatively straight. Bend one knee, and lean into the wall. Straighten the other leg behind you (careful not to lock or hyperextend the knee), working the heel of the back foot down to the floor. Lean forward a bit to accentuate the stretch through the back calf muscle. Hold the stretch 20-30 seconds or 60 seconds for exercisers over 65 years of age. Do 1-4 repetitions.

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Step 3: Isolated Strength

Let’s do some strength work.

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Calf Raises: Stand on a step or platform with just the balls of your feet (widest part of your foot should be on the edge). Lower your heels down and lift heels up so you are standing on your “tip toes”. Squeeze the calf muscle at the top.

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Anterior Tibialis Pull: Take a loop band (any size) and wrap it around a bench leg, banister – something to anchor it. Put the top of your foot in the band. Point and flex the foot back towards your body to work the anterior tibialis – the muscles located in the front of your calf. Do 1-2 sets of 10-15 reps. Take 4 counts to release back to a pointed or neutral position with the foot and hold 2 counts at the contracted position when the foot is flexed.

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Step 4: Dynamic/Integrated Strength

‍Wall Ball Squat or Squat: Place a stability ball against the wall and stand with the ball positioned across your mid & low back. Squat down – lowering your body until thighs are positioned parallel to the floor. Squeeze your glutes and thigh muscles and stand back up to your starting position. If you don’t have a stability ball, just do a normal squat.

Do 1-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

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References:

NASM Essentials of Corrective Exercise

https://veinatlanta.com/your-second-heart/
Caring for your ‘second heart’

How to Boost Mental and Physical Resilience

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RESILIENCE. It’s a pretty strong word, right? We want to be resilient. Have a resilient body. And be able to count on a resilient mind. So what exactly does that mean, and how do we become more resilient?

Definition of Resilience
The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

Resilience is multidimensional and encapsulates the mental, emotional, physical, spiritual parts of us. Let’s focus on the mental and physical aspects here.

Mental Resilience is the ability to adapt to change and uncertainty.


Physical Resilience is the ability to recover and optimize function in response to the stressors of disease, injury, or age-related physical decline. 

Resilience is what gives people the emotional strength to cope with trauma, adversity, and hardship. Those lacking resilience get easily overwhelmed, and may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms. Resilient people do the opposite. They utilize their resources, strengths, and skills to overcome challenges and work through setbacks. They have healthy coping mechanisms and support systems.

You can increase resilience by:

Mental:

  • By creating support systems, healthy coping mechanisms, stress relieving strategies and using them
  • By getting out of your comfort zone and flexing your “resilience muscle”
  • By fostering overall mental health

Physical: 

  • By consistently moving your body in different ways
  • By trying different things that challenge or scare you (hint: this is mental too!)
  • By fostering overall physical health

Resilience is also built through “reps”: The more times we face mental and physical challenges and overcome them, we build resilience. The learning and confidence that results from overcoming challenges is powerful, and reminds us that we can do it again the next time we encounter adversity.

5 Resilience Building Self-Care Strategies 


Mindset Muscle
Having the right mindset is essential. Each thought has power. Are we powering constructive or destructive thoughts? Practice having empathy for others and reframing your situation in a more positive way.

Breathe Through It
Breathing is proven to calm the mind and body and increase awareness and attention. The next time you are stressed or overwhelmed, close your eyes and inhale/exhale for 4-6 seconds each.

Get Moving Now
Movement helps create a strong, mobile, healthy body and a clear mind. Also, try something new physically that gets you out of your comfort zone or requires you to learn a new skill. Sign up for a race, try snorkeling on that vacation, etc. When we overcome nervousness or fear we flex that resilience muscle!

Create a Margin
Intentionally creating space for what’s meaningful to you reduces stress levels and creates freedom to actually be present. It takes us out of scarcity and panic mode and allows us to be more flexible and tolerant. Create space in your calendar now. 

Get Vulnerable to Connect
Vulnerability encourages connection. And connection fosters relationships and a
support network that you can rely on when things get tough. Open up and share your struggles.

We can’t escape stressful situations and the challenges placed on us, but we can equip ourselves to handle it all just a little bit better and in doing so, make ourselves a little more resilient each time.

Three Simple Ways to Do Crow Pose

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Crow pose can be both inspirational and somewhat intimidating. If you didn’t grow up in tumbling or gymnastics, the idea of balancing on your forearms with your head hovering off the ground can cause some hesitation. Instead of sitting it out and watching from the sidelines, try out these three modifications.

Click here for our free 2-minute step-by-step video to walk you through it or watch the video on YouTube HERE.

  1. The Hover:
  2. Instead of going for the full balance, why not set it up and lean into it, without lifting the feet off the ground. This option will challenge your arm and shoulder muscles, increase hip flexibility and core activation – all without the worry of dropping onto your head or falling into a somersault.
  3. One-legged Hover:
  4. Take it one step further and pick ONE foot off the ground. Oof Da, that is getting tough! This is a great option to do for a few classes to build upper body strength before trying to lift both feet.
  5. Crow with the yoga block:
  6. Here is where it gets fun. Grab a few yoga blocks and place them out in front of you where you anticipate your head would touch down if you tipped forward. Use two yoga blocks to cover more ground until you have a better idea of where to place the block.. I’ve seen people place the yoga block too close and end up missing the block, and somersaulting forward due to the miss!
  7. Now when you pick both feet off the ground and transfer the weight to your arms, if you lose balance and begin to tip forward, you can gently set you head down on the yoga block. Easy breezy.

And just like that- you are doing a crow pose. Click here to try a yoga restore class with crow pose. Bring these tips and tricks along with you and let’s do this!

Questions? Email us at info@theflostate.com.

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