The name April is often linked to the Latin verb aperire, which means “to open.” It feels fitting because, by April, I usually start to feel more like myself again after winter hibernation mode.
I have more energy, more willingness to move, to be outside, even to make plans and consider future goals. And at the same time, I notice how much I’ve been holding through the winter. As confirmed by talking to students, the upper back is one of the primary areas where this physical tension manifests. From a familiar tightness between the shoulder blades to the slight forward rounding that creeps in over the course of a long day, it shows up slowly but can ultimately have some pretty debilitating results.
An unhappy upper back often means that the neck feels tight, the shoulders feel overworked, and the lower back starts to compensate. Even simple shapes like a forward fold or child’s pose can feel more restricted than they used to. What we often label as “tight shoulders” is usually something deeper, a lack of movement and support through the thoracic spine, that mid-back space behind the heart.
From a physical standpoint, this area is designed to move, to rotate, extend, and respond to the breath. But for many of us, it becomes one of the least mobile parts of the body. Modern habits don’t ask much of it, and over time, it simply does less.
The instinct is often to stretch more. To pull the shoulders back, to force the chest open, to try and undo the shape we’ve been sitting in all day. But without support, that kind of effort tends to shift the strain elsewhere, usually to the neck or lower back.
What the upper back actually needs is a bit more nuanced and requires movement in all directions, especially rotation. It needs strength in the muscles that support the shoulder blades so the chest can open without collapsing. And it needs breath, not just into the front of the body, but into the back ribs, into the space between the shoulder blades.
There’s also a layer here beyond the physical.
The upper back sits directly behind the heart, and whether or not you connect with the language of energy or chakras, it’s hard to ignore how much we feel in this area.
In the chakra system, this region is associated with the heart center, Anahata, which is often linked to grief, connection, love, and vulnerability. We tend to think about the heart as the front of the chest, the place we open in backbends, but the back of the heart is just as important. And if you think about how many of us move through the day, holding things together, carrying responsibility, pushing through, it makes sense that this area becomes tense. The body, in its own way, is trying to protect you.
There’s also a connection to the throat, the space of expression, communication, and saying what we actually mean. When that’s inhibited, when things go unsaid or unprocessed, the tension often travels downward into the shoulders and upper back.
So when we work with the upper back, we’re not just “fixing posture.” We’re creating conditions where the body doesn’t feel the need to hold so much. My hope is that this month we can explore movement and breath that lead to more clarity regarding what really matters to each of us, and how we can direct our energy in a way that feels nourishing and sustainable.
You don’t just need more stretching.
As always, it’s important to start by building awareness. Paying attention to how the upper back actually moves, or doesn’t, and letting familiar shapes like cat–cow become a bit more specific, focusing on the space between the shoulder blades rather than just moving through the lower back.
We’ll spend time with rotation, variations of threading the needle, or gentle twists that help restore mobility to the thoracic spine without forcing it. For many people, this feels surprisingly unfamiliar at first, which is a good reminder of how little we ask this part of the body to move in daily life.
Alongside that, we’ll build strength. Low cobra, locust variations, and simple prone work that wakes up the muscles around the shoulder blades. This is what allows the front of the body to open without strain.
You’ll probably notice some familiar poses showing up in slightly different ways, with targeted tweaks to go deeper and help the body venture out of default mode:
Cat–cow and liquid spine, with more attention to the mid-back
Active thread the needle, to build awareness while easing tension between the shoulder blades
Extended puppy pose, to soften into the shoulders and chest
Eagle arms and cow face arms, to reach into those deeper layers of tension
Supported fish or gentle backbends to create space without forcing
We will always start to bring that awareness into more integrated movements, planks, downward dog, and eventually backbends that feel supported rather than compressed.
For those who enjoy working upside down, we might also explore some inversions. Poses like forearm stand or handstand build a surprising amount of awareness and strength in the upper back and shoulders. Even more restorative inversions like shoulderstand or plow can offer a different kind of release, especially when approached with enough support.
Even outside of class, it doesn’t take much to start shifting how this area feels.
A few minutes of intentional movement can go a long way. Slow cat–cow, gentle rotations, threading one arm through, and then opening it back up. Even something as simple as circling the ribcage while seated can help restore a sense of mobility.
The key is not how much you do, but how you do it. Moving slowly enough to feel what’s happening and letting the breath be part of it, and approaching the tension with curiosity rather than trying to force it away.
This time of year invites more openness, physically, but also in how we show up. Opening through the upper back and chest isn’t just about posture. It’s about finding enough support, in your body and in your community, so that openness doesn’t feel like exposure, and remembering that you don’t have to carry everything on your own.
That’s what we’ll be exploring this month ❤
breathingspace.yoga 
Leave a comment