Yoga guide
Chest-opening poses, or heart openers, stretch the front of your chest and shoulders and bend your upper back backwards. They feel good and keep your shoulders and upper back moving, but stretching on its own hasn't been shown to change posture, and no study has tested whether backbends open your lungs or release emotions. What changes posture a little is strengthening the upper back, so a good chest-opening practice pairs the stretches with back lifts.
If you have chest pain, this isn't the page for it: the signs to call 999 come first, below. This guide covers what opens when you open the chest, what chest stretches can and can't change, posture and pain, breathing and mood, safe backbends and osteoporosis, the poses to start with and the ones to change, and a free 25-minute class with a 3D demo of every pose.
Yoga isn't a treatment for chest pain. These are the site's own lines, word for word; the full warning signs are at the end of this guide.
Call 999 if:
Get help from NHS 111: pain or tightness in your chest, neck, shoulders, jaw or arms that comes and goes, often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold and easing after a few minutes' rest. It can be angina, a sign of a heart problem. If you've been diagnosed with angina, get help from NHS 111 too if it feels worse than before, is happening more often, lasts longer or happens when you're resting.
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The chest ball release's page says: "Never use it for chest pain, which needs checking first, even if the chest is sore to press." The same goes for every stretch on this page.
Stretching the front of the chest and shoulders, and bending the upper back backwards. The upper back bends back less than it moves any other way, about 13 degrees, and further on all fours or lying face down than standing.
The small chest muscle lengthened about 2 cm during a one-arm stretch, but at normal doses, weeks of stretching didn't change its resting length in small studies, and adding it to a shoulder programme added nothing. Contract-relax stretching and very high doses did more.
Across 23 studies, stretching programmes had no effect on posture, while strengthening improved the upper back and neck, and 20 stretching researchers agreed not to recommend stretching for posture.
Sitting upright rather than slumped helps breathing measures in the moment, but we found no study of backbends or chest openers on lung function, and yoga's lung gains in healthy people come with breathing practice.
We found no study testing that idea. Backbends, forward bends and neutral poses all shifted mood a little in short studies, and slumping lowers mood more than opening up lifts it.
Yoga was as safe as usual care and other exercise across 94 trials, the practices most often linked with injuries were handstands, shoulder stands and headstands, and with osteoporosis, gentle back strengthening is recommended. Keep the neck long and the backbend moderate.
The big chest muscle (pectoralis major) runs from the breastbone and collarbone to the upper arm; the small chest muscle (pectoralis minor) runs under it, from the ribs to the front of the shoulder blade. Both draw the arms and shoulders forward, and both stretch when the arms go back or out to the side, as our pectoralis major and minor pages explain.
In adults without symptoms, the upper back bends back about 13 degrees, against about 40 for twisting and 21 for bending forward, and every direction falls by about 5 degrees a decade while the curve rises about 3 degrees a decade. In 40 young adults, it bent back further on all fours or lying face down than standing, which is where cat-cow, sphinx and cobra work.
Rounded shoulders, a forward head and a rounded upper back are related shapes that can come alone or together. A rounded upper back above 40 degrees (hyperkyphosis) affects about 20% to 40% of older adults. Shorter chest muscles go with it, but it isn't known which comes first.
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The usual lying test of the small chest muscle is repeatable, but people without symptoms averaged about 6 cm against a textbook normal of 2.6 cm or less, so almost everyone would fail it. A 2026 review found too little evidence to recommend any test of its length.
Floor and wall stretches (a doorway stretch, arms out on the floor), supported openers (lying over a block, supported bridge, reclining bound angle, fish), backbends lying face down (sphinx, low cobra, cobra, locust, bow), kneeling and standing backbends (camel, dancer) and full backbends (upward dog, wheel). Backbends lying face down work the back muscles; supported openers are passive.
In 50 people, the small chest muscle lengthened 2.24 cm during a one-arm self-stretch, 1.69 cm in a lying partner stretch and 0.77 cm in a sitting partner stretch.
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In 50 people, 25 of them with shoulder pain, 6 weeks of daily stretching didn't change the small chest muscle's length or how the shoulder blade moved, in a study that wasn't randomised. Across 6 small trials, held stretching alone had no effect on its length, while contract-relax stretching (tensing the muscle, then stretching further) raised it. In 80 adults with shoulder pain, adding the stretch to 12 weeks of exercise gave no extra benefit.
Stretching on a board for 15 minutes a day, 4 days a week for 8 weeks, improved a shoulder range test by 8.9%, against 2.4% with chest strength training, and the authors say its practical use is limited.
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Range from regular stretching stays above where you started 2 to 6 weeks after you stop, but falls a little from its peak.
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Across 23 studies of 969 healthy people, neither one-off nor regular stretching changed posture, while strengthening improved the upper back and neck and did better than stretching, with moderate certainty from small trials. A 2025 panel of 20 stretching researchers agreed unanimously not to recommend stretching to change posture.
Across 28 trials of corrective exercise for rounded shoulders and a forward head, mostly stretching plus strengthening, head and shoulder angles improved, but pain and function didn't consistently, and most trials had no follow-up. In 10 trials of people with neck pain, exercise improved the head and neck angle by about 3 degrees, with a small, low-certainty effect on pain. In one school trial, posture gains held 16 weeks after the programme stopped.
Of 15 held poses measured in 20 women, locust with the arms reaching forward worked the middle and lower trapezius hardest (the lower part at 56.8% of its maximum). Pair chest openers with back lifts, rows and wall angels on at least 2 days a week.
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In the one yoga trial, 6 months of classes for 118 adults aged 60 and over didn't change the main kyphosis measure, though two others improved by about 4% to 5%. Spine-strengthening exercise reduced the curve by 3 degrees in 99 older adults, and exercise improved kyphosis by a small amount across 24 studies.
We found no published controlled trial of yoga for rounded shoulders, a forward head or chest muscle length; two registered trials have posted no results.
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Upper-back rounding didn't differ between people with and without shoulder pain, and adults with neck pain held the head only slightly further forward, in studies that compared people at one time. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy says "There is no perfect posture" and "Your best posture is your next posture".
Across 43 studies, lung measures were higher in more upright positions. Slumped sitting lowered lung capacity and flow in 70 people, and a breathing muscle test in 35 young men.
In 323 adults aged 65 and over, a rounded upper back went with breathlessness and lower lung volumes, and in women followed for 16 years, more rounding went with a faster fall in lung function. These are links, not proof that changing the curve changes breathing.
Our searches found no study of backbends or chest openers on lung function. One registered trial of bridge pose in asthma has posted no results.
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One session of upper-back mobility exercises didn't improve breathing in 15 adults. In 61 students, chest expansion rose as much with Pilates, breathing exercises or interval training as with yoga. In healthy people, yoga's lung gains came after at least 10 weeks and were linked to time spent on breathing practice, not poses. Our yoga for lungs guide covers breathing conditions.
Across 73 studies, slumped postures lowered mood more than open postures raised it, compared with neutral ones. Sitting upright rather than slumped raised self-esteem and mood under stress in 74 people.
In 64 practitioners, backbends raised calm and active feelings while forward bends raised others, and in 40, backbends and forward bends changed heart rate variability equally. In 11 students with no comparison group, backbend classes went with larger rises in positive mood. In 82 students, whether a pose left the front of the body open made no difference, and those open poses weren't backbends.
We found no study testing whether backbends release emotions stored in the chest; the idea comes from yoga tradition. Yoga can be part of looking after your mood, and our yoga for depression and anxiety guides cover it.
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Across 94 trials of 8,430 people, yoga was as safe as usual care and other exercise. In 1,702 German practitioners, there were 0.6 injuries per 1,000 hours of practice, and handstands, shoulder stands and headstands were the practices most often involved.
Rare case reports link poses that drop the head far back with reduced blood flow to the back of the brain, including a 2026 case of dizziness and sight problems in upward dog. Keep the back of the neck long, and come out at once for dizziness, blurred vision or a sudden headache, as the fish and wheel pages say.
In one clinic's 89 people injured in yoga, extreme bending forward and back were the movements most often involved, and repeated deep arching of the lower back is a known stress fracture risk in diving, weightlifting and gymnastics, though no study has measured it in yoga. Let the backbend come mostly from the upper back and hips (our suggestion).
The UK consensus recommends exercises to strengthen the back, with each lift held 3 to 5 seconds, 3 to 5 times, at least twice a week, and says sustained, repeated or end-range bending forward should be modified or avoided. The Royal Osteoporosis Society's posture page warns about bending forward and curling, not gentle back extension.
Slow breathing 2 minutes, sitting tall (our yoga for shoulders class). Breath reach: "5 breaths, exhale longer than inhale" (the move page's dose). Cat-cow: "8 waves, slower than feels natural" (the move page's dose). Dynamic chest stretch, optional: "5 to 10 swings, once or twice through, as part of a warm-up (our editorial starting point)." (the move page's dose).
Doorway chest opener 2 holds of 30 seconds each side, elbow at shoulder height (our chest release routine). Chair chest stretch: "Hold 15 to 30 seconds, 2 to 4 times: about 60 seconds in all per stretch, on 2 or more days a week, as the ACSM recommends." (the move page's dose; the ACSM is the American College of Sports Medicine). Extended puppy pose 3 to 5 slow breaths (our editorial starting point, as on our yoga for shoulders guide). Humble warrior, optional, 3 breaths each side with soft elbows (our editorial starting point).
Thread the needle: "Hold 30 to 60 seconds, about 5 to 10 slow breaths, each side, 2 rounds (our editorial starting point)." (from the move page's dose). Open book: "8 to 10 slow openings each side, pausing 2 seconds at the end (our editorial starting point)" (from the move page's dose). Foam roller, optional: "5 to 8 slow breaths at each of 3 or 4 spots along the upper back (our editorial starting point)" (from the move page's dose). Sphinx 2 holds of 3 to 5 breaths (our yoga for posture class).
Low cobra 5 lifts and locust 3 to 5 lifts, each held 3 to 5 seconds (our yoga for posture class). Y-T-W raises 2 rounds of 5 of each letter, light, and wall angels 8 slow reps (our chest release routine). Band row, optional: "3 sets of 10 to 15, stopping 2 to 3 reps short of failure, with 60 to 90 seconds' rest" (from the move page's dose).
Supported bridge: "Rest 3 to 5 minutes on the block, the time Yoga Journal suggests, breathing slowly through your nose." (the move page's dose). Reclining bound angle: "Rest 2 to 5 minutes with a support under each thigh (our editorial starting point)." (from the move page's dose). Crocodile breathing, optional, 3 minutes (our yoga for asthma class); corpse pose 2 to 3 minutes (our editorial starting point).
Not needed for chest opening, and each page carries neck, lower back, wrist or shoulder cautions. Fish pose: "Hold 15 to 30 seconds, the hold Yoga Journal gives, 2 rounds, resting on your back in between." (the move page's dose), with your forearms carrying the load.
3D demoCobra pose (Bhujangasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoUpward-facing dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoCamel pose (Ustrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoBow pose (Dhanurasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoFish pose (Matsyasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoUpward plank pose (Purvottanasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWheel pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana)Advanced · No equipmentThe Chartered Society of Physiotherapy's chest stretch says: "You should not feel pain or tingling in your arms". A stretch is a clear pull across the chest or the front of the shoulder; tingling or numbness into the arm or hand means ease off or come out, and a pinch at the front of the shoulder means bring the arm lower (our suggestion).
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The doorway chest opener's page says: "After a shoulder dislocation, start with the elbow low and stop at any feeling of the shoulder slipping." Wheel's page says: "With a history of shoulder dislocation, choose bridge pose instead." Leave out shoulder dislocates with a strap, which its page says to leave out "after a dislocation or with an unstable shoulder, a frozen shoulder or rotator cuff pain."
Fish pose's page says: "Skip it with a neck injury or cervical spondylosis, with migraine, or with uncontrolled high or low blood pressure." Camel's says: "do not drop your head back if your neck complains". In every backbend, let your head follow your spine rather than dropping back (our suggestion).
Low cobra's page says: "Skip it with spinal stenosis, where bending back narrows the space for the nerves." and "Ease off if you have current low back pain that sharpens with arching, and stop if symptoms travel into a leg."
The foam roller's page says: "Clear it first if you have osteoporosis." Back lifts such as locust are what the UK consensus recommends; keep forward folds to a flat-back hinge.
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The chest ball release's page says: "Skip it over breast implants, a pacemaker or port, after recent chest or shoulder surgery, or with a recent rib injury." The band row's page says: "After heart surgery through the breastbone, or a heart or lung transplant, follow your surgeon's advice before pushing, pulling or lifting with your arms." After breast cancer surgery, follow your team's leaflet.
Upward plank's page says: "Skip it with a wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome, or a current shoulder problem; reverse tabletop is the kinder version."
The sphinx and locust pages say lying face down becomes uncomfortable as a pregnancy bump grows, and suggest "an all-fours version such as the bird dog instead". Camel's page says: "In pregnancy, keep the backbend small and support your lower back with your hands." Our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the rest.
They were the practices most often involved in yoga injuries in a national survey, and they aren't part of opening the chest.
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Our yoga for opening the chest class pairs chest and shoulder stretches with upper-back lifts in 25 minutes. For back strength, the yoga for posture class; for a short break from a desk, the chest release routine. For lung conditions, the asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) classes; with osteoporosis, the yoga for osteoporosis class.
A 25-minute yoga class that opens the chest and shoulders, moves the upper back, strengthens it with back lifts and ends in supported rest.
25 minBeginner14 movesWall, firm cushionTwenty-five minutes of back-strengthening yoga for posture: arm and leg reaches, face-down back lifts and standing poses with the arms raised.
25 minBeginner15 movesNo equipmentA tight chest from desk work or pressing: a minute of ball release each side, a doorway stretch, then the back and shoulder-blade work that changed posture.
12 minBeginner7 movesMassage ball, wallA 12-minute routine for a stiff upper back and rounded shoulders: chin tucks, wall angels, Y-T-W raises and open books.
12 minBeginner8 movesFoam roller, wallA 15-minute routine that moves your neck, upper back and lower back through bending, arching, side bending and twisting, then holds the spine steady.
15 minBeginner12 movesNo equipmentA 25-minute yoga class for your shoulders: shoulder-blade lifts, band work for the rotator cuff, plank and downward dog built up in steps, and reach overhead.
25 minBeginner17 movesWall, bandTen minutes of yoga at your desk, no mat needed: slow breathing, neck, shoulder, wrist and spine moves in your chair, then standing poses with a hand on the desk.
10 minBeginner13 movesBench or box, wallEight gentle neck and shoulder stretches for desk stiffness, done standing or seated in ten minutes.
10 minBeginner8 movesWallA 6-minute breathing routine: slow breathing, crocodile breathing, alternate nostril breathing, box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing.
6 minBeginner5 movesNo equipmentA 20-minute yoga practice for asthma: slow nose and belly breathing first, then gentle stretches and standing poses, with no breath holds or fast breathing.
20 minBeginner12 movesFirm cushionA 25-minute follow-along yoga practice for COPD: pursed-lip breathing, seated stretches, standing poses at a chair with blow-as-you-go breathing, and a rest.
25 minBeginner14 movesBench or box, wallA 30-minute routine for a rounded upper back in later life, built from the SHEAF trial: floor back-strengthening, posture practice and gentle mobility.
30 minBeginner13 movesBench or box, wallA 30-minute yoga class for osteoporosis: standing strength, balance at a wall, back-strengthening holds and hip hinges in place of deep forward folds.
30 minBeginner19 movesBench or box, wallA 45-minute restorative yoga sequence: five fully supported poses held for 4 to 10 minutes each, with slow breathing and a long final rest.
45 minBeginner6 movesFirm cushion, wallSee your GP first if you get chest pain, breathlessness or dizziness when you are active, if you have a heart condition and want to exercise harder, or if you have had a fall.
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Keep stretches mild and in the middle of your range, and favour the strengthening moves: the NHS says not to overextend your joints just because you can.
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Extended puppy pose's page says: "With glaucoma, keep head-down positions brief or use a head-up version: in a small study, eye pressure rose within a minute in head-down yoga poses."
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These are the site's lines from our chest muscle pain, yoga for shoulders and other guides, word for word. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999, and use your doctor's urgent line or urgent care for NHS 111.
Call 999 if:
Call 999: sudden pain or discomfort in your chest that does not go away (it can feel like squeezing or pressure, burning or indigestion); pain that spreads to your left or right arm, or your neck, jaw, shoulder, stomach or back; or chest pain and you feel sweaty, sick, light-headed or short of breath. It could be a heart attack. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Call 999: sudden chest pain or discomfort, or chest pain with feeling sweaty, sick, light-headed or breathless. A collapsed lung (pneumothorax) causes a sudden, sharp, stabbing pain in the chest or shoulder that gets worse when you breathe in, with breathlessness; it is more common in people aged 15 to 34, people who smoke, and tall, thin people.
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: back pain with chest pain, or back pain that started after a serious accident, such as a car crash.
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See a GP if you have chest pain that comes and goes, or that goes away quickly but still worries you.
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Same day (NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre): a pop or tearing at the front of the armpit or chest during a lift, a dip or a tackle, followed by bruising into the chest or upper arm, a change in the shape of the chest or armpit (a thinner or lost armpit fold, or a chest or nipple that looks uneven), or weakness pushing. Don't wait for it to settle: it can be a torn pec tendon, and repairs done within about 6 weeks did better than later ones.
A dip or change in the chest's shape that you only notice once the bruising fades, or weakness pushing that isn't getting better: get it checked promptly through your GP or NHS 111, and ask about a shoulder specialist. A tendon tear found late can often still be repaired, though the results are better early.
The NHS lists chest pain that "Starts after chest injury or chest exercise, may get worse when you breathe in, feels better when resting the muscle" as a possible chest sprain or strain. If you're not sure, it still needs the checks above (our suggestion).
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Back pain that is worse arching back and has lasted more than a couple of weeks can be a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis): get it checked.
Modify or avoid exercises that round your back deeply or repeatedly, especially with a weight: sit-ups, toe touches, Pilates roll-downs and curl-ups, and extreme yoga forward folds. Bend from the hips instead. You do not need to avoid bending, twisting or lifting altogether: move smoothly and keep your upper back straight.
Burning, tingling, numbness or pins and needles down an arm or leg usually means a nerve is under tension, so ease off to a position without it. A pinch at the front of the hip or shoulder at the end of a pose is the joint, so work below it. See a GP or physiotherapist if either keeps happening (our suggestion).
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
With glaucoma, or high blood pressure that isn't under control, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds. With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds for a flat-back hinge from the hips, and twist smoothly. In pregnancy, our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
If you have a heart, lung or joint condition, are pregnant or have recently been unwell, start gently and read our guide for your condition. Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common and fades as you repeat it.
If you have a heart condition, follow your cardiac team's advice on how hard to work, and stop for the warning signs above. People with long-term conditions may wish to ask their specialist before starting. With uncontrolled high blood pressure, avoid straining against a held breath; the high blood pressure guide has more.
Stretching programmes didn't change posture across 23 studies, experts agree not to recommend stretching for posture, and 6 weeks of daily chest stretching didn't change the chest muscle's resting length in a small study. Strengthening the upper back changed posture a little.
We found no study of backbends on lung function. Yoga's lung gains in healthy people come with breathing practice, and chest expansion improved as much with Pilates, breathing exercises or interval training as with yoga.
We found no study of the idea. Short studies show mood shifts after backbends, forward bends and neutral poses alike, and slumping lowers mood more than opening up raises it.
Upper-back rounding didn't differ between people with and without shoulder pain, and a forward head is only slightly more common in adults with neck pain. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy says "There is no perfect posture".
Yoga is about as safe as other exercise, the practices most linked with injuries are upside-down poses and handstands, and the UK osteoporosis consensus recommends back strengthening. Deep, repeated arching and dropping the head far back carry rare risks, so build up gently.
The UK consensus recommends back-strengthening exercise and says to modify or avoid sustained, repeated or end-range bending forward. Our yoga for osteoporosis guide uses gentle back lifts.
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Stretching the front of the chest and shoulders, and bending the upper back backwards. The upper back bends back only about 13 degrees, and it moves most on all fours or lying face down, which is why cat-cow and sphinx work well.
A doorway or chair chest stretch, puppy pose, thread the needle and the open book for stretching; sphinx, low cobra and locust for the upper back; supported bridge and reclining bound angle to rest open. Deep backbends such as camel and wheel aren't needed.
Not on their own: stretching didn't change posture across 23 studies, while strengthening the upper back did, a little. Pair chest stretches with back lifts like locust; our yoga for rounded shoulders guide has the plan.
Only while you hold them: the small chest muscle lengthened about 2 cm during a stretch, but 6 weeks of daily stretching didn't change its resting length in a small study. They still feel good and keep the shoulders moving.
No study has tested backbends on lung function. Sitting upright rather than slumped helps breathing measures in the moment, and yoga's lung gains come from breathing practice; our yoga for lungs guide covers breathing conditions.
There's no research behind that idea. Backbends, forward bends and neutral poses all shifted mood a little in short studies, and sitting slumped lowers mood more than opening up lifts it.
For most people, yes, built up gently: yoga is about as safe as other exercise. Keep your neck long, because rare case reports link dropping the head far back with reduced blood flow to the brain, and avoid deep, repeated arching of the lower back.
Gentle back strengthening is encouraged: the UK consensus recommends back exercises held 3 to 5 seconds, 3 to 5 times, at least twice a week, and says to avoid end-range bending forward. Clear foam roller work first, as its page says.
No. Chest pain needs checking first, even if it hurts to press: call 999 for chest pain that is sudden, feels tight or spreads, or comes with breathlessness, sweating or feeling sick.
The stretch may be pulling on a nerve: ease off or bring the arm lower, and stop if it doesn't settle. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy says you shouldn't feel pain or tingling in your arms, and pins and needles that don't go away need a GP.
Two or 3 times a week, with the back-strengthening part on at least 2 days a week, and stretches held 30 to 60 seconds. Moving and changing position often through the day matters too: the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy says your best posture is your next posture.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
