There are many great exercises for shoulders that are not part of the Pawanmuktasana series per se, but are perfect to be added in to a routine to emphasize releasing shoulder tension. They will be listed here as well.

Greeva sanchalana (Neck movements)

 

Neck rotations: Sit in any position that is comfortable to you, or stand. Close your eyes. Slowly, rotate the head clockwise, going down and around. Come up, rolling through center, then back down and around again. Make nice, smooth circles, slow and steady. After 2-3 rotations, reverse and rotate counter-clockwise.

Kehuni Naman (elbow bending)

 

     Sit in any comfortable position with the back straight. Hold the arms out in front of you at shoulder level, parallel to the ground, palms up. Keeping palms up and upper arms stable, exhale and slowly bend both arms at the elbows and touch the finger tips to the shoulders. Inhale and straighten the arms back to the starting position. Repeat this action 3 to 5 times.

 

Variation: Hold the arms out to each side, parallel to the ground, palms up. Now exhale and bend both arms at the elbows and touch finger tips to the shoulders. Inhale and straighten the arms back to starting position at each side, parallel to ground. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

 

    

Skandha Chakra (shoulder rotation)

 

     Sit or stand in any comfortable position. Bring the arms out to each side parallel to the ground. Bend elbows, and place fingertips of right hand on right shoulder, fingertips of left hand on left shoulder. Rotate both elbows simultaneously in circular motions, bringing elbows forward, down around and back up. After a few rotations, reverse and rotate back around, down and forward up. Try practicing 3-5 times in each direction. Remember that the movement is gentle, slow, and rythmic. Once you are comfortable with the motion, add the breathing which is exhaling on downward motions and inhaling on upward motions.

Shoulder Lift and Relax

 

     This one is not actually part of the Pawanmuktasana series, but is a useful addition to it for relaxing shoulders.

     Sit in any comfortable position and lift the shoulders up toward the ears. Tense the shoulder muscles for a few seconds up to a minute. Keep tensing the muscles as much as you can....tense, tense, tense... Then all at once relax the shoulders, letting them fall back down, dropping in one swift motion, releasing all tension. Relax the entire upper body. This is one moment in yoga when posture doesn't matter. Just let yourself flop forward, loose and relaxed.

     If you wish, you can recall all the tensions you have felt during the day, gathering them all together as you lift and tense the shoulders. Then, as you relax the shoulders, imagine it all coming off you and experience it floating away. Mentally LET GO of the day's stress and you will find your shoulders become much more relaxed too.

Garudasana and Gomukhasana Arms Only (Eagle and Cow Face arms)

 

     These two are useful practiced in succession because they work to open up the back and front parts of the shoulders. Doing either one first is fine. People with a degree of hunchback may prefer to skip Garudasana and spend longer in Gomukhasana. This will be discussed further below. Try to hold the poses for 5 breaths and be sure to do them on both sides.

     How to: