Fish Pose or Matsyasana is a favorite because it gently stretches the front of the body, including the throat, chest, abs, hip flexors, and the muscles between your ribs. It doesn’t stop there though. Fish Pose also brings strength to the cervical and thoracic spine (upper back and neck) and shoulders. This combo of strength and stretch makes for better posture and is a wonderful refresher for people stuck at a desk all day looking down at a computer or their phone. There are so many ways to take this pose, these are just some of my favorites.

Classic Fish Pose: this is the more active version but it’s sometimes too intense for all bodies.

Fish on a block. Place a block under your shoulders so you take the pressure off your elbows and shoulders while still getting that stretch in the cervical spine.

Fish on a bolster. This is great as a restorative or Yin pose. It takes the pressure off the cervical spine and males the backbend more gentle. You can hang out for longer periods in this pose with a bolster!

Fish with 2 blocks. This is similar to Fish on a bolster. What I like about this option is the blocks have different heights, depending on which side of the block you use, you can make this pose super gentle or more deep while still supporting the cervical spine.