In this 8‑minute guided video, MaryKate Schmidt leads a beginner‑friendly upper‑body recovery routine designed to stretch and mobilize the shoulders, arms, neck, back, hips, wrists, and spine after arm‑focused workouts or full‑body sessions. The session begins with deep breathing and gentle arm swings, progresses through a series of dynamic stretches—including forward folds, shoulder circles, cross‑body arm reaches, wrist extensions, and cobra‑to‑child’s‑pose flows—while encouraging participants to adjust the range of motion to their comfort. Throughout, MaryKate intersperses mindful cues, prompting participants to notice tension release, stay present, and use the routine as a mental reset. The video concludes with a calming breath, optional seated meditation, and a reminder that these short recovery practices can alleviate stress, improve body awareness, and be revisited whenever overwhelm arises.
Chapters
Hey, today we are going to do an upper body recovery. I've said before with our lower body recovery, but I am so guilty of just not taking the time to stretch out these arms and my shoulders and my back and my hips. So today we are just going to focus on the upper body. Ah, I'm so excited! It feels so good once you're done, so let's jump right into it. So we're going to bring those arms on up and we're going to take that big deep breath in Exhale as we bring it over to the right. Good. You're gonna hold it here, and you can release this arm down if it feels right, maybe reaching for those toes, reaching for your foot or ankle. Good. Bring it center. Take another big deep breath in here. Exhale as we come over to this other side. Same thing, you're going to release this arm on down, reaching for the toes, foot, or ankle. Good. We're going to bring it up, we're going to release our arms behind our back, and we're going to just give ourselves a nice stretch here. You're going to stretch out those shoulders, and if you release a little bit further back, you're going to get in that lower back stretch here. You can roll out your neck if it feels right, or just hang out.
Gaze is forward.
Good. I want you to bring those feet wide.
We're going to bring it into a big forward fold. You guys know I love these, they just feel so good.
Good.
You're going to slowly release it up one vertebrae at a time.
You're You're going to roll out your shoulders here, just little circles, and they're going to get a little bit bigger each and every time you do them. You're going to change the direction, circle it out forward and backward. Then you're going to bring those arms out to your side here. We're going to crisscross them out in front of each other. Yes, it's just honestly always feels so good. Good. I want you to hold those arms out to the side. You're gonna release your hands up and down, facing towards the ceiling and the mat. Feet can come a little bit further apart, about shoulder width apart here, and you're gonna just bring it over, bring it up, bring it over, bring it up. So after an arm day, this is like the perfect recovery, or after a sneaky sculpt or a full body burner, really any time of day. Good. You're going to hold it center here. Release those arms out in front of you. Reach for those fingertips. Stretch out your wrist. Roll it out, your neck. Good. Release it and come over to that other side. Same thing, your neck can roll out here, your hips can move back and forth, whatever feels right. I want you to grab for this elbow and you're going to try to just reach this arm down your back. Good. Placing just a little bit of pressure on your elbow here, then you're going to drop it down and switch over. Good. Bring both arms down. You're going to bring this left arm across your body, just holding it here. So holding this elbow here, reaching those fingertips, and then releasing here, coming on to this other side. Good. You're going to slide your hands on down. Feet are going to come wider than shoulders. Slowly, you're just going to bring these shoulders forward and backward, alternating it out.
Good. I want you to release your hands down to the mat, bring them over, and come into a plank.
I want you to lower your chest on down. Elbows are going to stay by your side. You're just going to give yourself little cobras here, pushing yourself up, stretching out low back, stretching out shoulders. Good. A few more together here. Final one here. Drop it down, bring it up, and you're gonna shift your hips on back into a child's pose. Arms are gonna be down on the mat, forearms down as well.
Big deep breath in, sigh it out. If you want to, you're gonna release this right arm over to the side, left arm's gonna come on top. Your gaze can go underneath your armpit here. This is obviously stretching out your right side and your left.
And then you're going to bring it over to the other side, placing right arm on top. Oh yeah, you'll feel that stretch.
Good. Then bringing the arms back center, placing your forehead down on the mat, taking this time to close your eyes, to think about how you feel as that tension is releasing from your body. We hold a lot of tension in our shoulders, in our neck, So it's important to take the time to just slow down and let it all out, focusing on giving yourself a few minutes just for you where your mind is quiet, your body is relaxed, you're not thinking about what what you have to do next, but you're truly being present. When we slow down, we're able to assess how we think, how we feel, how we respond. We're able to maybe see things that aren't serving us. We're able to have perspective. So anytime you feel the need that you need to take a step back, just come on in, do this upper body stretch or the lower body recovery that we have, and just be still and allow yourself again to slow down and to assess. Take one more big deep breath in and exhale as you come on up. Bring your booty down on the mat.
You can crisscross your legs, bring your hands to your heart or by your side or on your ankles. And remembering to come back to this moment when you feel a little bit freer, a little bit less stressed. Stressed, a little bit less overwhelmed, and really being thankful for it, being grateful for the ability to have a few minutes to just yourself. Good. I hope you feel nice and refreshed. That is my goal of just these upper body and lower body recovery sessions. Is to just give you that time to really slow down and to just release and give you a few minutes to just really come back. So I hope you feel great. And just remember, if you are getting a little overwhelmed or you feel like you have a lot on your plate, just come back and just take a step back and you will feel so much better. I'll see you next time. Good job.
