Yoga and shoulders

PattyRain

I'm asking for opinions from people that really know yoga.

My shoulders (especially my left shoulder) are extremely tight. DH says they sometimes feel like a rock. When they get really tight it will go up my neck and the back of my head. I don't push myself on yoga moves in this area and will modify things when needed.

One day after doing most of a yoga practice the instructor had us do a forward bend. I felt everything in my shoulders just relax. It was wonderful! Since then I've found I need to either go through a yoga routine or do some other exercise (zumba, walking, circuit training, whatever) for some time before this helps. Basically if my body is warmed up through exercise then the forward bend feels great and really helps me relax through the rest of the day, but if I do it without prior exercise it does nothing for me.

Today I did yoga journal's 21 day challenge, week 1 day 6. http://www.yogajournal.com/21daychallenge/beginner_day6 I was excited because it was supposed to relax your shoulders. None of the exercises bothered me while I was doing them except for 1 so I modified it and then it was OK. By the end I could tell that something wasn't right because I had some minor pain going up my neck. I hadn't realized that my shoulders were tightening with any particular exercise, just that it was tight at the end.

Should I do just one of those exercises each day because maybe it was a particular exercise that caused it? Or did I just too too much even though I didn't feel that way throughout the program?