Body & Balance Studio

Floor Angel

strengthenshouldereasyactive

Content last reviewed: 2026-07-14

Floor Angel demonstration

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with your forehead supported on a folded towel and your arms down by your sides, palms down.
  2. Lift your arms slightly off the floor and sweep them out and up — from beside your hips, through a T position, toward overhead — like making a snow angel.
  3. Let your shoulder blades rotate naturally around your rib cage as the arms travel overhead, keeping your ribs and pelvis grounded.
  4. Reverse along the same path back to your hips, staying slow and controlled without shrugging or forcing the range.

Form cues

  • Keep the ribs down and the low back quiet as the arms move.
  • Reach the arms long rather than shrugging the shoulders toward the ears.
  • Let the palms rotate naturally and stop the sweep before the ribs lift or the shoulder pinches.
  • Stop for front-of-shoulder pain, numbness or tingling.

Dosage

2 × 10 reps

Muscles worked

middle trapezius — anatomical illustration
middle trapeziusAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.
serratus anterior — anatomical illustration
serratus anteriorAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.

Strengthens: middle trapezius, lower trapezius, rhomboids, posterior deltoid, rotator cuff, serratus anterior

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