Use Your Head About Shoulders YJGudmestad 2.doc

8/13/2019 Use Your Head About Shoulders YJGudmestad 2.doc

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IF You CAN'T STRAIGHTEN your shoulders when you stretch your arms overhead, you're n

!or some challen"es n yo"a# T"ht shoulders can ma$e Adho %u$ha &r$sasana Handstand( a

)attle, com*ress your low )ac$ n &ra)hadrasana I +arror (, $ee* your arms )ent n -rdhva

.hanurasana +heel /ose(, and dsru*t the )eaut!ul vertcal lne n sm*le asanas l$e &r$sasana

Tree /ose(# 0ut you can ma$e lon"1term chan"es n shoulder mo)lty wth re"ular wor$ on 2ust a

!ew sm*le *oses, and your more challen"n" asanas wll m*rove notcea)ly# Several muscles can

lmt your a)lty to stretch the arms overhead, )ut two o! the most m*ortant are the *ectorals

ma2or and latssmus dors# The *ecs are lar"e chest muscles that or"nate on the )reast)one andcollar)ones and nsert on the outer u**er arm )ones humerus(# The lats are lar"e, !lat muscles on

the )ac$, whch or"nate on the *elvs and the md1 and low )ac$ verte)rae# From there, they

e3tend u* and da"onally out across the )ac$, wra* throu"h the arm*ts, and nsert on the nner

humerus#

I! your *ecs and lats are short and t"ht, they stron"ly lmt shoulder !le3on, the a)lty to

stretch the arm u*# Sometmes these muscles are short )ecause you've wor$ed hard to stren"then

them throu"h actvtes l$e s*orts and we"ht trann"# 4!ten, however, the t"htness s due to lac$

o! stretchn"# As we say n *hyscal thera*y, 5I! you don't use t, you lose t#5 I! you only stretch

your arms h"h enou"h to reach a cu* on a shel! or "et a com) to the to* o! your head, your

shoulders wll mantan 2ust that amount o! !le3)lty# There aren't many actvtes n daly l!e that

use a !ull 6o de"rees o! shoulder !le3on, so the avera"e *erson *ro)a)ly only has 7o de"rees, !arless than you need !or a "ood Adho %u$ha Svanasana .ownward1Facn" .o"(#

T"ht *ecs and lats not only lmt your a)lty to !ully stretch your arms

overhead, they also stron"ly *ull the shoulder nto nternal rotaton# Ths causes

*ro)lems n yo"a )ecause most asanas re8ure e3ternal rotaton# To e3*erence e3ternal

rotaton, stand wth your arms at your sdes and turn the *alms !orward# I! you hold that

rotaton and )rn" your arms !orward and overhead, the *alms wll !ace each other or

even *ont sl"htly )ac$ward# Ths s the rotaton you need n arms1 overhead *oses l$e

+arror , Tree, Handstand, and Headstand# I! nstead you nternally rotate your

shoulders and then rase your arms overhead, the el)ows tend to )ow outward, and you

lose m*ortant al"nment and su**ort n we"ht )earn" *oses l$e .own .o", Hand1

stand, Headstand, and +heel#

S*readn" Your +n"s

0EF4RE +E F4C-S 4N Stretchn" the *ecs and lats, however, let's consder another

muscle that can lmt !ull shoulder !le3on, the rhom)ods# 9ocated )etween the s*ne and

shoulder )lades, these muscles *ull the )lades toward the s*ne# As you l!t your arms u*,

ether to the sdes or to the !ront, the shoulder )lades should )roaden away !rom the s*ne

and rotate u*ward# I! t"ht rhom)ods *revent the sca*ula shoulder )lade( !rom movn",

your shoulder !le3on can )e s"n!cantly lmted#

Anatomy of a YogiBY JULIE

Use Your Head About Shoulders

/ractcn" a !ew sm*le stretches can result n new !reedom o! movement n many standn" *oses,

)ac$)ends, and nversons#


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Fortunately, yo"a *rovdes a wonder!ul stretch !or the rhom)ods, the arm *os1

ton o! Garudasana Ea"le /ose(# Cross your el)ows n !ront o! your chest, stand tall, and

see ! you !eel a stretch )etween

! t"ht rhom)ods *revent your shoulder )lades !rom movn", you may not )e

a)le to )rn" your arms stra"ht overhead#

your shoulder )lades# I! you don't !eel a stretch, try rasn" your el)ows to shoulder he"ht

and also ntertwnn" your hands and !orearms so that your thum)s *ont toward your

!ace# +hchever arm *oston you use, $ee* your )reast)one l!ted and )reathe nto the

s*ace )etween the shoulder )lades# 9et the nhalaton e3*and the t"ht muscles, ncludn"

the rhom)ods: on the e3halaton, !eel as thou"h the t"htness drans out# Hold the stretch

!or one to two mnutes and contnue to )reathe smoothly and evenly# +hen you are

!nshed wth ths sde, re*eat wth the other el)ow on to*#

Stretchn" Your 9mts

N4+ THAT Y4-'&E stretched the rhom)ods to !ree the shoulder )lades, let's wor$on stretchn" the lats and /ecs# Roll u* a )lan$et, small ru", or )" towel to ma$e a !rm,

round )olster# The )""er the roll, the )""er the stretch, so start small ! you have t"hter

shoulders# 9e on the roll !ace u*, wth the roll across your u**er )ac$; It should )e

under the )ottom *art o! your shoulder )lades, not under your lower r)s#

Now stretch your arms u* to the celn" and !eel the shoulder )lades )roaden away !rom

the s*ne# %a$e sure the *alms !ace each other, so you are ncor*oratn" e3ternal

rotaton, and stretch your arms overhead#


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)etween your low )ac$ and the wall; A normal low )ac$ curve wll *rovde 2ust

enou"h room !or your hand# +th your *alms !acn" each other, )rn" your

arms u* n !ront o! you and stretch the arms !orward enou"h to !eel the shoulder

)lades )roaden )ut not so much that your )reast)one dro*s# Contnue to $ee*

the *alms !acn" as you smoothly stretch the arms u* overhead# To )uld

stren"th, try to hold ths *oston !or at least 30 seconds to a mnute#Also try to $ee* the same amount o! low )ac$ curve wth whch you started;

.on't com*ensate !or lac$ o! !ull ran"e

.on't com*ensate !or t"htness n your shoulders )y overarchn"1and *oss)ly

com*ressn"your lower )ac$#

o! moton n your shoulders )y overarchn"1and *oss)ly com*ressn"1your

lower )ac$# 4nce you've )e"un to o*en and stren"then your shoulders, *oses

l$e .own .o", El)ow 0alance, Headstand, and Handstand can hel* you

)uld even more stren"th#

I! you can stand near the wall, mantan your re"ular low )ac$ curve, and )rn"

your arms overhead all the way to the wall don't let those el)ows )ow out to

the sdes(, con"ratulatons> You've 2oned an e3clusve "rou*, the 6o1.e"ree

Clu)# Your mem)ersh* n the clu) should result n new !reedom o!

movement n all o! the arms1overhead standn" *oses, less "rum*ness n your

low )ac$ n )ac$)ends, and less e!!ort n nversons# m

Julie Gudmestad is a licensed physical therapist and certified Iyengar Yoga

teacher. She runs a private physical therapy practice and yoga studio in

Portland, Oregon, here she com!ines her "estern medical #noledge ith

the healing poers o!yoga.

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Use Your Head About Shoulders YJGudmestad 2.doc