Arm-strengthening poses protect the shoulders—if you do them correctly. Arm-strengthening posesprotecttheshoulders—ifyoudothemcorrectly. Discover acommoncauseofsoreshouldersandstartfindingrelieftoday. So Long,SoreShoulders! out distraction.your begin,standwith To you feelthemanymusclesinvolved ting weightonthearms.Thiswill ploring shoulderalignmentwithoutput- Let’s startwithalittleexperiment,ex IDENTIFYING GOODALIGNMENT and effectively poses likechaturangaandplanksafely integrity toyourshoulders,andperform shoulder alignment,restorestructural you protectyourbiceps,developproper Herearesometipstohelp shoulder. muscles andtendonsthatstabilizethe strain ontherotatorcuff,groupof donitis (Fig.1).This,inturn,mayput is aformoftendonitiscalledbicepsten Theinjury and mayevenbegintotear. Flexible ranga dandasana occurs whenweovertaxourshouldersindemandingposessuchas persistent painatthefrontsofshoulders.Why?Thistypesoreness dons attachingthebicepstofrontsofarmbonescanbestrained positioned insuchweight-bearingposes—andtheyoftenare—theten- { Tendons asana solutions} Biceps 1 ashtangis By . doug keller (four-limbed staffpose).Ifourshouldersareincorrectly and otherhathayogaenthusiastsoftensufferfromdull, help with- Copyright ©2008 dandasana, thetendons ofthesemusclesareeasilystrained. positioned inweight-bearingposes,such aschaturanga beneath thebiceps.Whenshoulders areincorrectly TENDONS A - - Acromion Process with theirshoulderstoocloseto uttanasana plank pose(orevenjumpingbackfrom descendingstraightdownfrom this way, actually comeintochaturangadandasana your shoulders(Fig.2b).Manystudents feel somestrainortensionatthefrontsof hunch forwardtosomedegree;youwill Notice howtheshouldersinevitably toward thefrontsofyourshoulders. the topsofyourhandsstraightback ears. Nowbendyourelbows,bringing that theyareinthesameplaneasyour (Fig. 2a).Drawyourshouldersbackso ing plankposefromastandingposition) arms parallel(asifyouwerepantomim- height, wristsflexedat90degrees,and arms extendedforwardatshoulder T RISK Yoga +Joyful Living. Yoga The corachobrachialismusclelies , the standingforwardbend) Corachobrachialis All rights reserved. chatu- Asana photos: Jim Filipski / Guy Cali Assoc.; Wardrobe: practice cami and hatha pant by Omgirl; Model: Sierra Bender; Anatomical illustrations: 2005 Books of Discovery hands. When the shoulders hunch for- L ward (dropping toward the floor in cha- L L turanga) the pectoral muscles must do L nearly all the work, and this strains the fronts of the shoulder capsules. L Here is a way to feel the proper L action. Once again, extend your arms forward and draw your shoulders back in line with your ears. Keep your shoulders firmly in this position and then bend your elbows to 90 degrees. Your elbows should be at waist level and your fore- arms parallel to the floor (Fig. 2c). This is the correct position for the arms, with the shoulders still in line with your ears rather than rounding forward. Feel the muscles under and around your shoulder 2a2c2b blades working to draw your shoulder blades firmly onto your back like mag- nets. These are the muscles that hold STANDING PLANK MISALIGNED CHATURANGA ALIGNED CHATURANGA the shoulder blades in place, to comple- With your arms extended Draw your hands in toward From standing plank, bend ment the pushing action of the pectorals forward at shoulder height your shoulders and notice how your elbows and draw your and triceps. If you disengage these mus- and your wrists flexed, draw the shoulders hunch forward. hands to waist level. Feel the cles, your shoulders will immediately your shoulders back until they In this position, the pectorals muscles working under and drop forward. >> are in line with your ears. overwork, straining the joint. around your shoulder blades. yogaplus.org march - april 2008 yoga+joyful living 77 ACTIVATING KEY SHOULDER MUSCLES higher. They must also remain in line broader and the sides of your neck more This next series of exercises activates a with your ears; do not let them drift back relaxed. Your upper trapezius muscles are few key muscles in the shoulders and behind the torso. Keeping this alignment doing the work of holding your shoulders upper body, builds strength and integrity, through the exercise is actually its most up, reducing the load on the deltoid and and can help heal rotator cuff injuries. For important challenge. If you are tight in levator scapulae muscles at either side of the first exercise, start by lifting your arms the levator scapulae and upper rhom- your neck. out to the sides. Bend your elbows to 90 boids, and weak in the upper trapezius Keeping your shoulders and elbows degrees so that your forearms are parallel because of sloping shoulders, your el- in the same plane as the central axis of to the floor, your fingers are pointing for- bows will drop below and behind the your body, rotate your arms until your ward, and your palms are facing down shoulders as the shoulders creep upward fingers point straight up toward the ceil- (Fig. 3a). In this and each of the move- and forward. If that happens, realign your- ing (Fig. 3b). Your elbows are still bent ments that follow, your elbows must re- self by relaxing your shoulders down away at 90 degrees and your palms are facing main at shoulder height or even slightly from your ears. Your shoulders will feel forward. Check your alignment in a mir- ror. As you rotate your arms up to this position, notice how your shoulder blades move down your back, away from your ears. Feel how the muscles around and even underneath your shoulder blades firm, pressing your shoulder blades into your back. The bottom tips of the shoulder blades will press toward your back ribs, encouraging a lift and opening in the chest. Now for the fun part. While keeping your arms in exactly this alignment, bent at 90 degrees, rotate your palms inward toward your ears, even drawing your lit- tle fingers toward each other and thumbs away from each other (Fig. 3c). While doing this, flex your biceps (actually, it will be hard not to), drawing the energy of that contraction from your inner el- bows toward your armpits. This action of the inner biceps (and corachobrachi- alis, an arm adductor, see Fig. 1) serves to secure the heads of the arm bones in the shoulder joints, strengthening and protecting the tendons at the fronts of the shoulder capsules. This action will help steady the shoulders for what follows. Keeping the inner biceps engaged, rotate your hands and forearms outward, so that your palms face away from your ears (Fig. 3d). Again, draw your little fin- gers toward each other and your thumbs Doug Keller has a master’s degree in philosophy from Fordham University. His yoga journey includes 14 years of practicing in Siddha Yoga ashrams, intensive training in the Iyengar and Anusara methods, and nearly a decade of teaching in the U.S. and abroad. Asana instruction, essays, and other enlightening information are available on his website: DoYoga.com. 78 yoga+joyful living march - april 2008 yogaplus.org away from each other. The muscular the shoulder blades themselves. Keep Now extend your arms to either side, contraction draws energy from the little your chest open and notice that the as in virabhadrasana II (warrior II). Feel fingers and outer forearms through your shoulder blades are not pressing toward how your arms receive more support triceps and the backs of your shoulders each other. They don’t pinch or close like from the action of the shoulder blades, (infraspinatus and teres minor, two rota- elevator doors; they stay where they are and less from the deltoids—though the tor cuff muscles) and into the muscles of and hug the back. deltoids will still be working. If you lose L L L L L L L L 3a 3b 3c 3d ALIGN YOUR ARMS by bending ROTATE YOUR UPPER ARMS ROTATE YOUR PALMS INWARD ROTATE YOUR PALMS OUT your elbows at shoulder height, toward the ceiling while keeping while engaging your biceps, feeling while keeping your inner biceps keeping your forearms parallel to your elbows in line with your the contraction from your inner engaged. This action presses your the floor. Don’t let your elbows fall shoulders. This action moves your elbows to your armpits. This action shoulder blades into your back below or draw behind the shoulders. shoulder blades down your back. stabilizes your shoulder joints. without pinching them together. yogaplus.org march - april 2008 yoga+joyful living 79 the support of these muscles in the shoul- When they contract, they pull the shoul- der blades, you can regain it by simply der blades forward, effectively helping rotating your palms to face upward. us to push through the arms. In conjunc- Reach up through your little fingers, and tion with the pectoral muscles of the front feel the outer edges of your shoulder body, they help hold us steady in a simple blades firm into your back, supporting plank pose. When the serratus muscles the weight of your arms. Maintain that are weak, the shoulder blades will “wing firmness as you turn your palms to face out” or lift away from the ribs as we push down once again. through the arms in plank pose. This If you repeat this series two to three leads to tightness and strain at the fronts times and then hold your arms extended of the shoulders, especially from the ac- for four to five breaths, you may be sur- tion of the pectorals. prised at how much work is required of While the serratus anterior muscles the shoulders. This exercise is a good prep- play a large role when we push our shoul- aration for extending your arms in the lat- ders forward,