Anatomy of a Yogi

BY JULIE

Use Your Head About Shoulders

/ract c n" a !ew s m*le stretches can result n new !reedom o! movement n many stand n" *oses, )ac$)ends, and nvers ons#

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 '+arr or ,(, $ee* your arms )ent n -rdhva .hanurasana '+heel /ose(, and d sru*t the )eaut !ul vert cal l ne n s m*le asanas l $e &r$sasana 'Tree /ose(# 0ut you can ma$e lon"1term chan"es n shoulder mo) l ty w th re"ular wor$ on 2ust a !ew s m*le *oses, and your more challen" n" asanas w ll m*rove not cea)ly# Several muscles can l m t your a) l ty to stretch the arms overhead, )ut two o! the most m*ortant are the *ectoral s ma2or and lat ss mus dors # The *ecs are lar"e chest muscles that or " nate on the )reast)one and collar)ones and nsert on the outer u**er arm )ones 'humerus(# The lats are lar"e, !lat muscles on the )ac$, wh ch or " nate on the *elv s and the m d1 and low )ac$ verte)rae# From there, they e3tend u* and d a"onally out across the )ac$, wra* throu"h the arm* ts, and nsert on the nner humerus# I! your *ecs and lats are short and t "ht, they stron"ly l m t shoulder !le3 on, the a) l ty to stretch the arm u*# Somet mes these muscles are short )ecause you've wor$ed hard to stren"then them throu"h act v t es l $e s*orts and we "ht tra n n"# 4!ten, however, the t "htness s due to lac$ o! stretch n"# As we say n *hys cal 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 w ll ma nta n 2ust that amount o! !le3 ) l ty# There aren't many act v t es n da ly l !e that use a !ull 6o de"rees o! shoulder !le3 on, so the avera"e *erson *ro)a)ly only has ,7o de"rees, !ar less than you need !or a "ood Adho %u$ha Svanasana '.ownward1Fac n" .o"(# T "ht *ecs and lats not only l m t your a) l ty to !ully stretch your arms overhead, they also stron"ly *ull the shoulder nto nternal rotat on# Th s causes *ro)lems n yo"a )ecause most asanas re8u re e3ternal rotat on# To e3*er ence e3ternal rotat on, stand w th your arms at your s des and turn the *alms !orward# I! you hold that rotat on and )r n" your arms !orward and overhead, the *alms w ll !ace each other or even *o nt sl "htly )ac$ward# Th s s the rotat on you need n arms1 overhead *oses l $e +arr or ,, Tree, Handstand, and Headstand# I! nstead you nternally rotate your shoulders and then ra se your arms overhead, the el)ows tend to )ow outward, and you lose m*ortant al "nment and su**ort n we "ht )ear n" *oses l $e .own .o", Hand1 stand, Headstand, and +heel# S*read n" Your + n"s 0EF4RE +E F4C-S 4N Stretch n" the *ecs and lats, however, let's cons der another muscle that can l m t !ull shoulder !le3 on, the rhom)o ds# 9ocated )etween the s* ne and shoulder )lades, these muscles *ull the )lades toward the s* ne# As you l !t your arms u*, e ther to the s des or to the !ront, the shoulder )lades should )roaden away !rom the s* ne and rotate u*ward# I! t "ht rhom)o ds *revent the sca*ula 'shoulder )lade( !rom mov n", your shoulder !le3 on can )e s "n ! cantly l m ted#

Fortunately, yo"a *rov des a wonder!ul stretch !or the rhom)o ds, the arm *os 1 t on 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)o ds *revent your shoulder )lades !rom mov n", you may not )e a)le to )r n" your arms stra "ht overhead# your shoulder )lades# I! you don't !eel a stretch, try ra s n" your el)ows to shoulder he "ht and also ntertw n n" your hands and !orearms so that your thum)s *o nt toward your !ace# +h chever arm *os t on you use, $ee* your )reast)one l !ted and )reathe nto the s*ace )etween the shoulder )lades# 9et the nhalat on e3*and the t "ht muscles, nclud n" the rhom)o ds: on the e3halat on, !eel as thou"h the t "htness dra ns out# Hold the stretch !or one to two m nutes and cont nue to )reathe smoothly and evenly# +hen you are ! n shed w th th s s de, re*eat w th the other el)ow on to*# Stretch n" Your 9 m ts N4+ THAT Y4-'&E stretched the rhom)o ds to !ree the shoulder )lades, let's wor$ on stretch n" 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# 9 e on the roll !ace u*, w th the roll across your u**er )ac$; It should )e under the )ottom *art o! your shoulder )lades, not under your lower r )s# Now stretch your arms u* to the ce l n" and !eel the shoulder )lades )roaden away !rom the s* ne# %a$e sure the *alms !ace each other, so you are ncor*orat n" e3ternal rotat on, and stretch your arms overhead# <ee* len"then n" the arms out o! the shoulders and don't let the el)ows )ow out to the s des# 0reathe nto the s des o! the r ) ca"e and v sual =e the lats and *ecs len"then n" w th each e3halat on# +h le stretch n" the lats and pees, t's )est not to !orce the stretch to the *o nt o! *a n# /a n s "nals that dama"e s occurr n", and the nervous system tells the muscles to contract to *rotect themselves !rom tear n"# 4)v ously, a "uarded, contracted muscle sn't "o n" to stretch very e!!ect vely# Also, t's "enerally a )ad dea to create *a n near or n a 2o nt wh le stretch n"# The !unct ons o! the so!t t ssues nearest the 2o nt, *r mar ly tendons and l "aments, are to sta) l =e and *rotect the 2o nt !rom a)normal movement# You don't want to r s$ overstretch n", desta) l = n", and dama" n" the 2o nt, so ! you !eel *a n wh le stretch n" your shoulders, su**ort your hands on a )loc$ or on the run"s o! a cha r at 2ust the r "ht he "ht so you !eel stretch and not *a n# You may also want to )end your $nees or even *lace your !eet on the wall a !ew !eet a)ove the !loor# I! you have t "ht shoulders and stretch your arms overhead, your lower r )s w ll t * !orward and your lower )ac$ w ll overarch# 'Th s same mechan sm can contr )ute to low )ac$ com*ress on and *a n n +arr or I and n +heel /ose#( 0oth )end n" the $nees and *lac n" the !eet u* the wall anchor the *elv s and *rotect your low )ac$ !rom overarch n"# Building Your Strength IF You +4R< re"ularly on stretch n" )ac$ over a )olster, hold n" the stretch !or at least two to three m nutes, your shoulders w ll "radually o*en# To wor$ n the new ran"e o! mot on you've o*ened u*, you also need to stren"then the muscles that !le3 the shoulders, *r mar ly the delto ds, the sh eld1sha*ed muscles that cover the shoulder 2o nt# 4ne way to do th s s )y stand n" near a wall w th your )uttoc$s and shoulders l "htly touch n" t# Sl de one hand

)etween your low )ac$ and the wall; A normal low )ac$ curve w ll *rov de 2ust enou"h room !or your hand# + th your *alms !ac n" each other, )r n" 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# Cont nue to $ee* the *alms !ac n" as you smoothly stretch the arms u* overhead# To )u ld stren"th, try to hold th s *os t on !or at least 30 seconds to a m nute# Also try to $ee* the same amount o! low )ac$ curve w th wh ch you started; .on't com*ensate !or lac$ o! !ull ran"e

.on't com*ensate !or t "htness n your shoulders )y overarch n"1and *oss )ly com*ress n"your lower )ac$#

o! mot on n your shoulders )y overarch n"1and *oss )ly com*ress n"1your lower )ac$# 4nce you've )e"un to o*en and stren"then your shoulders, *oses l $e .own .o", El)ow 0alance, Headstand, and Handstand can hel* you )u ld even more stren"th# I! you can stand near the wall, ma nta n your re"ular low )ac$ curve, and )r n" your arms overhead all the way to the wall 'don't let those el)ows )ow out to the s des(, con"ratulat ons> You've 2o ned an e3clus ve "rou*, the 6o1.e"ree Clu)# Your mem)ersh * n the clu) should result n new !reedom o! movement n all o! the arms1overhead stand n" *oses, less "rum* ness n your low )ac$ n )ac$)ends, and less e!!ort n nvers ons# 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 #no ledge ith the healing po ers o! yoga.