@catvaladezyoga on Shoulder Love 💗
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Happy Friday loves!🤳 Tag a friend who could use more #shoulderopener in their life!
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So here’s the deal: the #shoulders, like the hips, “open” in several different directions. But when people talk about opening them up for #asana, they’re usually talking about overhead opening which is where many have the least range of motion starting out. For any pose where there’s an overhead grip (most, but not all, of them being backbends), you’ll want to work these into your practice.
The green arrows show direction of engagement and isometric movement. ALL of these are safest done with arms engaged, so they are NOT passive stretches (especially if you have very mobile shoulders). Dual actions in these help create traction for the stretch and resistance to stabilize the shoulder at the same time. Effort and ease. Super important that you are doing some “work” in all of these.
Out of them all, my favorite is #dolphinpose or forearm downward dog there on the bottom right. Its my favorite way to open AND strengthen the shoulders. Practice this regularly and it will create range of motion coupled with stability. Stability is really important, especially in the shoulders.
People tend to be either very limited in range of motion here or very open. Work mindfully in these openers because the shoulders are a very fragile joint system, nothing like that super stable hip joint (though it’s turning out that can be destabilized over time with enough force as well). The deeper you go, the stronger you need to be.
My newest favorite of this bunch is the top left. With interlaced fingers clasping the base of the skull, gently pull the hands UP against the neck to lengthen it, encourage heart lift as you slowly arch back a bit and encourage shoulders down. Squeezing the elbows in and up brings the stretch into the side panel back muscles (the lats) and this shape and action is all very much like what you’d find in one legged king pigeon backbend and the like.
Share. Save. Ask questions. Let me know what you think! I hope this helps you. Part of my #overachieversguidetoyoga series. 😘
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