shoulder mobility Archives

Bound Ardha Chandrasana

by Trisha Curling | Nov 16, 2023 | Main Page Display

Bound Ardha Chandrasana

Technique, Accessibility, and Expression

BOUND HALF MOON

BOUND ARDHA CHANDRASANA

As Matt shares the 5 Powers of Consciousness from Tantrik yoga philosophy in his current immersion, The Power of Bliss, he reminds us that they are powers that exist within us and are present all around us. You can see a brief breakdown here. These teachings can be applied when discussing Bound Ardha Chandrasana, and there is a lot to say. In the full class, Matt describes this pose as one of the most challenging (this is subjective of course), but that leaves room to interject discussion of the 2nd power of consciousness, Bliss (Ānanda-Śakti), into the conversation. When considering what Bliss means when it comes to Bound Ardha Chandrasana, you’ll also have to also make room for how technique (or knowledge, Jñāna-Śakti), accessibility, and expression play a role.

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WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF BLISS?

I was asked this question once by my osteopath, and I gave an answer about a feeling, a moment in time when I felt happy. Starting to delve deeper into philosophy in my 300 Hour studies with Matt has definitely challenged my previous answer.

Matt explains the teachings so well, stating that Bliss (yes, with a capital B) is not a feeling of just finding happiness, or of “being in a state of bliss” because things are going the way you want them to at a particular moment or in life. Rather, it is the awareness (Cit-Śakti) that even in struggle, you can experience Bliss because you are here, in the human experience. Your mere being is an expression of Bliss itself and all that your experiences encompass.

If Bound Ardha Chandrasana is challenging and you’re feeling frustrated in the process, Bliss is actually present.

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BOUND ARDHA CHANDRASANA: TECHNIQUE, ACCESSIBILITY, AND EXPRESSION

GROWTH AND EXPRESSION

The same is true if Bound Ardha Chandrasana comes to you quite naturally. Bliss is also present in this state. This is where we come to understand that it’s more about where we are along the journey of Bound Ardha Chandrasana and not about the achievement of the posture itself. It’s about the knowledge we are gaining and about each individual experience. Your ability to express yourself fully in any variation of the posture is what contributes to the deepening of your relationship with the practice of yoga and the power that exists within you.

On the Chromatic Path to the posture, there are variations and preparations for you to learn from, sit with, and grow with. Matt’s classes offer a plethora of options for you to carve your own path.

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VARIATION AND PREPARATION

In today’s video, Matt starts off by demonstrating the techniques involved in Bound Side Angle. Important cues like the internal rotation of your arms, along with bowing deeply forward, create an accessibility to the bind that you may not have thought possible. Now, working this way in Bound Side Angle or even Bound Triangle (which he also demonstrates) doesn’t necessarily make the pose “easier.” This approach just offers options and access points for you to explore. The postures are opportunities for you to explore the techniques, gain knowledge, and discern what is appropriate for you to express at any given time. Matt offers the option for you to explore a half bind, or none at all. When you play the video, you’ll hear him discuss the importance of finding the love within yourself to express outwardly in the form or variation you’ve chosen.

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FROM TECHNIQUE TO BLISS

You could quite easily argue that it’s not a road from technique to Bliss; they actually very much permeate one another. Bliss exists within acquiring the knowledge of the techniques involved in Bound Ardha Chandrasana. Being present in the fullness of each step reminds you of the fact that you have an ability to explore your body in this way and that both your experience in your body and your experience with postures like Bound Ardha Chandrasana will change over time. The intricacies that Matt demonstrates in the video, like where to place your Drishti (gaze), where to place the weight in your feet, how to ignite your glutes—are all part of the power that exists within you. Bask in the glory of this expression in the Power of Bliss Immersion.

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Videos Extracted From: Power of Bliss Immersion

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Glutes & Hamstrings

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Bound Ardha Chandrasana

Bound Ardha Chandrasana Technique, Accessibility, and ExpressionBOUND HALF MOONBOUND ARDHA CHANDRASANA As Matt shares the 5 Powers of Consciousness from Tantrik yoga philosophy in his current immersion, The Power of Bliss, he reminds us that they are powers that exist...

10 Sun Salutation Skill Sets

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3 Ways To Stretch & Strengthen Your Neck

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Take Action In Flying Pigeon

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Inversion Drills

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Compass Pose

by Trisha Curling | Apr 18, 2023 | Main Page Display

Compass Pose

Variations to Challenge Balance and Flexibility

balance & flexibility

COMPASS POSE VARIATIONS

Compass Pose, especially the variations Matt offers today, will challenge you, and not necessarily in the ways you might think. Most obviously, it will challenge you in the lateral flexion of the spine and the extensive amount of shoulder and hamstring flexibility required, but even more than that are all the lifts, drops, and turns, or maybe better said, the articulations and/or actions in the joints, that make it that much more challenging. However, with challenge comes reward. You’ll see that both variations provide an opportunity to deepen your understanding of the posture because of the step-by-step techniques you’ll follow and because of how your body responds within the posture. After reviewing today’s video clip, you’ll be empowered with 2 variations of Compass Pose that will test your ability to stay present while increasing strength, balance, and flexibility.

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ANATOMY OF COMPASS POSE

Although Compass Pose is a seated posture, it does require balance. After all, one leg is lifted while the other is grounded to the floor. Lifting the top leg requires strength in the outer hip muscles (gluteus medius & minimus). Because you grab hold of the foot of the top leg, you might argue that Compass Pose is both a passive and an active stretch. A healthy approach to this lifting and opening is to activate those outer hip muscles to create more abduction, rather than relying solely on the flexibility of the adductors and the hamstrings. Next up are your shoulders and back muscles. Gaining access to grabbing hold of the foot requires an engagement of the rhomboids to create more opening in the shoulders. In addition, there are 2 actions that are key to putting it all together.

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COMPASS POSE: 2 VARIATIONS TO CHALLENGE BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY

COMPASS POSE VARIATION 1

It’s the 2 additional actions we’ll see now that bring the pose together.

In this variation, the bottom knee is bent. Matt shows you how to “snuggle” into your lifted leg while leaning and putting your weight into the bent (or seated) leg, seting you up for success. Leaning your weight to the side allows for a hike of the hip—the first action. This lifting, along with the activation of the rhomboids to pull your shoulder back, allows you to more easily guide your foot. Matt explains that keeping the hike of the hip means that your pelvis is at an angle in which your leg doesn’t have to fight against the hip joint, ultimately making it easier for shoulder opening. The second action is the internal rotation of the hip as you lift the leg. Internal rotation helps maintain the lift.

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COMPASS POSE VARIATION 2

In this 2nd variation of Compass Pose, the bottom leg is straight and mimics Center Splits early in the setup. Once you’re in the posture, extending the bottom leg all the way out further challenges your balance and flexibility. In order to maintain better balance, you can emphasize internally rotating through both legs for more stability in your base.

Now, remember when I mentioned that Compass Pose can be viewed as both an active and a passive stretch? In the full class, Matt takes the pose to the next level and offers the option of letting go of the foot and relying on both the active flexion of the hip and the activation of the outer hips. Do these actions remind you of anything? If you said Vishvamitrasana, then you’re right. So much of what Matt offers here is exactly what you need to prepare for Vishvamitrasana (also known, among other names in English, as Flying Compass Pose).

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WITH CHALLENGE COMES REWARD

The challenges you encounter might be in those finer details (hiking up and internally rotating the hip), or perhaps the inability to balance on one side is preventing you from utilizing the flexibility available to you. If you do find balance, incorporating the internal rotation may either throw off your balance or make it hard to maintain. The truth is that building on one step at a time while honoring the current state of your body will help you reap the rewards over time.

Matt’s current Splits Immersion will both challenge you and guide you toward the mastery of these techniques.

See you on the mat!

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Video Extracted From: The Splits

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Continue Learning

Glutes & Hamstrings

Bound Ardha Chandrasana

10 Sun Salutation Skill Sets

3 Ways To Stretch & Strengthen Your Neck

Take Action In Flying Pigeon

Inversion Drills

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King Pigeon Variations

by Trisha Curling | Nov 17, 2022 | Main Page Display

King Pigeon Variations

Full Body Awareness for Your Shoulders

mobility

KING PIGEON

If you’ve practiced with Matt before, you’ll be aware of the domino effect or the ripple effect of how a yoga posture unfolds. Matt brilliantly breaks down every pose with care and intricate detail. This helps you not only to understand a pose intellectually but also to physically feel this unfolding take place in your body; it’s like the satisfaction you feel when you hear the snap of the correct puzzle piece connecting into the right place. King Pigeon is a perfect example of this unfolding. One action intimately informs the next.

SHOULDER MOBILITY

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Increase strength and flexibility
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SHOULDER ACTIONS

At first glance, it appears that a great deal of shoulder flexion is required for King Pigeon Pose. That’s not false, but there is more to that than meets the eye. The setup of King Pigeon additionally requires shoulder extension, elevation, a balance between internal and external rotation, and retraction of the scapulae. In other words, it can appear and/or even feel quite complex because there are a lot of muscle engagements and contracting actions taking place. More specifically, it’s how these actions are carried out.

If you’re not familiar with how Matt teaches Downward-Facing Dog, you should check out my previous article, Downward-Facing Dog Shoulder Alignment. There are parallels that are extremely helpful. Once you are in King Pigeon, the key to safer alignment is the elevation of the shoulders and then the pulling of the armpits back (hollowing of the armpits). These 2 actions take place in Downward-Facing Dog to help minimize the possibility of shoulder impingement. In King Pigeon, these actions will also help to create greater shoulder mobility while reducing the potential for pain in the front of the shoulders and in the upper trapezius.

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KING PIGEON: FULL BODY AWARENESS FOR YOUR SHOULDERS

MORE THAN THE SHOULDERS

In order to diminish potential strain or pain in the shoulders, there are other actions and muscle activations that also hold great importance. Understanding the rest of the posture will help you find more ease in your execution. For example, creating a more robust backbend (spinal extension) will help reduce the amount of pressure in the shoulders. This will of course require the activation and then stretching/opening of the chest.

One of the most valuable actions is actually the pressing forward of the inner elbow. This is the catalyst for the external rotation that brings the arms up into flexion. When the arms are here, the armpits lift and pull back, through which, with awareness and intention, you can actively create scapular retraction (activation of the rhomboids, upper and middle trapezius, and rear deltoid muscles). Let’s look at the ripple effect.

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KING PIGEON WITH A YOGA STRAP

(Right leg in front)

Come into Pigeon Pose. A block underneath the right-side buttock is a great reminder and support to keep the hips more leveled. You can still stabilize and be intentional about activating the glute muscles.
Loop a strap around your foot.
Grab the strap with your left hand (palm facing up).
Turn your chest towards your foot.
Do a side bend by sending the right ribs forward.
Use hamstrings to pull your foot closer.
Pull your elbow in.
Rotate the arm so it is externally rotated.
Elbow comes up.
Once the elbow is by your face, you can close/turn the pelvis.
Lift your hips up.
Grab the strap with other hand.

It’s almost like a checklist—once you have completed one action, you will see how the others intuitively get checked off and naturally fall into place; in other words, once you maintain the side bend and pull your foot closer, your elbow will naturally pull in closer to your body.

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KING PIGEON WITHOUT A STRAP

(Left leg forward)

This variation will require deeper spinal extension and more shoulder mobility. Following Matt’s Chromatic formula—the layering of actions—helps you to move towards the reality of achieving the posture. In the video, you’ll see directly how with each step taken, the body reacts.

Here are the steps:

With a block under the left buttock, come into Pigeon Pose.
Turn towards your right foot to grab hold with the right hand (palm facing up with foot flexed and toes turned away from your midline).
Turn the chest and lift the hips up.
The elbow now comes in close to the body.
Rotate the arm into external rotation.
The chest goes forward significantly.
Other hand also comes around to grab the foot.

King Pigeon is not a posture to jump into! It demands awareness, patience, and understanding. Full-body awareness is the key to unlocking access to this posture.

There is still time to join in on the Shoulder Mobility immersion. Practicing these classes will help close the gap, in more advanced postures like King Pigeon, between what can seem like overwhelm and a deeper understanding of your own body in these postures.

See you on the mat!

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Shoulder Revelation

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Continue Learning

Glutes & Hamstrings

Bound Ardha Chandrasana

10 Sun Salutation Skill Sets

3 Ways To Stretch & Strengthen Your Neck

Take Action In Flying Pigeon

Inversion Drills

All Videos

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Reverse Plank Pose

by Trisha Curling | Nov 10, 2022 | Main Page Display

Reverse Plank Pose

Scapular Retraction for Back Strength

PURVOTTANASANA

REVERSE PLANK POSE

Asymmetry is a common issue when it comes to our asana practice. Opportunities to work on strengthening muscles in the back body are much less frequent than opportunities to strengthen our front body. Improving mobility and strength in the shoulders for a posture like Reverse Plank Pose has a direct influence on strengthening the back body. Reverse Plank Pose is easily neglected, but as Matt stresses in today’s video, it’s probably one of the most important postures we can include in our asana practice.

It’s easy to spend a considerable amount of time in Plank Pose and/or use it as a transition in a given asana practice, but we don’t necessarily flip it very often. Flipping the pose upside down and incorporating Reverse Plank Pose into our practice can create extremely therapeutic effects.

SHOULDER MOBILITY

Access Your Active Range of Motions

Increase strength and flexibility
Decrease risk of injury
Release shoulder tension
Learn anatomy and biomechanics
Access a wider range of postures
Stabilize the rotator cuff muscles
Learn binds, heart openers, and arm balances
12 all-levels, 75-minute online classes
Lifetime unlimited access to all

LEARN MORE!

THERAPEUTIC OUTCOMES

If you spend a lot of time with a rounded spine, it’s easy to default into that shape on a regular basis. Even if you attempt to offset your body positioning to open up the chest and come into a more upright or even a backbend position, it can feel abnormal and/or hard to sustain. When this is the case, it can lead to things like chronic neck and back pain.

In the very first class from the Shoulder Mobility immersion, Matt explains how the muscles of the back body are commonly underused. We can see this not only in our yoga practice but also in everyday activities off the yoga mat. Increasing attention and action in this area of the body can help us reap the therapeutic benefits that are available.

WATCH THE VIDEO: REVERSE PLANK POSE FOR BACK STRENGTH

WHY BACK STRENGTH IS IMPORTANT

Seems like common sense to know that any type of strength development in the body is not only important but essential. Unfortunately, we don’t always seek or develop balanced strength within our bodies when it comes to our asana practice. It’s human nature to resist things that bring challenge, and engaging the muscles in the back body can be tiring and difficult. The action of drawing the shoulder blades together feels good because it offsets forward shoulder-rounding and increases the stretch in the pectoral muscles. The pectoral muscles spend a lot of time in a shortened position, so retraction of the scapulae in poses like Reverse Plank Pose creates the desired length and stretch in the front body.

Retraction of the scapulae will help strengthen the rhomboid muscles and the middle fibers of the trapezius. This is important because it informs the quality of your daily posture.

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HAND VARIATIONS IN REVERSE PLANK POSE

In the video, Matt offers both Reverse Side Plank and Reverse Tabletop. In exploring these variations, you’ll find different ways to place your hands. The reason this is so important is that a specific hand position might be more suitable for your current state of shoulder mobility. It also provides opportunities for you to retract the scapulae from both internal and external rotation of the upper arm bones (humeri). This can help you better understand how to isolate the area of the rhomboids and trapezius. Specific actions, like pulling the hands towards one another and/or apart, can help activate the rear deltoids as well.

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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REVERSE PLANK POSE SETUP

Find a seated position, with legs stretched out ahead of you and fingers pointing towards heels (internal rotation of upper arm bone)
Lift shoulders up to the ears
Pull shoulders back
Move chest forward (increases activation of back muscles)
Flex or point feet
Press down through heels (using glute, back, and shoulder muscles to lift up into Plank)

You can see that Matt goes into great detail with each action, helping you maximize the benefit of generating strength in your back. If you’d like to actually see a difference in your posture and a reduction of pain, retraction of the scapulae is much more than just pulling your shoulder blades together.

Matt’s Shoulder Mobility immersion continues for the month of November. Register now and you’ll be able to practice live for the rest of the month, or else practice the classes in your own time. You’ll have lifetime access to all 12 classes once complete.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Shoulder Mobility

← See Previous Story See Next Story →

UPCOMING TEACHER TRAININGS

NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

200 Hour Training

NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

300 HOUR TRAINING

Continue Learning

Glutes & Hamstrings

Bound Ardha Chandrasana

10 Sun Salutation Skill Sets

3 Ways To Stretch & Strengthen Your Neck

Take Action In Flying Pigeon

Inversion Drills

All Videos

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
exclusive online course discounts
exclusive blogs and videos

Side Angle Pose

by Trisha Curling | Oct 27, 2022 | Main Page Display

Side Angle Pose

Shoulder Fix at the Wall

upward rotation

SIDE ANGLE POSE

Stop for a moment and think about how many times you lift your arms overhead in any given asana practice. There are plenty of opportunities, aren’t there? Side Angle Pose is a perfect example.

Also think about how this action is an everyday occurrence off of your yoga mat. It doesn’t even have to be in another movement practice, or maybe reaching up to grab something out of a cupboard. It could simply be a natural bodily instinct when you feel like you need a little stretch after sitting at your work desk for most of the day. An action like this can be so easily taken for granted. Lifting your arms up over your head without pain is a privilege for so many, and it can be quite frustrating when you want to engage in such a “simple” movement/action but have difficulty doing so. The same thing rings true when you consider a foundational posture like Side Angle Pose. This pose seems “innocent” enough but may not be so simple when there is pain that keeps you from lifting your top arm overhead.

Unfortunately, pain from this action is commonly rooted in the myth that it is better to draw your shoulders away from your ears even when your arms are overhead. This is often communicated in yoga classes, but let’s bust this myth with some anatomy of the shoulder.

SHOULDER MOBILITY

Access Your Active Range of Motions

Increase strength and flexibility
Decrease risk of injury
Release shoulder tension
Learn anatomy and biomechanics
Access a wider range of postures
Stabilize the rotator cuff muscles
Learn binds, heart openers, and arm balances
12 all-levels, 75-minute online classes
Lifetime unlimited access to all

LEARN MORE!

SHOULDER ANATOMY

The acromion process is almost like a little bone that sticks out and is essentially the front part of the scapula. If you were to palpate and travel along the “spine of the scapula” (on the upper border of the scapula) and follow that along towards the top of the shoulder, you would feel a small flat surface underneath your fingers.

Underneath the scapula is the supraspinatus (a rotator cuff muscle), which exists underneath this acromioclavicular joint (AC joint). Within this space, you’ll also find soft tissue called the bursa. Bursae are like little liquid-filled sacs that help minimize friction between the moving parts of the joints throughout your body. Underneath the “shelf” of the AC joint, you’ll find the subacromial bursa and the subdeltoid bursa.

The action of pulling your shoulders down while trying to lift your arms up may cause compression, pinching the soft tissues. This can lead to issues like bursitis (inflammation of the bursa), tendonitis, or, in some more extreme scenarios, the tearing of the supraspinatus. When these types of issues arise, they create what’s often referred to as shoulder impingement: “Patients with shoulder impingement syndrome suffer from painful entrapment of soft tissue whenever they elevate the arm.” In order to avoid this entrapment, Matt explains that it’s imperative that we learn how to upwardly rotate the shoulder blades.

Garving C, Jakob S, Bauer I, Nadjar R, Brunner UH. Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017 Nov 10;114(45):765-776. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0765. PMID: 29202926; PMCID: PMC5729225.

WATCH THE VIDEO: SIDE ANGLE POSE: SHOULDER FIX AT THE WALL

SHOULDER IMPINGEMENT

Once you understand the mechanics, it’s easier to understand why shoulder impingement may start to present itself in Side Angle Pose and other yoga postures where your arms go past shoulder height.

In the following study, we learn that shoulder impingement is both common and can be more complex:

“Shoulder pain is the third most common musculoskeletal complaint in orthopedic practice, and impingement syndrome is one of the more common underlying diagnoses. On the pathophysiological level, it can have various functional, degenerative, and mechanical causes. The impingement hypothesis assumes a pathophysiological mechanism in which different structures of the shoulder joint come into mechanical conflict. The goal of treatment is to restore pain-free and powerful movement of the shoulder joint.”

Asana practice does not replace treatment where necessary, but you can be proactive in trying to avoid shoulder impingement by moving with more intention and understanding. An asana practice may also serve as support to medical treatment.

So how can you move with more intention and understanding in Side Angle Pose?

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MOVE WITH INTENTION

Part of the intention in Side Angle Pose and other postures that require the action of lifting your arms overhead is to protect the subacromial space underneath the acromion process. You can reduce collision and obstruction by accentuating the movement of the angle of the joint. This happens by lifting the collar bone up and tilting the scapulae upward. As your arm goes up, the angle of the glenohumeral joint changes because the bottom tip of the scapula rotates up and forward. This change in the articulation of the joint helps reduce or possibly remove any pinching in the area, thus preventing pain.

When your arms go up, there are a number of muscle co-activations that are taking place to facilitate the bones’ movement (i.e., collar bone and scapulae). As the supraspinatus engages, it (hopefully) lifts the clavicle. The serratus anterior helps to pull the shoulder blade forward, and the co-activation of the lower and upper fibers of the trapezius will help with the rotation of the scapulae. In order to maintain the subacromial space, your shoulders need to lift up towards your ears. Setting yourself up at a wall for Side Angle Pose assists in the deeper understanding of the anatomy and biomechanics of the posture.

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SIDE ANGLE SHOULDER FIX AT THE WALL

(right foot forward)

In the video, you’ll see how Matt uses the wall to deepen the sensation of engagement/activation of muscles. A wall in Side Angle Pose is a great prop that reminds you to reach not only through your hand but also through the shoulder blade.

Here are the steps:

Set up your mat perpendicular to a wall
With your right toes facing the wall, place your right forearm on your thigh, with groins back
Hand is by your side like in Tadasana
Externally rotate the upper arm bone (will retract scapula)
Reach down and away (point the finger to emphasize the reach)
As the arm comes up, make sure that outer line of the scapula is reaching; get your shoulder to touch your ear. In this way, you’ll find that you have a greater range of motion
Touch the wall with your fingertips and push into the wall with the hand
Turn chest underneath. If your armpit goes forward here, suck the armpit back as you push

This is where a progression may be possible: The right forearm might leave the thigh, and you can place your hand next to the pinky side of your foot. If this is the case, your head may lower, creating more space between your shoulder and your ear. It is important to continue reaching through your hand and pulling your armpit back.

It’s these seemingly tiny actions that create a huge impact on the experience in your body. Building in this kinesthetic awareness can help you to reduce the occurrence of injury and help you increase your range of motion in the shoulders. Shoulder Mobility starts Saturday November 5th.

See you on the mat!

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Anatomy In Motion