Yoga can be wonderful for our shoulders. Heart opening poses can stretch tight pec muscles and strengthen our rhomboids by bringing the shoulder blades closer together. Planks and chaturangas can strengthen the shoulder girdle muscles, including the lats, pecs and serratus anterior. When we move mindfully, we can engage our rotator cuff muscles to stabilize the position of the humerus in the shoulder socket.
We have heard it before: pull your shoulders down and back for the best posture. For some people, however, especially those with “sloped” shoulders, this can aggravate neck tension and may even cause tingling down into the arms.
When attempting good posture, we often “pull the shoulder blades back.” This usually feels good, because it counteracts our forward bending and slouching tendencies.
But if we add one more piece of awareness–the position of the spine–we can add length and space to the mid-back, making it stronger and less prone to injury.
Downward dog: the foundational yoga pose. The pose that is supposed to “reset everything.” The pose that feels so good to practice when you wake up.
Or does it? Does downward facing dog feel good to your body?
It should feel good: when performed properly it lengthens the spine, activates the shoulder stabilizers and decompresses the neck.
If it doesn’t, let’s figure out why.