Your Yoga Shoulders

by Russ Bockstedt, October 2012

Why Shoulders? I’m not sure about you, but I had limited flexibility in certain combinations of movement when I started yoga.  Specifically, it was very difficult for me to position my arms into the cows face pose (gomukhasana), eagle (garudhasana) and reverse namaste (prayer hands behind the back) positions.  This seems to be the result of tightness in scapula and arm rotations.

Complicating this is was my personal history.  I had 2 separate injuries about 20 years ago, involving tripping while running with a dog and then a year later a bike crash.  In both cases I managed to incur Stage 2 acromioclavicular joint separations (both left and right).  For a number of years I could feel the AC joints grinding against each other in movements such as swimming.  Over the years, they have stabilized based on a continuous regimen of weight lifting.  I have some concern that I may have ended up with less flexibility as a result.
Overview of Shoulder AnatomyThe shoulders are complex and provide a high degree of motion for the arms.  In total there are 48 different combinations of movement that can be accommodated by the 2 joints that make up the shoulder.

Acromioclavicular joint:  This is the connection between the clavicle and the acromion of the scapula.  It is a pivot point (gliding synovial joint) that allows for movement of the arm above the head.

Glenohumeral joint:  A loose ball and socket joint between the head of the humerus bone and the glenoid fossa of the scapula.  It is the most mobile joint in the body with 120⁰ of flexion.
  • It is held in place by the rotator cuff muscles. They also assist in each of the 6 arm motions.
  • The deltoid muscles are key to flexion, extension, abduction and both medial and lateral rotation.
  • The pectoralis and latissimus dorsi are key to adduction

Scapula movement:  The Trapezius and Serratus muscles contract to rotate scapula upward.  Whereas the Rhomboid muscle is primary for rotating the scapula downward.

The 48 combinations of movement are from the capabilities of the arms and scapula.
The arms have 6 degrees of freedom:
  1. flexion (if the arms are down at our side, moving them forward and up)
  2. extension (moving the arms back and up)
  3. abduction (moving the arms away from the side of the body)
  4. adduction (bringing the arms closer towards each other)
  5. internal rotation of the arm
  6. external rotation of the arm

Scapula have 8 degrees of freedom:
  1. adduction (the shoulder blades come together)
  2. abduction (the shoulder blades move apart
  3. depression (where we drop the shoulder blades down the back)
  4. elevation (where we raise the shoulder blades up)
  5. upward rotation
  6. downward rotation
  7. tilting the top of the scapula backwards
  8. tilting the top of the scapula forwards.
ChakrasThe shoulder is between the fourth/heart and fifth/throat chakra. Imagining a green light over the heart and a blue light over the throat as you do the poses could help to keep those chakras healthy and open. The heart chakra governs our emotions and love. The throat chakra governs our communication.Yoga Regimen to Improve Shoulder FlexibilityMy goal was to improve my shoulder flexibility and the ability to both rotate and flatten my scapula against my back.  This has helped me improve my ability to move my arms into the cow faced, eagle and reverse namaste positions.

If the scapula do not fully rotate upwards it can be a combination of lack of flexibility in the rhomboid muscle and strength in Trapezius and Serratus muscles.

I found that a good way to improve this flexibility is to regularly include a number of exercises and asanas in my daily practice.
For warm-up:1. Move arms up and down laterally (about 20 times)
2. Rotate arms at the shoulders, clockwise and counterclockwise about 20 times. First do one arm at a time, then both arms together.
Chest Expansion
  1. Stand in Tadasana.
  2. Slowly straighten arms outward at chest level, stretching the elbows.
    1. Very slowly and gently bend forward from the hips. Keep neck muscles relaxed and the spine extended; point forehead towards knees. Do not bend knees. Feel spine stretching gently. Hold for 20 counts. Slowly straighten to upright position.
    Reverse Namaste Arms (Anjali Mudra behind the back):
    1. Raise your arms (abduction) so that you are reaching out to each side and they are parallel to the ground.
    2. Now move them backwards and down until the palms are pressed against each other.
    3. Rotate your wrists so that your palms remain pressed against each other but the fingers are now pointing upward
    4. The edge of the hand against the spine and the fingers are pointing upward.
    5. Gradually wiggle your hands to move them up your spine.
    6. Hold for 1-2 minutes.
    This position stretches the external rotators of the shoulders and the wrist flexors. You also roll the shoulders forward by contracting the muscle at the front of the chest (lower pectoralis major). The anterior deltoids, the muscles that lift the arms overhead, also internally rotate the shoulders. The subscapularis muscles on the insides of the shoulder blades also are contracting to rotate the shoulders inward.
      1. Cowface Arms (arm portion of Gomukhasana):
    1. Bring your right hand high, bend the elbow and pat yourself on the back.
    2. Bring the left hand behind your back and try to wiggle it up as high as you can.
    3. Clasp your hands if you have the range of motion; if you can not do that, use a strap or a belt and hold it with both hands.
    4. Breath into the pose for 2 or 3 minutes.
    5. Repeat other side
    You are externally rotating, abducting and flexing the upper arm and internally rotating, adducting and extending the lower arm. The scapulae are mostly neutral.
    Eagle Arms (arm portion of Garudasana):
    1. Raise and stretch your arms forward, parallel to the ground.
    2. Spread your scapulae across your back
    3. Cross your arms in front of you bringing the right arm above the left.
    4. Bring the right elbow out in front of us and under the left elbow.
    5. Snug the right elbow into the crook of the left, and raise the forearms perpendicular to the floor. The backs of your hands should be facing each other.
    6. Now if you can move the hands so that the palms are facing each other
    7. Start to move your elbows up and away from you.
      1. Repeat other side
      You are adducting the arms but abducting the scapulae. As we lift the arms we are adding flexion.
      ConclusionI have made a lot of progress.  Although I still can not fully realize the cow faced arm positions, I have made considerable progress in the last few months.  I can move my hands into reverse namaste position, and my arms into the Eagle position.