Basic Practice: Strengthening the Shoulder Blades, Arms and Upper Back
In each of these poses, consider the following points:
- Keep the entire torso—shoulders to hips— long and wide.
- Widen as evenly as possible across the upper back and chest.
- When the arms are behind the back, the shoulder blades naturally slide in towards each other. Keep them widening without pinching the space between them.
- Press the shoulder blades forward onto the back as you also widen the ribs out and press them back onto the shoulder blades.
- Strengthen the triceps and lengthen them towards the elbows.
The Sequence:
Opening Wall Stretches:
- Side stretch at wall: Lean the right side of the body into the wall with the right arm overhead. Bend the right elbow, take hold of it with the left hand and draw the arm up and over the top of the head. Hold for a minute or two and repeat on the second side.
- Chest opener: Stand with the right hand on the wall at shoulder height. Keeping the shoulder blade down the back, spread the fingers and palms and straighten the elbow. Hold this position for several seconds. Without lifting the shoulder blade, turn the chest away from the wall. Hold this for several seconds. Release and repeat on the second side.
- Shoulder Stretch at wall: Place the forearms and elbows on the wall with the palms together. Make a right angle at the hips with the feet under the pelvis hip width apart. Draw the inner thighs back and reach the arms forward.
Simple Vinyasa:
Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Hands Pose) with the wrists belted shoulder width
- Press out into the belt as you reach up
- Press out into the belt as you reach down
- Press out into the belt as you reach down
- Keep both sides of the body long
- Turn the chest up towards the ceiling and roll the top shoulder away from the chest.
Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle Pose)
Pashchima Baddha Hastasana (Elbows Clasped Behind the Back) in Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
Parshvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch Pose) with the arms in Pashchima Baddha Hastasana (Elbows Clasped Behind the Back)
- Come first into the flat back position to balance out the torso before releasing the head in the second part of the forward fold.
Adho Mukha Shvanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose)
Child’s Pose
Purvottanasana (Intense East Stretch Pose) table top variation with the hands on blocks
- Roll the shoulders back and down.
- Strengthen the triceps and lengthen them down into the hands.
- Widen and lift the shoulder blades.
- Strengthen and roll the armpits over the collar bones towards the head.
- Hold for several breaths, rest and repeat.
- Come into the pose with the elbows bent, pressing the elbows and the outermost corner of the shoulders down.
- Strengthen the triceps and reach them towards the feet.
- Widen and lift the shoulder blades.
- Strengthen and roll the armpits over the collar bones towards the head.
- Hold for several breaths, rest and repeat.
Reclined Buttock and Hip Stretch with one ankle on the opposite thigh
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose in Shoulder Stand) with the feet on a chair
Sarvangasana Cycle:
Shavasana (Corpse Pose) with the lower legs on the chair and a blanket under the head
One Response to “Basic Practice: Strengthening the Shoulder Blades, Arms and Upper Back”
Leave a Reply
© 2010 Witold Fitz-Simon.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
Thanks for make great asana description available online !
I love your website !
Namaste,
Adji