Arm Circles to Open Shoulders

Ribs and shoulders graphic.png

Class This Week:  Arm Circles Open Your Shoulders


For this lesson, we lie on our sides and slowly, gently reach a hand in half circles along the floor to loosen the shoulders.  Gradually, we reach behind to make an entire circle around the body. Then the magic - finding a way to get your side involved in order to swing an arm under the body.  This is a great lesson for skiers who want to balance out their turns, yoga students who want to better understand what it means to expand the side body, and anyone who reaches for something.  This is also the foundation for rolling up from lying down with grace.

Wednesday, January 29, 12:15-1:15
Iyengar Yoga North/Littleton Studio School, 23 Ammonoosuc Street, 3rd Floor, Littleton

Focus this week:  Arm Circles
How you might feel afterwards: Ribs and spine more flexible, looser shoulders, able to reach really far, able to roll easily from lying to sitting.

Stop Light Mini Lesson: Roll Your Arm Over Your Ear (and feel those opening ribs)


Let your ribs to support your shoulders when, say, you are grabbing wood from the pile.  Say WHAT?  Yes, those ribs that wrap around your torso from the sternum to the spine under the armpits are there to support the shoulders.  Here's a way to get to know them and let them do their job. 

If you have 15 seconds, try this mini-lesson:  

  • Either lie on one side with the top arm extended and resting on your ear, or sit and raise one arm upwards with your inner upper arm touching your ear.


  •  Slide the arm back and forth across your ear towards your nose and back a few times. Then stop - that hurts!
     

  • Really reach up and, keeping your whole arm straight, twist your hand back and forth as if you were changing a light bulb. Let your whole arm roll with the hand,  You should feel the arm roll right up into the shoulder socket.  It helps to keep your head still, looking straight ahead. If it hurts to roll the arm, roll less, or even roll in your imagination.
     

  •  As you reach and twist, get your shoulder blade into the act by reaching even a little further. That should feel even better.  Then notice how the ribs under your arm spread apart as you reach. 
     

  • Now extend your arm out from shoulder height and reach forward. Notice how you get a little extra reach when you let the shoulder come a little forward and and expand the ribs under the arm.  Those ribs want to help support whatever the arm is doing

Jacki Katzman