Exploring Shoulder Anatomy: A Deep Dive into Yin Yoga and Myofascial Release Techniques

You might think you know the intricacies of your shoulder anatomy, but this practice will take you to a depth of understanding that you've never reached before. We're not just talking about the surface-level stuff; we're diving right into the complex details of your shoulder anatomy. We're also discussing how increased blood flow, nervous system benefits, and a temporary effect of increased muscle extensibility are the real benefits of the techniques we explore in this pod practice. In essence, we're debunking some myofascial release myths while embracing the REAL benefits of these practices.

We're breaking down the anatomy of the shoulder, using traditional Yin Yoga postures, self  myofascial release techniques and breathing exercises, all designed to help you release tension gently through embodied awareness. For the the Yin Yoga teachers out there, this practice will amplify your knowledge of the shoulder anatomy in ways that reading a text book never could.

So join me for this pod practice and allow me to guide you on this intriguing exploration of your body's shoulder anatomy through the lens of Yin Yoga and self-myofascial release techniques.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast. I'm your host, mandy Ryle, and today I am offering you a pod practice which I am particularly excited about. This is a practice which will blend some self-myofascial release techniques with your traditional Yin Yoga postures. But what I think is going to be the most edifying for you in this practice is that I really wanted to introduce you to the anatomy of the shoulder experientially. Anyone who has tried to learn about anatomy knows that it's 90% vocabulary, right. So while that is very interesting and useful, especially for those of us who teach yoga, to me the best way to learn anatomy is through experiencing, and so that experiencing here is going to be some of the ways that we will employ these myofascial release techniques, and then the, of course, delicious marinating in the postures. And before we start your practice, I just wanted to insert a little note about this term myofascial release.

Speaker 1: 1:14

Based on my extensive review of the evidence, I do not think it is possible to quote release myofascia. So we're all familiar with using these you know, foam rollers and the cross balls to supposedly make a permanent change, histological change, to our connective tissues. That is just not possible. We cannot make permanent change to these tissues, thank goodness, because otherwise we'd be awfully delicate, right. But these techniques have been shown to have other important benefits, maybe better than actually changing the tissues. So we can see increased blood flow and overall hydration to tissues. We see important nervous system benefits, which can help to reduce sensitivity in the tissues which are being quote released, and, finally, we also see that there is a temporary effect of increase, of increasing muscle extensibility after engaging in these techniques. So, yes, they're very productive. No, they are not releasing fascia, and I just could not have continued this episode without making that little note. And someday in the future we'll do a whole episode on myofascial release. If that's something that you would be interested, definitely reach out to me on social media and let me know. If a lot of people come together, then I'll go ahead and put that together for you.

Speaker 1: 2:42

I wanted to mention one other thing that I already have coming up, which is a special masterclass webinar that I will be doing on September 11th in the afternoon here in the US. We're going to be talking about creating Yin sequencing poetry, really finding that Yin sequencing magic that seems to be so difficult to grasp. So I'm going to give you some really quick tips on how you can really make your next sequence your best sequence. If you would like to register for that webinar, whether you can make it live on September 11th or whether that date has already passed and you're listening far into the future I'm going to leave a link in the show notes.

Speaker 1: 3:29

Just go ahead and click that to either get access to the live masterclass or to be delivered a recording. Thank you so much and I'm really excited for you to check this practice out. If you have any thoughts on it, please do let me know on social media or you might have noticed that in Spotify, if you scroll to the bottom of the show notes, you can actually leave a comment right there, and I just love to hear from you guys. Let me have you take your folded blanket and place that at the front of your yoga mat. Place that at the front of your yoga mat and then it should still be on the mat, though Make sure it's on the mat with you and then you're going to lay down on your back with your head on that blanket, so your head's going to be up at the top. Yes.

Speaker 1: 4:31

And as you come to lay down, you're just going to check a couple of things. I'm going to be a little persnickety. If your chin seems to be higher than your forehead, I'd like for you to make your blanket a little thicker. And if your chin is significantly lower than your forehead, your blanket needs to be a little thinner. Okay, we just want to have that perfect head neck position for what we're working with today, and it's okay to have your legs long or your feet flat that's your choice.

Speaker 1: 5:15

And as you're getting settled, start to observe the current environment, all the stuff that's going on around you outside of your skin, everything from the temperature to the sounds, any textures of your clothing, even the subtle energy of the people around you. And then, just like that, draw that observing inward to the internal environment, noticing any movements, any sensations. And then let's concentrate that awareness even a little bit more into your right shoulder. Draw your awareness into your right shoulder. Any movements there, any sensations. Do you have any feelings about your right shoulder? What is the energy currently of the right shoulder Like? Is it sleepy energy? Is it anxious energy? Is it balanced, perfect, soft energy? And how do you know? What caused you to designate the energy the way that you did. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:24

And I'll have you bring your feet now flat onto your mat so that they are standing as wide as your yoga mat, as wide as your yoga mat If you have very long legs, they might even stand slightly outside of your mat and bring your right arm straight out to the right, so it's no higher than your shoulder, it's no lower than your shoulder, straight out to the right, with the palm of the hand face up and the crease of the elbow face up, crease of the elbow face up. And I'd like for you to imagine that this elbow, in this position on the floor and at this rotation, is being warmly held in this position, not restricted, but warmly held as it is right to the floor. Okay, and then gently tilt your knees to the left without allowing your elbow to move. Let your hips tilt to the left windshield wiper, you know. And then back to the middle, and let's do that several more times. So you're going to windshield wiper your two knees to the left. The hips are tilting as well as the knees right, which means probably your left thigh will move toward the floor just outside of your mat right, and your right knee is going to kind of come down and pivot toward the mat as well, and the whole time your right elbow is held warmly in this position, and as you breathe and you move and you experience, I'd like for you to just briefly define in your own mind what is a shoulder, and we'll just go purely anatomical now. What part of the body encompasses your perception of your shoulder?

Speaker 1: 10:39

So this time, is your hips? Tilt to the left, allow your hips to pull your sternum to the left a little bit. So your sternum is red, center bone, down the middle of your chest, and it's going to tilt a little bit and it's also going to kind of roll to the left and then back to the center. It's going to come back to a neutralish position, okay, and we'll do that a few times. So a little bit more attention to the movement of the sternum, with the right elbow remaining in that warmly held position, yeah, and then the next time your knees are in the middle, you're just going to come back and stay and we're going to change the position of your elbow. So I'd like for you now to turn the palm of your right hand down, as well as the crease of the elbow, to the extent that you are able. It's not going to come all the way down I promise it's going to be a little bit more toward the back of the room and then continue this windshield wiper, sternum, tilt and roll activity with the elbow held warmly to the floor and in this rotation.

Speaker 1: 11:59

So everybody has their own perception of what a shoulder is, but I will let you in on my perception. It includes the chest, the ribs, the pectoral muscles, that's the muscle on the front of your chest. There's two of them. And so as you roll the sternum, you are tensioning the lateral head of your pec major, which attaches to your upper arm bone. So by pulling the sternum away from your upper arm bone, you get a little traction for that portion of pec major. And then the next time you're in the center, you're going to hold and you're going to turn the palm back to the starting position, the crease of the elbow as well, and then we're actually going to over rotate now. So you're going to continue to roll, so that the pinky finger is now up, the thumb is down, the crease of the elbow is pointing toward the front of the room. Yes, as best as you can. We all have our own unique range of motion here.

Speaker 1: 13:12

And then windshield wiper, and the whole idea behind this windshield wiper is simply to draw the sternum away from the upper arm bone. Yes, away from the upper arm bone, that's all. Draw the sternum away from the upper arm bone. So pec major begins in the center of the chest. It spreads out over the ribs connecting to them, and it connects way out to the upper arm bone, also connects to your clavicle, your collar bone. So you might feel that moving too the right side collar bone, let's just do one more. And when your knees get over to the left, you're going to keep them there and then you're just going to let the arm rest in the position that you like the best.

Speaker 1: 14:17

So, is it the position with the palm back? Is it the position with the palm down or up? It's your choice. And just remain in your windshield wiper position and now use your breath, your breath alone, to explore the right side of the chest as it becomes your right shoulder. Is it okay to have this come down or no? Yeah, okay, sure, just use your breath. You have so many options with your breath now to explore this chest shoulder complex Could be the inhale, could be the exhale, could be holding the breath. Now here's the final breath and you'll bring your right arm right beside you, right beside your waist, and then keep it with you as you roll all the way onto your left side so that your right thigh is stacked onto your left thigh. You're on your side. Your head will be a little bit falling toward the blanket. Don't take too many measures to correct it because of where we're about to go.

Speaker 1: 15:58

Your right hand reach straight up to the ceiling, straight up to the ceiling, and then turn the palm back as if someone is behind you and you want to tell them to talk to the hand, and then bend the elbow and bring the back of your hand to your lower back or waist. It could go lower to the sacrum if this position is already a little harrowing, or you could slide the hand even up between the shoulder blades. So those are the options. And then take your time. Oh so gently rolling to your back with your palm pinned to the floor by your back, and again, too much, you would put the hand behind the sacrum. If you want more, you'll take the hand up between the two shoulder blades.

Speaker 1: 16:50

Yeah, and your legs. I think long To me legs, long is a little milder, which is what I'm going for, okay, but if you need to make an adjustment, maybe you just want the right foot flat so you can push into it a little bit, right, so it's less on the shoulder you could do that. It's totally customizable, 100%, all for you. And just so gently now, so slowly, turn your head side to side and as you turn, you may notice that you get a little more stretch. If you turn in one direction, I'm going to have you lift your head for me, dear. Good, let's try this, thank you, yeah, and I want to talk to you about this stretch thing. Okay, so today is not about stretching. It's about experiencing. Experiencing the multi-dimensional shoulder, perhaps expanding our concept of our shoulder. The head is turning side to side only so that you can feel this multi-dimensional sensation and you could add your breath as well, okay, and then just rest with your head in your favorite position just for a couple of breaths. Okay.

Speaker 1: 19:02

So your right arm is going to be as passive as possible. I want you to use it not at all. Bring the sole of your right foot to the mat. Use the right foot to help you roll back onto your left side. Keep your right arm as it is. Use it not at all. It's just going to hang there behind you. Yeah, you could bend that left knee too if you need to, and then, so slow, just so lazy, let that right arm just come up onto your right side, your waist, and then let it fall down in front of you, so it's across the front of you, and keep it really close to you and use your left hand to hold your right arm. Use your left hand to hold your right arm somewhere along the wrist, forearm, and we're going to take really good care of this right arm and shoulder here. Yeah, because we have to right, not because we've compromised it, but because we can, as you roll back onto your back, use your left hand to keep your right arm across you. Nice and calm, just really soft against your body, yes, and then, once you're on your back, maybe your feet flatten. Use your left hand to gently position your right arm either to the floor or on you in a comfortable, neutral position. Use your left hand right, we're taking care of it now. Now, because we have to we didn't do anything wrong to it but because we can, yeah, and just rest on your back here for a moment and notice the energy of the right shoulder. Right shoulder complex, yeah, and now bring your awareness to the left side shoulder. Let's leave the right one behind. Maybe that left arm now needs to be in a more neutral position so you can fully observe it. So, the left side shoulder any movement sensation, any thoughts or feelings about the shoulder? What is the energy of the left shoulder? How do you know? How do you know with the energies?

Speaker 1: 22:13

Now, the two feet are flat, once again, as wide as your mat, standing as wide as your mat, all the way to the edges. We'll need that left foot especially for leverage here to for my official release on the left side, you know, and your left arm is straight out to the left, with the wrist no higher than the shoulder, no lower than the shoulder, the left elbow held in this position, with the palm face up, softly held softly as you windshield wiper, tilting hips and knees to the right. Keep your elbow in place. It should not be the hugest stretch in the world, because we didn't come here to stretch, we came here to experience. Back to the center and over to the right.

Speaker 1: 22:57

We're going to do this many times and see if you can get a sense of the dimension of that muscle that crosses over your chest, from your sternum out to your upper arm bone, up to your clavicle. Take your time and then let's get another view of the shoulder. Next time the knees are center, you're going to take the palm, the left palm, to face down and turn the crease of the elbow to face down as much as possible. Don't force it. No forcing necessary windshield wiper to the right, and remember it's essential that the hip draws the sternum with it, so your sternum is tilting and rolling slightly to the right. That's what we're looking for. Take your time. Maybe you need a little extra push from the left foot to get your sternum to tilt and roll. Maybe you can feel also now, because of the way we position the arm, your collarbone getting tugged, not just your sternum.

Speaker 1: 24:51

Next time you're center, you're staying. We'll turn the palm back to the starting position, crease of the elbow, and then overdo it, roll a little bit more until your thumb is down, your pinky's up this one's the hardest for sure right. And then windshield wiper, pull the sternum. Use that left hip to pull the sternum to the right, roll it under. That's a good one. There's lots there. This is really hitting that humeral head of the lat. And, yes, there is a stretch, but there's also learning. There's a conscious learning and there's a subconscious learning. Okay, next time your knees are over to the right, you'll keep them. Keep them to the right and then you'll turn your arm to the position that you like best and you'll hold.

Speaker 1: 26:14

That is a stretch. Really. It's mechanical tension of a motor unit right, a muscle fiber plus its nerve, or many, many muscle fibers plus its nerve, and the tension is great enough that a signal and action potential is sent via the spinal cord to the brain and the brain goes oh, there's mechanical tension here. And then the brain has to decide is this good, is it bad? Have we done this before? Did I get hurt before doing this? How do I feel about this shoulder doing this? Do I feel a little vulnerable? So the mechanical tension is the dumb part of it. It's what happens in your brain. It's the experience that I'm interested in.

Speaker 1: 27:29

Okay, so you bring your left arm right up beside you, right beside your waist, and then you bring it with you as you roll onto your right side, stack your knees I know your head is probably a little bit too low at the moment, but we'll move pretty soon, so hopefully you can manage it. The left arm, reach up to the sky the palm, turn backward, talk to the hand right and then take the back of the bend the elbow and take the back of the hand to your low waist or behind your butt or between your shoulder blades or anywhere along that spectrum, and roll back onto your back and pin that hand gently. Once you're on your back, you have many options. I find that having the legs long is a nice mild position, but sometimes, if the left foot needs to be flat on the floor, that'll give us like a little bit more control. You know you'll feel like you can kind of modulate.

Speaker 1: 28:36

This internal rotation of the arm and shoulder is a movement that we don't do a lot right, so it's a lot. Ever so slightly. Turn your head side to side, not to increase the stretch Now to experience that. Dimensions of the chest, of the shoulder, this relationship Really good? Yeah, really good, really good. Okay, so you'll allow the head just to rest in the position you like best, just for a breath. And remember, as we're coming out of this, we're just going to give this left arm shoulder at the nicest, most comforting experience that we can provide, not because we have to, because we can.

Speaker 1: 30:31

So bring your left foot flat If it's not already, you could bring your right foot flat too and then push into that foot to roll you back onto your right side. Keep that left arm just hanging there behind you. Roll to your right side your right knee, if you'd like and then the left arm lazily comes up onto your side and then drops down in front of your body and you'll take your right hand and hold that left arm close to you and as you roll to the back, the right hand is just going to keep that left arm hugged close to you, and then you'll use the right hand to help you to position the left arm in a nice, comfortable, neutral position where you can observe for a few breaths yes, that's perfect. Yes, notice the energy of the left shoulder. So your two feet flat and once again as wide as your mat standing on the edges. So we worked with the front of the shoulder and, of course, the chest.

Speaker 1: 32:00

Here I'd like to move our tension to the tops of the shoulders and then we'll move to the backs of the shoulders. So take both arms and reach them up to the ceiling and then you're going to make an X with your arm, with your right arm on top, and make that X as low to your chest as you can, so you're crossing at your upper arms, and then take your fingers onto the tops of your shoulders, so your X is not at your forearms, my friends, it's as high as you can, it's high, high, high, up at your upper arms, high and tight. And then use your fingers just to hold onto the tops of your shoulders. Yes, the higher we go, the better, perfect. And then you're going to use your arms to push down into your chest and as you do that, you could use your hands to pull your shoulders out. They're not going to go far, obviously, if anywhere, and then let your elbows start to come up. The arms are still together. Your elbows are going to come up and keep going until you're kind of smooshing your face, yeah, and then you're going to bring the arms back down, smoosh into your chest, and then you're going to use your hands to pull your shoulders out a little. Yeah, okay, do that a few more times and you'll also feel your shoulder blades moving around too. We'll give those more attention shortly.

Speaker 1: 33:29

So when you considered your concept of your shoulder, did it include these muscles on the top, where it's basically your shoulder becomes your neck? Use this movement to explore that dimension and also for some nice sensations. It's hard to stretch your upper trap, so this can kind of help you get that upper trap a little bit. Also, levator scap, primarily. If you're feeling a stretch as your elbows come down, it's probably going to be levator scapula and upper trapezius.

Speaker 1: 34:11

All right, next time your elbows push down, your elbows push down, you're going to keep the arms in that position, but let your arms rest so they're not pushing down. And then you may need to take your fingers so they're not at all behind your shoulders if they are, because otherwise you'll smoosh them and your feet are still very wide. Feel the left shoulder blade currently no, excuse me, it's the right. Feel the right shoulder blade and its position on the mat, and if you're not sure, it's okay, you'll know more in a second, yes. And then try to bring that right shoulder blade wider, kind of like you're shrugging your right shoulder forward, yeah. And then use your left foot and your right foot to help you tilt like a barrel your whole torso just a couple of degrees to the right. You're not going far because you're going to bump into the inner border of your shoulder blade. So find the inner border of the shoulder blade. It'll be very sensitive, okay. And then use your feet to help you roll yourself like a barrel back to the middle just to the middle, so we're not going to go far at all. Come back to the center. So think about a windshield wiper. 100% would be knees all the way over torso turned completely. This is like 20%. Use the feet to help you tilt to the right. Find the inner border of your shoulder blade against the mat it should be a little sensitive. And then come right back to the middle.

Speaker 1: 35:48

Okay, now, this time try to avoid going as far as the inner border of the shoulder blade, so you can just kind of like, roll on that meat between your shoulder blade and your spine. Roll on that meat, cause it feels really freaking good, Right. Just a couple of times, just so you know how to avoid your shoulder blade. Okay, and then the next time you're tilting to the right, I want you to find the inner border of the shoulder blade against the mat. And this is very technical. Follow along, push a little with your right foot so you'll feel almost as if you're pulling the right shoulder blade out even wider. So we're going to traction middle trap and come back to the middle. Come back to the middle and there'll be a little bit of a fancy footwork going on. You'll have to figure it out. But what I do is I push with my right foot so you turn you like a barrel, you catch the inner border of the shoulder blade against the mat and then you give a little push with your right foot and that will widen and traction the middle trap and back to the middle.

Speaker 1: 36:53

And if you're like Mandy, what call me over? I'm here for you, I will help you, okay? So, yes, it's a delicious stretch, absolutely sublime, right, but it's also an experience of the anatomy of your shoulder. Come over here a little bit there Now, see how you've caught it. Now push with that right foot, not this way. Push towards your left foot there, don't let it move. Good, come back to the middle. Bring your feet wide, please, dear. Okay, let's go and roll, catch it. Push with the right foot just a little, not so much toward me, just to the left foot, and stay, stay. Good, that's it, you did it. Can I help you one more time? Okay, the shoulder blade, nice and wide. Nice and wide. Okay, come on over. Push a little extra, not toward me, just to the left foot. Yeah, there, it is so many ways to push with that foot right. Yes, Okay.

Speaker 1: 38:04

Sorry that's so confusing guys, I know, but once you get it, boy, oh, that's a life skill, all right. So the next time you come back up to the center, I'd like for you to stay and then roll over onto your left side, make your blanket thick enough that your head isn't falling down, but that your jaw, your mandible, your cheekbone, your temple are all like on one plane. Yeah, okay, reach the left arm out in front of you so it's basically on the same plane as your shoulder. Here, for the moment, your knees are bent yeah, knees are bent maybe drawn up for stability, and then, instead of having that wrist on the same plane as the shoulder, slide the hand up a little bit so it's more on the same plane as the crown of your head. So it's going to be up a little higher. Got it? Even a little bit higher. Let's get rid of this. Bring your bottom arm, this arm dear, this arm, this one, bring it up a little bit more. Whole thing, whole thing. There we go. Yes.

Speaker 1: 39:24

Yeah, we got it. So that arm is straight on the same plane as the crown of your head. This is going to be weird, but this hand, this left hand, is going to act as an anchor for your myofascial release. Okay, so your right hand is going to come over to meet your left hand. Use your left hand to circle your right wrist. Left hand hold right wrist. Maybe your hand is away from the floor. Now, this right wrist must not move from this position as you stand your right foot in the center of your yoga mat. Stand your right foot in the center of your yoga mat and let that knee come up, maybe even overshoot a little bit more to the right. Do not allow your right wrist to move and then bring your right knee back down. Yes, I got you. So the leg action is going to be like this yeah, it's going to open and it's going to close, and it's so nice if someone will hold this wrist for you, right? So now that you know it, bring that right knee up. Yes, good, bring it down. Now bring it up. But in the absence of that individual, you can sort of do it kind of by yourself. So this is a really beautiful stretch for the upper lat teres, major teres, minor, subscopularis, and when you considered your concept of your shoulder, were these muscles included? Was this region included? Just a couple more Nice and soft, I'll take it there.

Speaker 1: 41:14

Good one, okay, very well done. Everyone. Now just rest, relax those elbows, those arms, just briefly. And then I'm going to have you continue to roll your arms. Okay, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good. You continue to roll all the way on to your belly, your blanket. You'll have to push to the side, roll to your belly and shimmy yourself on to your mat and reach both of your arms out in front of you, so they're going to come way out in front of you. Make sure your blanket isn't in the way or anything like that. Blankets off to the side, we're just blanket. You're dead to me. I don't want you anywhere near me.

Speaker 1: 42:12

Okay, and then bring the palm of your left hand flat to your mat beside your chest. Bring your right arm and smush it all the way up against the right side of your head with the arms still extended forward, and then push with your left hand to roll your temple up onto your arm, keep your left hip heavy, like there's a hand gently pushing that hip down, and then roll your forehead back to the mat, creep your right hand forward one millimeter and do it again. Let's do that a few more times and each time you could creep your hand forward a millimeter, but you don't have to. So you roll your head up onto your arm. Your hip stays low to the ground. Yeah, so in this case we're kind of pushing away and we've created an interesting opportunity for traction for infraspinatus, for, once again, tears minor and see if you can incorporate this part of your body into your concept of your shoulder Pushing with that hand.

Speaker 1: 44:04

Let me help. Come back, bring this elbow up Good, and push with this hand. Roll your head onto your arm. There we go, is that okay? Okay, just do a couple more. Yeah, wow, good job, everybody.

Speaker 1: 44:29

Next time your forehead comes down, just slide your left palm forward a few inches, push into it, lift head and shoulders and thread your right arm under your left, so your right hand is reaching out to the right. There is a cookie over there. Just get a little bit further, right, yes? And then turn your chest and your forehead down so that you can lay down on that right arm and, if you need to, you can use your fist for your forehead, or you can use your blanket, or you can use your block. That's why I had you grab a block today, in case your forehead needs something. So that right arm is fully under you.

Speaker 1: 45:13

What do you think, suzanne? Can we try it? I'm going to have you bring this hand back here, push into the hand, lift your head and shoulders. Now bring this arm yes, and it's above the girls and under the chin right and then I'm going to give you this for your forehead. Let me see, is that the right amount? Not quite. Let me do a little bit higher for you. Try this. Yeah, that's better. Okay, good, thank you. Yeah, use your breath to explore the back and top of your right shoulder, okay, Great.

Speaker 1: 46:33

Here's our final breath. So once again you will plant the palm of the left hand, use that hand to help you roll onto your right side and take very loving care of this right shoulder as you get yourself onto your back. Show me to the middle of your mat, onto your back, in the middle of your mat. If you need legs long for a little bit, go ahead, otherwise feet are going to be flat and as wide as your mat arm. Right arm in a neutral position so that you can observe the energy of whatever feels like the shoulder to you. And then two arms reach up to the sky, up to the ceiling. Left arm cross, make an X over the right arm, remember, really close to your chest, and then take your fingers For now they could be a little bit more to the back of the shoulders, if you like that. I like to kind of go back and my fingers on top and then your arms push down into your chest and then your arms lift up and smush your face so you can do a little miss piggy impression, just briefly. And then they come back down to your chest and, if you want, you can pull your shoulders out as your arms push down. Little stretch for a levator, scalp and middle trap, all that good stuff, all the places we wish we could stretch, so hard to stretch. So if a stretch were just mechanical tension of a motor unit, right then. Why would we have this deep need and preference for it? Right, it's because this stretch is also your concept of it, it's your memories, it's your feelings and thoughts, it's your predictions.

Speaker 1: 49:08

Okay, next time the arms are down, smushing into your chest, hold and then maintain the position of the arms, but without the pushing down. Make sure your fingers aren't in the way that your feet are as wide as your mat and use your right foot. Your feet are flat on the floor. Please Use your right foot to push like a barrel your hips and your torso to the left, just a little bit, 20% of your windshield wiper. This time your torso rolls with your hips, though it doesn't stay, yeah, and then you come back to the middle.

Speaker 1: 49:46

Okay, so let's see if we can find gently the border of the shoulder blade this time. So you're going to feel it bump like a wedge, like a speed bump, right. And then you're going to come right back to the center, and that inner shoulder blade border is sensitive, yes. So then a few times, let's avoid bumping into it and just kind of roll around on the meat there between your shoulder blade and your spine on the left. Remember, you're rolling your torso like a barrel. That's really essential that your weight gets transferred. Yeah, use your foot to push here. So you're going to stay pretty stiff in your waist for this to happen. Stiff in your waist, so you roll your torso onto its side like a barrel. You know you're going to roll onto your side, your barrel side, mm-hmm, yes, that's essential.

Speaker 1: 50:39

Okay, and then let's see, now that you're familiar with the position of your shoulder blade, I'd like for you and you've got that roll down I'd like for you to bring your left shoulder blade a little bit wider and then take that barrel roll until you get to the border of the shoulder blade. You're going to feel it go bump and then don't roll anymore, but push a little bit towards your right foot with your left foot, like an attraction a little bit that shoulder blade into a protraction feels really good back to the middle and do it again. And if you don't know what the heck you're supposed to be doing, let me know I can help. Yeah, pushing a little bit with that left foot towards your right foot, just attraction. The left shoulder blade and that inner shoulder blade border very sensitive, for a good reason. That saying you don't need to smush into me, leave me alone. That's what that's saying. Do a few more and again, now is your chance to ask me questions If you're not sure. Cause this is a life skill. This little drill, this is something you want to bring home.

Speaker 1: 52:16

Okay, and then the next time you roll to your back, you will stay Beautiful. So roll to your right side. Make sure your blanket is thick enough so that your head isn't falling down. Roll to your right side. Knees stack for stability. Right arm reach out in front of you, yes, and then that arm stays straight and we just bring the wrist so that it's about as high as the crown of the head, with that right arm Right, so it's a little higher still, straight. And remember, this arm has to be pretty strong because you're going to bring your left arm around and use your right hand to grasp your left wrist, pull it a little bit, hold it in that position, find the center of your mat with the sole of your left foot and then open up the knee and hip. So when the hip opens, we traction Terry's minor, terry's major subscopulars. Take care of that. Best of luck, you're welcome. I'll hold this time. So go ahead and close. Good, okay, open, bring the sole of that foot on. There we go. Good, go ahead and close.

Speaker 1: 54:19

Two more. There's two more guys, good. And then rest for a moment. Rest for a moment On your side arms just rest, bent elbows, and then you're going to roll to your belly. Find the center of your mat, get your blanket out of your way. If you're going to need something for your forehead though, make sure it's close enough you could grab it if you need it. A block is also very nice. Reach two arms forward all the way out in front of you, and then you're going to bring the right palm of your hand flat to the mat beside your chest with the elbow point up like you're about to do a push-up.

Speaker 1: 55:23

Could you think about how you would push up, do a one-arm push-up with that right elbow? Would it be down on the floor or would it be up? Yes, and then smush your left arm all the way up against your head. So when you push with your right hand, you're going to roll your head up onto your arm, but your right hip stay heavy. Right hip stay heavy. Yeah, we got it. We got it Good. And then come down and maybe just a little millimeter forward with that hand, so you get a little more traction each time on that outer armpit and yes, it's a stretch, but it's also an opportunity for learning, for really grasping all of the dimensions of the shoulder. Yes, and the learning isn't just conscious. Right, we'll do some conscious learning, yes, but most of it is subconscious. It's somewhere deep inside of you, understanding the dimensions of the shoulder, the capacities of the shoulder.

Speaker 1: 56:47

Let's just do one more. And next time your forehead is down, slide your right palm forward Several inches, push down into that palm Left, both the head and the shoulders Thread your left arm under your right and then, with that left hand, reach for that cookie it's just another inch away and then turn your chest, your face, your forehead down so that you're laying over the left arm. The left arm is above your boobs and below your chin, got it? And you might need something under your forehead. It could be your right arm, your right fist, it could be your block, it could be your blanket. Yeah, breathe into the back of the right shoulder, left shoulder, excuse me, breathe into the back of the left shoulder. You could do the right one too, not just to stretch it more, but to experience it. Facilitating mechanical tension of dumb protein, not that exciting or beneficial, but experiencing the dimensions of this really amazing joint. That's phenomenal, I mean truly a feat of evolution. Final breath.

Speaker 1: 59:18

Okay, so the right palm flat to the mat again, like you're going to push up and instead you're going to roll onto your side and then shimmy onto your mat. Make sure you have your blanket. It's going to go behind your head. There it is, I got it, yeah. And position the arms in a neutral position. Your feet could be flat, legs long. It's up to you right now. And notice the energy of the right and the left shoulder, the energy of your expanded concept of your shoulder, which has been informed by your movement, by your breath. Okay, and then, if you'd like to use your bolster under your thighs for your shavasana, or if you need any other prop to be comfortable for your final pose, please find that now the legs will be long. If it's okay for you, the legs will be long. The heels is wide as your mat, and now is no longer the time for thinking. That's no longer the time for doing. We now acknowledge that what we have done is enough, that the learning has occurred for your shavasana.

Speaker 2: 1:02:25

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay Okay.

Speaker 1: 1:04:08

Okay, it's time to deepen the breath, time to restore movement to the body, small movements at first, and when you're ready, you'll find your way onto the side of your choice and rest and roll into your hands, rise up to your seat, press palms together in front of your heart, bow your head and take a nice soft breath into your shoulders, whatever those are, and a comprehensive exhale, just letting go One more nice soft breath into your shoulders, comprehensive out. Thank you everyone for practicing today.