The Yin Yoga Podcast
The Yin Yoga Podcast
Yin & Experiential Anatomy: Meet the Traps
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In this practice, we unravel the potential an often overlooked and misunderstood part of our bodies. We'll delve deep into the anatomy and function of the trapezius muscles, introducing you to a range of exercises that help you understand and experience these muscles in a whole new way. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or a curious beginner, we're sure you'll find this exploration fascinating and useful.
In this experiential anatomy approach, I'll guide you through a series of poses and mobility drills designed to familiarize you with the sensation of your trapezius muscles engaging and releasing. I'll show you how to actively engage both the lower and upper trapezius muscles and teach you some innovative ways to to experience your shoulder blades, spine and neck.
All you need is a bolster, a couple of yoga blocks, a blanket, and an open mind.
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Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast. I'm your host, mandy Ryle. For this week's pod practice, I wanted to focus on an area of the body that we rarely consider in Yin Yoga, or even probably actually yoga in general. That would be the trapezius. The traps are an upper back neck muscle that are widely misunderstood. I often talk to students and clients about issues that they believe that they're having with their traps, and I have recognized over time that people don't fully understand the dimensions of this area and also the function of it. So if you are interested in learning more about anatomy in general, but especially upper back muscles, this is definitely the practice for you, as you will definitely understand the structure, position and function of the traps very, very well by the end of your practice. This is my preferred way of teaching anatomy, and that is experientially. Likewise, if you're someone who is plagued with pain and tightness and soreness in the upper traps, which is so, so common, this practice is really a go-to for you. The practice will help you to expand your understanding of the area so that you can make beneficial changes through your movement, potentially your posture and maybe even your beliefs. For your practice you're going to need a bolster, a couple of yoga blocks and a blanket. If you're receiving value from these practices, please know that I have a huge library of classes within my shift school membership. In the shift school you will find movement resources for managing musculoskeletal pain issues, just like you do here on the podcast. You'll find experiential anatomy instruction, strength, mindfulness and even breathwork. I have just launched a patron membership option for my podcast listeners. The patron membership grants you unlimited access to my practice library for just $15 per month. By becoming a patron, you're supporting the useful content on this podcast and granting yourself access to a valuable library of practices that provide movement for healing and for vitality, and you are also supporting this podcaster, something that I appreciate very much for the many hours that I put into the podcast each and every week. If you're a teacher, the experiential anatomy section of the practice library will be of particular value to you. You can become a shift school patron today for just $15 a month. I will leave a link in the show notes in case you'd like to check it out.
Speaker 1:So, as you're sitting facing the front of your mat, you're going to need to have your blanket off to one side. Maybe a little pushed back toward the back of your mat would be best. And then you'll take your bolster and it's going to be latitudinal across your mat, so short edges of the bolster to long edges of the mat up, maybe about just a third of the way back from the front, maybe about a third of the way back. Yes, and then one more thing we're going to take your yoga block and that's going to go directly behind your bolster. Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:So then just find some kind of comfortable way to sit on. That latitudinal bolster could be crisscross applesauce. Sometimes it's nice to be sitting right on top of it, so your center of gravity is much higher. Sometimes it's nice to sit more on the front of it, so you feel like you get a little pelvic tilt. And once you find the position that you're going to sit in, just rest your hands on your thighs, if it's okay.
Speaker 1:Just close your eyes and start to notice your breath by slightly, slightly changing it. The least possible amount of change. And that least possible amount of change might help you to feel where the breath is. Where does it go in you with so many options? Maybe you feel it more in the front of you, back of you, sides of you, maybe you feel the breath more on the right or the left. And then imagine that someone has draped a nice, soft, smooth, cool cape across your upper back and you'll start to breathe especially into that cape, almost so that you can feel that imaginary fabric moving, stretching, changing. And as you observe that cape, as you breathe, you may be aware that it's a little different on the right or the left, and that's okay, you don't need to fix that, it's normal. Now start to focus your attention especially on the left side, so that perhaps the inhale will feel like it's expanding the left side of the cape and the exhale will feel as if it is emptying, softening, reducing.
Speaker 1:Next time you breathe in, draw your left shoulder blade up, left shoulder blade and will the left shoulder move as well yes, they move together and then breathe out and draw your left shoulder blade down, just soft, just kind of kicking the tires a little bit on whatever elevation or depression of the shoulder blade may be possible. And the next time you draw your left shoulder blade up towards your left ear, hold it there, keep breathing and this time, instead of just moving straight down, move the left shoulder blade back. Move it back and it's going to move in, like towards your spine. It's going to crowd the left side of your spine and then, once you have no place to go inward anymore, you're going to start to depress the shoulder blade. So we'll still get to the depressed position and then, once you get all the way down as far as you'd like to go, I'd like for you to bring your shoulder blade wide, so it's going to kind of wrap around the side of your rib cage and then eventually it's so wide that you're going to have to elevate again.
Speaker 1:Let your left hand just hang off the front of that bolster, so maybe you could just keep your arm out of it and then the shoulder blade retract, draw in, depress, protract, elevate, use about a medium level of effort. Okay, just a medium level of effort. I'll let you do more or less soon, but keep it medium and notice how the shoulder blade sort of slides around on the rib cage, although there might be little sticky spots, right, you might feel a little pop, and that's okay, that's normal. Shoulder blade is not sliding directly on the rib cage. There's muscles there and sometimes they get a little poppy. Okay, now I'd like for you to do one of these, so soft. So what you were using before was medium effort. This is the lightest possible effort and you'll notice that your range of motion is, of course, diminished. It's okay, but see if you can keep it smooth. And then do a couple with a comfortable maximum effort Note the word comfortable, comfortable max effort.
Speaker 1:Okay, next time that shoulder is lifted up, you're going to hold ooh. And then go ahead, twist your heart to the left, bring your right hand maybe to the outside of that left knee, or maybe it's just going to hold the right shin, that's too far and bring your left hand to the block that I had you set previously. You might be on a low block, you might be on a high block, you might be on a medium block, it's up to you. And then we already looked at the movement of the shoulder blade, which the movements up and down. Right, we did elevation, we did depression, that's what that's called.
Speaker 1:Let's just work with retraction. So squeeze your shoulder blade into your spine, crowd your spine and protraction, pull your shoulder blade away from your spine. Will that mess up your twist? Yes, who cares? Retract, retract it and protract it, feeling that shoulder blade kind of wrap around those ribs. And when that happens, maybe you notice that the muscles of your chest start to get a little more involved. That's good Next time the shoulder blade is retracted. So it's crowding your spine, your twist is in its lovely twisted place. You're going to hold.
Speaker 1:Make sure you're feeling nice and soft here in this twist and then, as gently as you possibly can, turn your face to the right and consider a point at the back of your skull which is just to the left of center. Just kind of bookmark that point and then draw a line from that point down to the bottom of the middle, back T12. And then draw a line from there out and diagonal up to the tip of your shoulder, that kind of little bumpy, knobby part on the top of your shoulder, chromium and then from the chromium back up to the base of this skull. And then turn your head so gently to the left, so gently not a stretch here, not a stretch, not a stretch and notice what is the relationship between this point at the back of your skull and the chromium, the tip of the shoulder, and then turn away again. Turn your face away, nice and soft. Turn your face back to your left shoulder. Turn your face away. So we just trace the dimensions of your left side trapezius muscle, approximately, of course. And your trapezius has three sort of distinct regions that behave differently based on the angle of the muscle fibers, their position. And the upper trap helps you to turn your head. So the left side upper trap do you feel it engage as you turn your face to the left? And maybe you feel it stretch as you turn your face to the right.
Speaker 1:This time, with your face turned to the right, you're just going to hold in the twist for two breaths In your mind's eye, breathe into the left side trapezius, that left side cape, both inhale and exhale it, and then you're going to turn your whole body forward again. So your face was already forward right. Now the rest of the body turns. Rest your hands on your thighs just briefly here and notice the left side and the right side, notice what may have changed or shifted. You'll bring your left foot flat, left foot flat, and then just fold the left knee over onto the right knee and slide off the front of your bolster so that you're in a side sit position with your hip against the bolster, your face turned to the right, and then you're going to bring your right thigh and smush it along the length of your bolster. So your right thigh and your bolster smush together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now the block you're going to push back and then drape your right side over the bolster with your right arm in front of you, not under you, and you might realize quickly that your head doesn't reach the floor. And if it doesn't, that's when I want you to grab your blanket and pull that under your head. Pull that under your head, yeah, and make it just the right height. Okay, so you've draped your left side body over the bolster. Reach your left hand up and over and find your block. Find your block. Where did it go? There it is, you got it. And push that block far enough away that, with your arm fully extended, you can just barely wrap your fingers around the far edge of it, yeah, around the far edge of it. You could just barely wrap your fingers around the far edge of it. So your fingers are wrapped around the edge which is furthest away from your body, because I want you to create a little bit of traction, want you to be able to kind of wrap your fingers over that edge. And there's a slight pushing down, slight, slight, slight, tiny bit 5%, 2% pushing down. So your right hip should be on the floor. Your right shoulder should be on the floor, your head supported on the floor or the blanket Right. Yes, okay. And now I'd like for you to summon your inner grasshopper. Okay, so bring your left thigh, smush it onto your right thigh. So your two thighs are stacked and we're going to stay mostly in this plane. We're going to keep the thighs stacked.
Speaker 1:As you pull your top hip, your left hip back, your thigh is going to remain on. Your left thigh is going to remain on your right thigh. Your hip is going to move back in space, but your thighs remain together like a grasshopper, like you're going to make some noise, right, and then keep your thighs together, but glide your left hip and knee forward, so your knee will even pass the bottom knee right. So push the hip and knee forward. It doesn't have to go far. Okay, it does not have to go far.
Speaker 1:And then push the hip back, keep the thighs together, push back and give yourself permission to do very little here, because this isn't actually about the hip, it's actually about the lower trapezius. Can we do this? Good, and then we're going to pull the hip back and then we're going to push it forward. Yes, just like that, and I exaggerated a little bit. You'll probably do less on your own, was it okay? Yeah, okay. So as you pull your hip back, you might notice a peculiar sensation in the lower part of your trapezius that we already identified. So pull that hip back, kind of just hold for a second and you'll feel how that trap can help you, because one of the jobs of the lower trap is to depress the shoulder blade. So even though you've got your arm under traction, when you pull your hip back, the shoulder blade will try to depress. So I want you to become familiar with that sensation. Let the knee come forward a little bit, let it come back a little bit. So we're going to work dynamically this sensation. Work dynamically this sensation.
Speaker 1:I always feel like the best place to really feel a muscle is in a stretched but activated position, which is what we're doing right now. Somebody might call that an eccentric contraction. Just do a couple more, and if you're like Mandy, I don't feel it, let me know I'll help, okay. And then the next time is the last time. You do one more, pull that hip back one more, press it forward and then just rest. Rest in a position that feels soft, peaceful, and that includes your arm, your hand. So if you want to change the position of your arm, you can. You can change it, yeah. So, as I said, your trapezius has three distinct regions, even though it's one muscle. Depending on the directionality of the muscle fibers, you can get a different function. So the lower trapezius fibers are sort of diagonal but almost vertical, and their job primarily is to depress the shoulder blade, but they can also assist with retraction, which is what you experienced a moment ago.
Speaker 1:Let's take one more breath and then bring that left hand around in front of you, press it into the floor, help yourself back up to your seat, turn to face the front and then bring your hips back up onto that bolster for just a comfortable seated position. Sukhasana, if possible, and if you have your ankles crossed, try to cross the way. That feels weird that you didn't do first. Okay, yeah, oh, I forgot one thing your block needs to be right behind your mat. Sorry about that. So we'll have it right there when you twist.
Speaker 1:Now take a moment again just to observe the right and the left side trapezius. Maybe you'll compare especially the lower trapezius on the right and the left, and you're under no obligation to cross the weird way. If that doesn't work for you, it's just a suggestion. So now I'd like for you to breathe a couple of times into the right side trap, right side trap. Usually we associate the trap just with the upper trap right, and people get really sensitive, especially on the right side upper trap. And so I'd like to introduce to you a concept that when we learn about a piece of our anatomy, it's not just about origin and insertion, activation, contraction, it's also about our thoughts and feelings and fears and beliefs about that muscle.
Speaker 1:So shrug your right shoulder blade up towards your ear and continue to monitor not just how it feels physically, kinesthetically, but also how it feels emotionally to do that and then depress the shoulder blade. We'll elevate the right shoulder blade and we'll depress it, and it's highly possible that you will have some feelings, and some of those feelings may be this isn't safe for me. I don't feel safe. Well then, you can just imagine the movement. If you don't think it's safe for you, or you can do way less, let's do a couple more. So just medium effort, yes. And the next time your shoulder blade is elevated, you'll stay and then you'll begin to retract.
Speaker 1:Pull the shoulder blade back until it has no place else to go but down, until it has no place else to go but out, and then no place else to go but up Medium effort, which is really hard. Right, it's either all or nothing. Sometimes, especially on that right side. And if you're having a little something, you're having like a little moment of crisis right, because I know this area can be sensitive Let me know, we can customize for you. Okay, we can customize for you. Hand is just hanging off the side of the bolster or the lap. Now do a couple with the least possible amount of effort, feel the smoothness or maybe the stickiness, and now do two with a max comfortable level of effort, max comfortable level of effort.
Speaker 1:And you might be wondering, mandy, if this is a class about the trapezius, why do we keep talking about the shoulder blade? Because the primary role of the trapezius is to stabilize the shoulder blade so that the arm can move freely or with strength, or both, okay. So the next time your shoulder is up, up, up, hold, and then, as it comes back, you're going to twist, twist your heart to the right, bring your hand to that block Left hand could rest on the outer right thigh, or maybe you're just going to use your left thigh because your right thigh is way too far away. That happens. So anywhere you can get that left hand is fine with me.
Speaker 1:And then let's just work. Since we already worked elevation and depression, let's just work protraction, retraction. So protract the right shoulder blade, wrap it around your ribs. Yes, it's going to mess up your twist. Retract your shoulder blade and it's likely that on one side you feel like you're better at this. Maybe it's this side, or maybe you felt like you were better at it on the first side. It's fine, it's normal, you know, and you could use your hand, kind of pulling and pushing off of that block, to help you protract, retract. But I would prefer that you didn't. Yeah, or maybe just use it a little, just for information.
Speaker 1:At the same time, shoulder blade is retracted, scouting your spine. You're in this beautiful twist. You'll just hold and gently, gently turn your face to the left and find a spot on the base of your skull, just a little bit to the right, and then trace the line down the right side of your spine to the bottom of your middle back. So it's right where your spine moves from the convex to concave yeah, the T12, we call it and then trace out to the acromion that's the tip of your right shoulder, and then back up to the base of your skull, turn your face to the right and just notice that relationship between the right side of the asa, put the back of your skull and the acromion, and then turn your face away really soft. We do not need a stretch here. We do not need a stretch. I could repeat it 50,000 times and only half of the people who hear it will actually listen to me. So let's make it 100%. Okay, we do not need a stretch here. I promise. Yes, thank you.
Speaker 1:Next time your face is turned away, you're going to keep it turned away and you're just going to hold for a couple of soft breaths. Just ensure that your posture feels soft, because this could get a little fraught, right. So your face is turned left. You're holding in your twist for two breaths Soft breaths, soft, soft breaths. Final breath in and then exhale. Turn your heart to the front.
Speaker 1:Yes, let's bring that right foot flat and then fold it over onto the left thigh and slide off the front of your bolster, come to your side position with your knees pointed to the left and your left thigh smushed up against your bolster and then make sure that your right hip is on the floor, kim, make sure your right hip is actually on the floor. Find a way to support your head if needed, if needed. Okay, you know what to do. So you're going to reach that right arm over, you're going to find your block and you're going to have the arm fully extended no-transcript and the block is right where you can just barely get your fingertips curled over the edge of it, okay. And then we're going to summon the inner grasshopper, slide the right thigh back on the left thigh, so your right hip is going to move back in space and then slide the knee forward. It's not very much movement.
Speaker 1:I think where we can kind of get mixed up with this is if we try to do too much movement. It's not going to be very much. So when you slide that hip back, you probably will feel your right lower trap. Try to help, and if you don't, you already know what it felt like on the left, so maybe you can kind of encourage it, give a little extra little extra information based on your experience. So we're sliding forward and back, sliding forward and back and maybe a couple times you'll just pause with your hip back and just feel that lower trap working.
Speaker 1:I will say that this one is harder to get, so you might need just a little extra attention here. Can be harder to get. Let's do one more of each sliding forward, sliding back. If you haven't taken a pause in the back position, then make sure you do that before we finish with our repetitions. Yes, and then allow yourself to just rest in your favorite position so the lower trap is no longer engaged, or at least minimally engaged. So we'll take one more breath and bring that top hand back around in front of you, press into the hand to help you back up to a side, sit and then turn forward. And then sit one more time on your bolster and compare right and left, compare right and left. We don't make value judgments when we compare. We don't say things like this one's good, this one's bad. We simply observe Give yourself that kindness.
Speaker 1:Yes, now shrug both shoulder blades up back, squeezing together until you can't squeeze in anymore. The only place to go is down, and then the only place to go is out. You might even get a little hollow in the chest and then back up Up, almost like you're making circles on your back with your shoulder blades. Next time you find yourself in the retracted position, I'll have you simply stay. Stay in the retracted position, shoulder blades drawn together on the back.
Speaker 1:So this is like the most virtuous posture, right? Right? Doesn't everybody always say squeeze your shoulder blades together, stick your chest out, but as you hold, you might notice some feelings. Yeah, just let those wash over you. Now let the shoulder blades protract, draw them out away, let your chest hollow. What makes the retraction more virtuous than the protraction? Notice how you feel Now elevate, elevate. And what makes retraction more virtuous than this position? And depress, draw it down and now allow your shoulder blades, as naturally as possible, to just drift to the position which feels the softest, the most peaceful.
Speaker 1:Is this a virtuous posture? Okay, so I'm going to have you lean to one side again, but this time it's to get yourself to a tabletop position, with your knees behind the bolster and your hands in front of the bolster. So the bolster is still latitudinal, its position has not changed, only you have changed. Yeah, so you're in the tabletop, the bolster is under you, and then you're going to slide your knees back and bring your pelvis right onto that bolster, right onto the bolster, and here's where you remember that you should have peed right before class. So if you need to go right, I totally understand. I totally understand. So you're on your elbows now, so your pelvis is on that bolster, your elbows are on the floor directly under your shoulders. Go ahead and clasp your hands, relax your neck and then let your shoulder blades squeeze together. Let them squeeze together and your chest just drop.
Speaker 1:This is the previously defined virtuous position, the prestige posture Right. Draw the shoulder blades together, poke the chest out and then do the opposite Push your shoulder, your elbows down, your shoulder blades protract, so there's a little dome in your upper back, and this is the one that we think is not so virtuous. Right, we tend to look at people with their shoulders rounded forward as something Allow the retraction again, so the shoulder blades will pinch together. As your chest collapses, the shoulder blades protract and as you dome the back, keep your neck as soft as you can. Do two more scapular pushups. This, by the way, if you've got like just some ickiness in your upper back or your neck. This is such a go to these scapular pushups. You don't even have to be on the floor, you could place your hands on the seat of a chair. It's just a nice way to activate the trap in a really comforting way. Last one Next time you're protracted you'll stay, and then you're going to take your palms back, one at a time.
Speaker 1:Just plant them right in front of your bolster so that you can help yourself again to a tabletop. At this time just briefly, because I'm going to have you slide your bolster to the left, so it's going to be just off of the edge of the mat, more longitudinal this time Bring both of your knees way to the left, so they're going to maybe push that bolster, and then bring your right hip down again for a side. Sit Right hip down, so your right hip is down, your knees are pointed to the left and then the right arm is going to reach back. So it's not going to be under you, it's not going to be in front of you, it's going to be behind you as you come down onto your right side. So you're resting on the side of your chest, on the side of your chest, on the side of your boob right, not on your boob and if you want to be on the mat, you can. Yes, and the right arm behind you. It's confusing and then use the left hand to pull the bolster between your lower legs, between your from your heels to your knees. Bolsters between the the caps. Yes, right arm is back, palm is faced down and if this is really a challenge for you, you're in good company, all right. So if you need to take breaks, you're welcome to take breaks.
Speaker 1:Now again, summon the inner grasshopper and slide your left hip back in space. Yes, and this time consciously engage the middle trap to retract. Retract and there's also a little bit of depression, just a little and then just rest. And then pull the hip back, retract the hip doesn't go far, no, no, no, it does not go far and then rest. Let's do two more where we're just going to kind of hold there with the hip pulling back and the right side middle trap assisting, and rest. Last time, pull back and hold.
Speaker 1:Now I'm going to ask you to do something really stinking hard, but I know you can do it. So see if you can keep your shoulder blade squished into your spine as you slide your left knee forward as far as you can. Your bolster may even slide off of your right knee. Try to keep right middle trap engaged as your left knee slides forward. Your left hip is way forward of your right hip. Hold for three, two, keep breathing and one rest.
Speaker 1:Now you could stay here just like this, especially if you're feeling a lot of tension in your wrist and your right hand, or some of you might like to land the sole of your foot on the floor, just kind of jog it back a little bit behind your right foot, bring your left kneecap to point up for the broken wing. And if you're in the broken wing, maybe your left palm is still planted, or maybe your left arm rests on your side, or maybe it half binds. All of those are up to you. You breathe into your right side trapezius. Now I'll try to trace the dimensions of the right side trapezius A little harder.
Speaker 1:Now let's take one more breath. One more breath, okay, and then your left thigh can come back to the bolster, your left hand come back around to plant on the mat and then, when that left hand plants, I want you to commit to using the left arm almost entirely to help you push up away from the floor. So the right arm you're just dragging for a little bit and then, when you're ready. You'll come back to a tabletop. Face the front, drag the bolster latitudinal under you again and then bring your pelvis onto the top of that bolster and come down to your elbows, clasp your hands, retract, allow your chest to collapse and, as your chest is collapsed, try to elevate your shoulder blades. They won't go far.
Speaker 1:Now protract, try to depress your shoulder blades. Retract, elevate, protract, depress. Keep the shoulder blades depressed as you retract, let that chest collapse and then elevate the shoulder blades as you protract. Rounding doming head hanging One more like that. Shoulder blades, retract, depress Shoulder blades, elevate, protract and then allow the shoulder blades to move out of that elevated position, just more neutral, and then bring your palms back, planting them just in front of your bolster, so you can come back briefly to a tabletop.
Speaker 1:Put your bolster over there on the right you know how you're going to need it right there in a moment. Bring your knees to the right, land on your left hip for a side set and then staying on your mat, so your head's going to come forward but your left arm is going to go back so you can lay on your side and then pull that bolster between your lower legs. So from your knees to your ankles. You're supported. Yes, what a precarious, hard place to move right. I know sorry about that Right palm. Can stay flat on the floor. You're not using it for much, I don't think. Relax it, though, and now pull the left excuse me, that's the right hip Pull it back so soft, as smoothly as you can Think about infusing a bit of elegance, and then just rest, pull back, and here you might immediately be like, oh yeah, left side middle trap is on, it's just going, it's helping, I can grip it here.
Speaker 1:Or maybe it's the opposite. Maybe you're like, wow, this one's hard. And then rest. So you're going to do it two more times. You're going to pull back and then you're going to rest. You're going to pull back and rest last time. Pull back, you're going to squeeze, really, get that retraction left shoulder blades, super crowding, and then see if you can keep that engagement in the middle and lower trap as you slide the knee forward. You'll slide it so far forward. Your bolster may even come off of your bottom knee. It's okay, we don't need it. Slide that hip forward. Keep the retraction If you can. It's so hard, so unusual. For three, two, one, rest.
Speaker 1:Maybe your right foot comes back lands on the mat and the knee point up for the broken wing, or maybe you stay roughly in the position you were just in? What are you going to do with that right arm? You could keep your palm flat. You could lay the arm on your side. You could half bind it Broken wing.
Speaker 1:It's not always about stretching, I would argue. Probably the tissue that needs stretching the least, just because it's so sensitive, is the upper trap. It feels like you should stretch it, but I think if upper trap is sensitive it would be better to engage middle and lower. Give a little bit of novel feedback, a little safety. Let's take one more breath, all right, so you will unwind. Bring that right palm back to the floor.
Speaker 1:Stack the knees last time tabletop, this time tabletop. Don't worry about the position of the bolster, it can stay beside your mat and just do from the tabletop, elevation, retraction, depression, protraction, elevation, this is the last one retract, depress, protract, good, and then swing your legs around in front of you two feet or flat as you roll to your back. And here's where you finally get to use your blanket. So bring that blanket under the back of your head, but please make sure it's a pretty low profile, so it's really just providing cushion. It's not elevating your head. Yeah, feet are flat and almost as wide as your mat, kind of wider, and I'll have you.
Speaker 1:Please bring your arms right along your sides, right along your sides, and turn the palms inward so you're on the pinky side of your hand, on the blade of your hand, okay, and as you push down into your forearms, try to depress your shoulder blades, try to pull them down. Push into your forearms for three, two, one, rest. Bring your arms straight out to the sides, still on the blade of the hand, so the palm is going to be facing forward watch out for your neighbor straight out to the sides, like a T now like a T, and this time I'd like for you to try to retract your shoulder blades as you push your forearms down for three, two, one and rest. Now bring your arms up into a Y shape, this time palms face up, palms face up, and I'd like for you to imagine that you're going to elevate your shoulder blades as your forearms press down forearms, press down, not just the hands, but the forearms for three, two, one, rest. Cross your arms over your body with your left hand on your right shoulder. I'd like to have it on top too, left hand, on right shoulder, and you might even be able to feel that little knobby part, the acromion, that kind of little bumpy spot on the top of your right shoulder. So that's one of the attachment points for your upper trapezius. So see if you can get one of your fingers on there and then use your hand to pull that right shoulder down and out, down and out and gently, turn your face to the left and then release the pulling down and out, turn your head back up.
Speaker 1:Yes, do it again. Pull down and out, turn your face to the left. So because we're pulling just a little bit on that acromion, we're turning the head away. It's a tiny bit of a stretch for the upper trap release. We're going to do two more. I'd like for you to treat this very dynamically, with the breath Again, I'm not a big fan of a big stretch, especially on the right. So this should feel like mobilizing, like breathing, inhaling and exhaling the upper trap okay, not stretching it Time and rest, and then the arms are just going to stay on you, just out of the way, and you're going to pretend that your upper body, actually from your hips to your shoulders is a barrel and use your left foot to help you roll your barrel to the right just a little bit.
Speaker 1:So you're going to kind of smush the middle trap because you have your arms here, you're protracted, so you're going to kind of smush right into the meat and then come back to the center and we're going to do the exact same thing. So we're just going to kind of smush around on the meat of the middle trap and back to the center. Do two more. It's so soft it should not feel super overwhelming here. Okay, last one, last one.
Speaker 1:Then, back in the middle, you're going to take your arms down along your sides, right along your sides, with your palms face in. Now, this time don't try to depress your shoulder blades, okay, although maybe just see what happens. Right, you're just going to pull a string and see what unravels. So push down into the forearms and just feel what happens, naturally, with your trapezius, which part of it engages Is it lower, is the middle, is it high? And rest. Bring the arms straight up into a T, palms face forward. You're on the blade edge of your hand so you might end up retracting, but let's not intentionally do it. Push the forearms down. Push the forearms down the T shape, rest, bring the arms into the Y, make sure you got those forearms on the ground. So maybe your arms are too high, maybe they're too low, those forearms can't rest. And then we're not going to intentionally elevate the shoulder blades.
Speaker 1:But let's see what happens when you push your forearms down for three, two, one, rest. Bring your arms across you, this time right hand on left shoulder, and see if you can use your fingers to find that kind of knobby little part on the top of your shoulder, the acromion, and you're going to pull out and down on that shoulder as you gently turn your face to the right and then release and come back to the center. I know that you feel compelled. Do it again to find a big stretch and I just want to caution you that a little stretch is okay, but think more about this being mobilization.
Speaker 1:Okay, do two more with the breath and then just keep the arms across you out of the way. Maybe you can cross the arms a little bit more assertively so that your shoulder blades are well protracted. Use your feet to push your barrel to the left just a little bit, so you're going to stay on the meat If you go too far, you're going to bump your shoulder blade, which is fine. That's just not what we're doing. And then come back to the middle. Let's do that a few more times, so you're just kind of rolling, placing weight, maybe with a little pressure, into the feet, on that meat of the middle trap. Your face is turning with your, your barrel.
Speaker 1:Do one more and then come back. Hopefully the bolster is close enough. It's not too hard to just drag it under your thighs, let your arms rest a comfortable distance away from your body, or maybe even on your body. And one more time, let's just map the trapezius We'll do both at once and at the base of the skull, move down to T12. Move diagonally up to a chromium, a tip of the shoulder, and then back to the asa.
Speaker 1:Put Breathe into that cape. Just observe that you will probably not have the exact same experience on the right and the left as you breathe it. And then let's just let the awareness go, just let it go, and I'm just going to sink, sink into whatever can be observed passively right now, in this room, in this moment, in this body, for your shavasana. There you go, Start the dove. The dove fits in. It's time to deepen the breath, time to restore movement to the body. When you're ready, you'll find your way onto the side of your choice. Rest there, roll into your hands and rise to your seat. Press your palms together In front of your heart, bow your head, take one more breath into that smooth cape, one more exhale from that place. Thank you so much for sharing your practice with me today.