Shoulders down
- Thread starter joy
- Start date
scullystwin42
Forum Master
I’ve got a playlist of videos I used to fix mine- lots of time spent strengthening mid and lower traps and learning to disengage my upper traps. Worked wonders. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsG9189BbH_Nl6VRMVgv_DN6XHjoSjiWa
6/8 weeks of dedicated effort and you’ll see a change.
also work on activating your feet more, then you’ll stop compensating with your shoulders. That took me significantly longer to fix.
Warren J. Dew
Forum Master
Aside from just practicing it, my chiropractor gave me a stretch that helps. Sit in a chair, grab the side rail with one hand so your fingers are below the seat cushion, holding the shoulder down, then grab that side of your head with the opposite hand, across the top of the head, and pull (not too suddenly of course). Do this with your head turned 45 degrees each way. This stretches the neck and top of the shoulder, allowing the shoulder to relax downward a bit more. Then do the same on the other side.
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
@scullystwin42 and @ProgressNotPerfection have already given you plenty to work with. There's at least 10-18 months of work you can do with just what they have provided.
But if you'd like to go a little deeper into the subject here's some more to think about.
But if you'd like to go a little deeper into the subject here's some more to think about.
A long, beautiful neck-and-shoulder line has two main components: good posture (especially in the thoracic spine) and good shoulder organization.
Posture is the simpler of the two to understand, and the one that gets talked about in detail more frequently. I'll skip that one today.
Shoulder organization is trickier. Which is not surprising, because the shoulder joint itself is remarkably tricky. Unlike most joints, the shoulder has both rotational freedom, where the humerus meets the scapula, and also translational freedom, where the scapula slides across the rib cage. In other words, the shoulder joint is unusual in that it is not at all fixed in place relative to its neighboring body parts.
When we're talking about "low shoulders," it is the location of the scapula is what we're trying to control. There are four main muscles that contribute to this: the levator scapulae, rhomboids, trapezius, and serratus anterior.
As the diagram illustrates, two of these muscles are connected in a way as to pull the scapula downward. Scully talked a lot about the larger of the two, the lower trapezius. But there is one problem with using the traps alone to achieve low shoulders: they also pull the scapula inward towards the spine! This leads to a "pinched" look and a reduction of arm mobility.
The only muscle that has the ability to both lower the scapula *and* draw it outward is the serratus anterior. Any shoulder-line work will need to study and strengthen this muscle eventually.
The only effective isolation exercise I've ever encountered for the serratus anterior is the scapular push up. I find them especially effective with my hands rotated outward so that the heels of my hands are pointing forward and my fingers backward.
Posture is the simpler of the two to understand, and the one that gets talked about in detail more frequently. I'll skip that one today.
Shoulder organization is trickier. Which is not surprising, because the shoulder joint itself is remarkably tricky. Unlike most joints, the shoulder has both rotational freedom, where the humerus meets the scapula, and also translational freedom, where the scapula slides across the rib cage. In other words, the shoulder joint is unusual in that it is not at all fixed in place relative to its neighboring body parts.
When we're talking about "low shoulders," it is the location of the scapula is what we're trying to control. There are four main muscles that contribute to this: the levator scapulae, rhomboids, trapezius, and serratus anterior.
As the diagram illustrates, two of these muscles are connected in a way as to pull the scapula downward. Scully talked a lot about the larger of the two, the lower trapezius. But there is one problem with using the traps alone to achieve low shoulders: they also pull the scapula inward towards the spine! This leads to a "pinched" look and a reduction of arm mobility.
The only muscle that has the ability to both lower the scapula *and* draw it outward is the serratus anterior. Any shoulder-line work will need to study and strengthen this muscle eventually.
The only effective isolation exercise I've ever encountered for the serratus anterior is the scapular push up. I find them especially effective with my hands rotated outward so that the heels of my hands are pointing forward and my fingers backward.
I can never find Larinda's video when I need it. The theraband video.
btw, Gyrotonic is wonderful for this shoulders down issue
I have been on the verge of starting a new thread to ask where it is for a week or so! Help, oh you knowledgable people who seem to be able to find things!!
joy
Forum Master
Thanks Fiesta and PNP.
And yes, it's the shoulders down and out feeling, I just tried that exercise you posted Fiesta. I can feel the outward feeling, similarly with a theraband.
It's that feeling, and the head back to create this long back neck that I'm working on. I generally have rounded shoulders and forward head posture.
But it's clear that for competitions, a long neck and downward shoulders are like the easist thing for judges to see.
I did gyrotonic a few times, it felt good, but was rather PITA to add another private lesson to my schedule.
And yes, it's the shoulders down and out feeling, I just tried that exercise you posted Fiesta. I can feel the outward feeling, similarly with a theraband.
It's that feeling, and the head back to create this long back neck that I'm working on. I generally have rounded shoulders and forward head posture.
But it's clear that for competitions, a long neck and downward shoulders are like the easist thing for judges to see.
I did gyrotonic a few times, it felt good, but was rather PITA to add another private lesson to my schedule.
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
I hereby dub thee Terpsichorean Claudette, for thou hast Found Stuff on DF.