Exercises for Shoulder Therapeutics

But First, Hip Opening

The Alignment of the Pelvis The fate of the shoulder hinges upon the alignment of the pelvis. If the pelvis is misaligned it is exceedingly difficult for the shoulder girdle and arm to find harmonious placement and function. In terms of the choice of hip opening exercises; these are the ones we did in the workshop. You can do any combination of hip opening poses to find the same result.

Glute Stretch Lay on your back with the knees bent and your feet flat to the floor. Cross the right ankle over the left knee. Flex your right foot. Pick the left foot off of the floor drawing the knee towards you. Arch the lower back up off the floor gently and feel the stretch. Flatten the lower back to the floor and feel the difference. One is not better or worse than the other but I think that it is a deeper and more interesting stretch with the lower back slightly curved off the floor. Interlace your fingers behind the left thigh. Work to open the right hip by moving the right knee away as the left knee moves closer. Don’t push the leg open with your hand.

Supta Baddha Konasana Lay a blanket or rolled up mat lengthwise on your mat. I prefer a Mexican blanket tri-folded so that it is flat. Sit with your pelvis on the floor right up against the blanket or mat. Lay down with the spine centered on the mat or blanket. Your ears should be in line with your shoulders so that your head is not dropping back too far. Bring the soles of the feet together as close to the hips as possible. Open to knees sideways. You can belt the legs together with a belt around your waist, across the inner thigh and under the feet. Support the outer leg with blocks or blankets under the thighs if you like but don’t inhibit the opening action.

Frog Belly Lay on your stomach. Bend your knees wide out to the side, bringing the soles of the feet together in mid-air. The hip bones of the pelvis should be on the floor determining the height of the feet. They might be high off the floor. That indicates tight hips. If the feet flop to the floor you might be too loose. Draw the knees as high and wide as possible. You might feel this in a number of places but often it is the in top of the quadriceps at where the leg meets the pelvis.

Clam Shells Start by lying on your left side, with your knees bent and the right leg on top of the left with the feet together. Maintain a neutral spine, engaging your abdominals if you need to. Stack the hips and don’t let the top hip move backwards. You can even cheat the top hip forward. It is important to differentiate between the leg and the pelvis and not let them move in the same direction. From this position, raise your knee slowly engaging gluteus medius. Keep the pelvis and trunk stable. Hold the top position for 5 seconds. Lower slowly for five seconds. Another option is to raise the top knee slowly, hold for five seconds and then lower slowly only about half way maintaining an active muscle. You want to activate gluteus medius and any way that happens for you is the best way.

Ankle To Knee Backwards Not everyone can get into this position. You can also do it with one leg straight and the bent leg ankle crosses over the straight leg knee. In a seated position, bend your knees and try to stack your right shin on top of the left. Your right foot should be on your left knee and your right knee should hover or lay flat above your left foot. When you look down between your legs, you should see an even triangle of space between your pelvis and your shins. You can loosely belt the legs in a way that doesn’t pull them closer to each other but also won’t let them separate any further. Begin to lean backwards slowly keeping an arch in your lower back. You have to keep the natural arch of the back even if you can only go a few inches. You can go down as far as your forearms, trying to relax and allow the right inner and outer thigh to release passively with each breath.

Now, to the shoulders…

Side Stretch Bring both hands over head. Stabilize the legs and pelvis. The pelvis should be pointing straight forward. Take hold of the right wrist in the left hand. Keep the thighs back under the hips and lower the front ribs. Stretch to the left. Try your best not to lean backwards.

Elbows Apart Lift your right arm up and turn you right hand to face behind you. You can bring your left hand up to assist in the rotation of the upper arm towards the back of the body. Bend the elbow and drop your right hand behind your back. Bring the left arm out to the side, slightly in front of the chest, and turn the palm towards the back of the body and try to bring the left hand towards your back and maybe even to interlace with the fingers of the right hand. Feel free to use a belt to assist you. Muscularly pull everything towards the midline of the body, with the upper arms moving towards parallel and the elbows moving away from each other towards the floor and the ceiling.

Eagle Arms Bring the right arms underneath the left arm, crossing the elbows. Try drawing the forearms close to each other and if possible get the right fingers to press into the left palm. Lift the elbows up to the height of the shoulders and keep the forearms in line with your nose. Press the hands together to activate the muscles of the shoulders and at the same time try to pull the shoulder blades towards each other on the back.

Rotator Cuff Strengthener (jathara parivartanasna var.) Lie on your back on the floor with your arms outstretched from your shoulders, like the letter T, palms facing the ceiling. Bend your knees and bring them towards your chest. Twist, moving your knees towards your right inner elbow on an angle. Stay grounded in the left shoulder. The key to strengthening the rotator cuff is keeping the shoulders on the floor. An advanced variation is to work with straight legs.

Classic Deltoid Stretch Bring the right arm across the chest, holding with the left hand or crook of the left elbow. Pull the right arm into it’s socket keeping the shoulder blade on the back. Stretch the right deltoid keeping the chest pointing forward. Try to avoid turning the trunk as you stretch the arm. Do both sides.

Block Over Head Belting the arms, shoulder distance apart, just above the elbows, is a great option for this stretch. Hold a block in your hands with your arms bent at 90 degrees. Keep your elbows in line with the wrists. Raise your arms and the block up keeping the arms bent at the right angle. Engage the abdominals so that your rib cage is stabilized throughout. Don’t let your rib cage puff forward. Try to keep the elbows parallel, making sure they don’t flare out to the side.

Holding Up Books Or Blocks This is a progressive exercise where you control the difficulty based on the weight of the object you are holding. Start with two books or blocks and hold them out in front of you for thirty seconds. Build up to a minute per round over time. Add a block or book after each round. The heavier the objects the less likely you will be able to extend the arms. Take a 15-30 second break in between rounds.

Wall Pushups Face a wall, standing a little farther than arm’s length away, feet shoulder- width apart. Lean your body forward and put your palms flat against the wall at shoulder height and shoulder-width apart. Slowly breathe in as you bend your elbows and lower your upper body toward the wall in a slow, controlled motion. Keep your feet flat on the floor. Hold the position for 1 second. Breathe out and slowly push yourself back until your arms are straight. Repeat 10-15 times.

Cactus at the Wall Stand with your back to a wall. Place your feet about six inches away from the wall. Relax your knees. Bring your arms out to the side and press everything to the wall (except for the neck and low back), focusing on the middle of your back. Slowly bend the elbows bringing your hands up to a right angle with your arms. Make sure everything remains on the wall. Move very slowly. If the arms come to a right angle, move the elbows up the wall, keeping everything connected.

Cactus on the Back Lie flat on your back. If it is not comfortable to lie with the legs straight, roll up a blanket and place it under the knees. This will release the hamstrings and reduce the strain on the lower back. Bring your arms out to the side and bend your elbows to form a right angle with the arms. Lengthen the back of the neck and allow the spine to soften toward the floor. The lower back and neck should each have a gentle arch, but ideally the rest of the spine should have contact with the floor. Move very slowly. Once you get your spine into a good place, bring your awareness to the forearms, wrists and hands. Try to open the hands, extending the wrists and the fingers. Move very slowly. Once you get the arm to a good place return to the spine. Go back and forth between the two and allow the back of the body to lengthen, soften, and release.

Cactus on the Belly Lie flat on your belly. Bring your arms out to the side and bend your elbows to form a right angle with the arms. Lengthen the back of the neck. Once you get your spine into a good place, bring your awareness to the forearms, wrists and hands. Everything is balanced before you lift up, the forearms wrists and fingers are all balanced between extension and flexion. Lift the head neck and chest up off of the floor. Notice the difficulty in maintaining the balance in the different parts of the arm.

Winged Victory Lie on your stomach. Interlace your fingers behind your back. Lengthen the back of your neck looking straight down. Draw the belly in and lift your trunk up off the floor, keeping your chin soft. You want the head, neck and chest to move in one solid piece.

Pectoralis Major & Minor Stand 8-12 inches from the wall with the side of your body towards the wall. Extend your arm behind you with the palm against the wall at the height of your shoulder. Turn your feet and torso 45 degrees away from the wall. Keeping the arm well connected, stretch across the upper chest. Return to the beginning, torso facing forward with the side of the body facing the wall. Turn your palm to face up with your pinky finger against the wall at the height of your shoulder and repeat the stretch. This should be a shorter and sharper stretch of pectoralis minor.

Table Top Sit with your knees bent and feet flat to the floor. Start with your hands 8-12 inches behind your hips. The fingers can point towards your pelvis or away. It is good to try or even do both. Press into the inner hand and the inner foot and lift the hips up off the floor. You are trying to establish a straight line from the knee to the hip to the shoulder. The head would ideally be in line with the shoulders but you can also hold it up higher or lower. Open the chest trying to get the spine to lift up between the shoulder blades.

Blanket Along The Spine Tri-fold a yoga blanket and lay it down in the middle of your mat parallel to the outer edge. Sit with your pelvis on the floor butt up against the blanket. Lay down with the blanket under your spine length-wise. You can fold the blanket under your head or put up book or block under the blanket. The head should be level with or above the chest.

Blanket Across The Spine Tri-fold a yoga blanket and lay it across the upper third of your mat. Lay on your back with the blanket across your shoulder blades. The shoulders should just be able to touch the floor. You can start with the knees bent and your feet flat to the floor. Extend the legs straight if this is comfortable You can put something under your head if you need to elevate it a bit. The neck should not feel crunched.