This class is all about the Shoulders and Scapula.

Equipment Needed: Yoga Blocks

Time Markers:
0:24 CARs (warm up)
14:45 Shoulder IR/ER Prep (Kneeling Base)
17:30 Shoulder IR PAILs/RAILs + Lift Offs (Side Lying Base)
38:45 Shoulder ER PAILs/RAILs + Lift Offs (Prone Lying Base)
58:00 Scapular Retraction PAILs/RAILs (Prone Lying Base)
1:05:50 Scapular Retraction Lift Offs (Prone Lying Base)
1:08:20 Finishing CARs

For the shoulder, we will be addressing rotation (Internal and External), and then we'll also hit Scapular Retraction. For the shoulder, you'll get far more bang for your buck addressing rotational deficits in IR/ER, before trying to address limitations in linear planes like Flexion and Extension. There's nothing more important than good IR/ER for the shoulder. More rotational mobility means more global mobility for the entire shoulder capsule.

In the IR/ER setups it's important to maintain the same scapular positioning throughout the entirety of the movements. The goal is to move the shoulder relative to that scapular positioning. We want to initiate the movement from the shoulder, without allowing the scapula to compensate.

Next we'll address Scapular Retraction. Another important one, especially in conventional fitness where we're often told to retract our scapula to perform certain movements under load. Also our daily life is mostly in Scapular protraction so we typically become very weak in retraction. A lot of times on just a mechanical level, people don't have good scapular retraction mobility, so retracting their shoulder blades becomes very challenging. Then we ask them to do this under load in certain weight training exercises. That is not a recipe for success, and can lead to shoulder, scapula, and cervical spine issues. Here we isolate scapular retraction and try to restore integrity to that part of our body.

It always important to find the right height for your blocks. We want to be just out of our active range of motion limit. You should feel a solid stretch, but not overwhelming or painful, and if you're truly at end-range you should not be able to physically lift off.

Hope you enjoy!