Yoga Shoulder Warm Ups

Video Transcript

"Shoulders are obviously an intricate joint that is used in any upper body movement. For that reason, we, really, want to devote a little bit of time to warming up the shoulders. So, we are going to start with simple shoulder rolls. I want you to think of initiating the movement through the scapula, or the shoulder blades. Keep breathing, it is always important to breathe. Movement comes through breath and that is what feeds everything. So, continue to breathe to fuel the muscle. Inhale and exhale. Again, try to leave the shoulder joint actually out of the movement and just retract with the shoulder blades, like you have a fist in between them. Another good way to loosen up some tension between the cervical and the shoulder, is to simply try to get your shoulder up into the air and release. Pull it up. Again, you are thinking of moving in the shoulder blade, not so much as, just in the shoulder joint. The scapula is definitely involved in shoulder movement. It is that bone socket joint that likes to raise, lower and rotate. Try to get your shoulders up towards your ears. Don't hold your breath, but just gently hold it for a few seconds. Hold and release. So, now you have some shoulder rolls and some shoulder raises down. Now, just think of scapula retraction and that was bringing the shoulders together. It is a very subtle movement; release. If you bring your elbows in close to your sides, you'll take off the leverage of holding your arms down. You can really just focus, shorten up your levers, and you can just focus right in that mid-section of the thoracic and mid-back. Breathe, retract and release. So, it is similar to a push-up but everything stays nice and quiet. Inhale and exhale. Just bring the shoulders blades together. If you have any movement in this front shoulder joint, it would be as a result of retraction and release in the scapula. One more time, inhale, just in that midsection, and release. By combining those three movements, you'll get a good upper body shoulder warm-up "