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Create a Free AccountFundamentals of Practice Day 5
Intermediate I
Shoulder stability and mobility is essential in preparing you for inversions. In this faster-paced practice, Rachel reinforces the essential actions you need to develop functional strength and stability in preparation for more advanced poses. This class can either be done as a stand-alone or as part of Rachel's 7-Day Fundamentals of Practice Yoga Challenge.
Equipment:
- Strap
- Block
Style:
Comments
Existing Comments
This was the class I didn't know I needed! It felt amazing, and reminded me to include more upper body work in my practice.
I liked the use of props. It helped me maintain focus and alignment.
As a yoga teacher, I find Rachel's fundamentals of practice incredibly informative and inspiring. The pace and detailed information she provides for all her classes continues to allow me to make new discoveries in my body that I can then impart to my students. Thank you!
Charlotte! I know this is a late reply, but I just had to respond..that's so wonderful!! I'm so excited to hear about these discoveries and explorations :)
Not sure if my previous comment was posted or not, I don't see it, so here it is (again):
I am not sure if I'm the only one that has a hard time keeping up with Rachel's high speed instructions. Especially when it's so detailed and the moves are so subtle. I sometimes need to stop and rewind to get it all.
I always watch classes before practice. With Rachels Fundamentals I repeat them so often I forgot counting, They are the basis for
everything I am trying on the mat. For me, yoga is a never ending learning process, I am always a BEGINNER!
Love the 7-day challenge! Am I the only one that has a hard time keeping up with Rachel's instructions? Rachel you speak so fast, I need to rewind some instructions and hear them over. Especially when it's so detailed and involves subtle moves of muscles.
I love your classes Rachel. Pretty fantastic. My question is about shoulder alignment. I seem to hear a lot of conflicting ways of positioning shoulders. I have unstable shoulder or at least have that hunch a little forward. How should my shoulders be when I'm standing for instance and also in chatarunga followed by upward then downward dog. In downward dog I've heard some instructors say have them flat against the back but sliding away from the spine, but I don't think that's right. What are your thoughts? Thank you!
Howdy! This is an AWESOME question, but complicated. LOL In plank and chaturanga, you need to balance the action of the primary muscles that stabilize the shoulder blade on the back. Essentially, the scapula don't move at all on the back from plank - chaturanga - to updog. So you have to balance two actions: drawing front ribs in as you slightly hug shoulder blades together. You can see my chaturanga tutorial on DoYogaWithME or check this out for info on chaturanga to updog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBiPocp8q9Q&t=5s
For downward facing dog, your shoulder blades need to upwardly rotate to take your arms overhead. This means that, yes, they widen away from your spine. The inner borders of your scapula move down, as the outer edges move UP. Like there's a little pivot on your shoulder blade and they turn. They will also wrap slightly around your ribcage (forward). Don't worry about "flat" here...no bone is flat, and your ribs aren't flat either :)
Let me know if that helps!
R
This practice felt really good in my shoulders. I'm chronically tight in my shoulders but yoga helps. It would be helpful for students to prepare their straps with a loop at outer shoulder width to avoid having to fumble with the strap during class.
Am I the only one whose arms don’t go backwards over my head like that?. The part where you reach all the way up in front of you, grasping strap, then lower arms backwards to lower back, then return up and forward.
Impossible for me and in fact didn’t realize anyone’s shoulders moved that way!
Wow! What a workout for my weak shoulders! I injuried my shoulder 2 yrs ago and have struggled to gain strength since. This class definitely helped with getting back into proper alignment. Do you have any classes similar to this?
Thanks for the feedback! Rachel is quite a star. :-)
We have a lot of classes that focus on the shoulders. I would recommend typing in 'shoulders' or 'shoulder strength' in our search box above. This is one example: https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/headstand-pose-shoulders-and-core
Wonderful commentary. I absolutely LOVE Rachel's classes. Reminders exactly where and when I need them, easy to follow instructions, helpful imagery. Love, love, love!
A really nice shoulder practice and one I can use time and time again!