Throw your hands in the air for the end of 2020? For surviving an unusual year? For all small victories that get you through your day, and thus, year? YES! But I am also talking about arms overhead. Mechanics! There are so many misconceptions about what we do with our shoulders if our arms are up in the air. Many a times, teachers of all movement modalities have cued “shoulders down” when the arms are overhead, but that is not the case. In fact, cuing “shoulders down” can actually hurt the shoulder because it brings the joint out of the socket. Yes, out, and nothing explains it better than this video. Just to be clear, that cue is totally fine if the arms are level with the shoulders or lower. We have these big bones on our backs called shoulder blades, or if you want to be fancy, you can call them scapulae. They are a floating bone, only held to the ribs by muscles. They connect to the front body through a joint that connects to the collarbone, or fancy, clavicle. Underneath that joint lives the shoulder joint, in all it’s shallow glory. It gets dislocated easily for that very reason. Its stability survives on using the muscles and mechanics correctly for all ranges of motion.

Muscles

Right now, try a Pilates’ salute/shaving with your elbows straight. In between the shoulder blades are the Rhomboids. Are you feeling these fanning and spreading out with the blades? They also bring them back together, if you were to bring your elbows back into a bent position. At the bottom and wrapping around the side to the front body is the Serratus. Can you feel these bring the blades flatter on the back,and the tips around to the side body? I always find both of these muscle groups weak and tight. Not only do these muscles need to be strong, but they need a lot of length (mobility) so the shoulder blades can fan open and around the corner to stabilize our arms overhead. And don’t forget about that cue of spiraling the arms! Biceps rotating towards your ears and reaching through the pinky finger - that helps to engage the rotator cuff for stabilization. Go ahead and relax. The upper trapezius, a commonly tight muscle, has it’s moment to shine, doing the job it is supposed to do - elevate the shoulder blades to meet the shoulder joint’s own elevation. Also the collarbones rotate and lift as well with the help of neck muscles. Arms overhead also means our spine has to be strong to withstand that lever too. A lever like straps on our hands on the reformer or cadillac.

Upside down, you’re turning me

I would like to think about arms overhead, upside down. As many of you have experienced in our sessions, I love finding this through yoga poses, in both mobility and strengthening exercises. The floor is amazing feedback to find this strength. These exercises will come in Part 2, our final Curious Mover of 2020. But this edition is dedicated to understanding the mechanics, so you can visualize what happens when the arms are overhead. In any class you take, you will now be able to override the cue “bring your arms over head and shoulders down.” Not today! Or ever! Most importantly so you understand the why, please watch this video. It is not mine, but it is a brilliant and clear look at the mechanics of why.