3 Steps to Avoid Shoulder Impingement in Downward Dog
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
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I have done this wrong for many years. No teacher ever told me the right technique. I have impingement and very sadly I didnt do yoga downward dog nor any other kind of plank related exercise anymore for this reason. I tried it now and - I had no pain and my supraspinatus felt relieved and very good. God bless you. 😍😘💜 I am so thankful. It's my 48th birthday today and this is a perfect and so appreciated present from you!!!
This is THE most helpful video I've found on doing the downward facing dog pose. Thank you for keeping my shoulders open and not impinged. I was also able to hold the pose longer and with less effort.
Finally! A great, well explained, and demonstrated tutorial on what I should be doing in down dog. Thank you!
I NEVER comment on UA-cam videos but I feel that this is such a good video that I needed to say something. Subscribing to your channel and checking out your blog :)
That’s awesome thanks so much!! I hope you enjoy the blog
I finally understand how to "lengthen my spine" in downward dog. Thank you!
That’s great to hear Kate!
Great video thanks!!
Great explanations!
Thank you, that was helpful!
This is the best video! Thank you so much! I've been struggling with shoulder position for years and everyone just says "open your shoulders, push with your shoulders" or something and, I had no idea what that actually was supposed to be when My hands were over My head. I understood external rotation in a plank position but not overhead. I litterally went from kicking up and staying in a freestanding handstands 1/10 to 9/10 after trying this! Before I could balance for 20sec but only after I had I kicked up and wiggled around and touched the wall a couple of times.
Awesome. This guy knows a LOT about shoulders. Upward rotation of the scapula. Protracting the scapula to engage serratus anterior and clear space within the shoulder. Minimising hyper flexion of the glenohumeral joint. Top shelf video Matt! Liked and subscribed!🙌
Awesome! Downward facing dog is so common in many fitness routines, yet so difficult and problematic for some of us, both in shoulders and hamstrings. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do it
That was a very good explanation!
Thank u so much. I’ve been working on it for a long time and didn’t even get a clue to it. I finally understood how to do it!!
Thank u for sharing this 💓
It's not that my yoga teachers don't talk about this (they do, they;re really good at actually talking us through what we should be doing and feeling with our bodies) but this video just makes it all make so much more sense for some reason. I think it's the break down, plus being able to see it and try it in static and follow the pose at the end.
Please keep making these videos. This is fantastic, thanks!
Thank you for such helpful information! Please keep making these videos.
Wow. This was so valuable. Thanks so much. Going to watch a few more times
This is so helpful as I was feeling an impingement in my right shoulder and was clueless as to the right way to go about it. Thank you very much
Great great video. The first one I see that actually explains important details. So well done! Thank you!!!
Thank you
Nice tutorial.
your a genius, your adjustments are amazing. Ive checked 50 down dog videos so far, I like yours best.
thank you
excelent gracias!
That details you give are amazing man, thank you very much!!
anderson boy awesome stoked to hear you are enjoying them
This is incredibly beneficial in my practice as I really wanted to understand the correct position and feeling of my arms. Thank you.
This was excellent! I have such a tough time with moving the upper arm independently of the lower arm in downward dog and have suffered with shoulder impingement on a regular basis. Also, seeing it done in three steps was a good reminder to implement these in my own practice. Thank you.
Good stuff dude
Thanks for your teaching.
It’s my pleasure, thanks For watching
Really brother m gr8ful to u..m frm india...m practicing yoga since 4 months...i m suffereing frm lower back pain specially lower left side ...the pain is more thn before plus my shoulders started troubling me now coz of this adhomukh swanasana...plz make a vdo on lower back pain🙏🙏🙏🙏
Finally i get what I need to do and absolutely not should do with my shoulders and arms! Thank you for that!
Awesome, glad to hear it was helpful!
I too finally get it. As much as my phenomenal yoga instructor stressed rotation, I realize now that I was focused on melting my heart and missed the rotation message. What a huge difference in the pose. I finally feel the rest for which the pose is designed. Thank you. P.S. I tried to find the blog post on the upward rotation of the scapular; however, a page not found message was received and the post didn't not come up in a search of the site. I look forward to reviewing it and the many other teachings you have on-line. Thank you again.
Perfect, just what I was looking for. Succinct, with demo. Thank you so much! Subscribed!
amazing thank you for subscribing!
Thanks for the tips
Salim Boubaker with pleasure!
Love it❤
this is exactly the problem I was having! I was slightly collapsing into my down dog since it was the resting pose in my sequence and I developed upper back pain where before I had none, I hope I can fix it now. Thank you!
Wow! That's works. I've always struggled with this pose. Thanks
wow I am so glad to hear that
Thank you so much! I was really hurting my shoulder joints in downward dog, but this feels great now!
I am glad to hear that this has helped Jacob!
Wow such great teaching. Thank you so much I have been doing this wrong for years and never understood why I was causing my shoulder pain. So many teachers just fly through sun salutations and never talk about technique for these movements. I really appreciate your work going into this. Namaste
Thank you for recognizing my effort, really appreciate that. I am glad you appreciate the video and information for your practice, I will continue to create informative content
Perfect video for me as a beginner I want to learn the poses correctly from the beginning and this really showed what you meant really well.
I am so glad to hear that, thank you for stopping by and watching! also thanks for leaving feedback
Great Matt, I appreciate your effort, specially In downward facing dog pose. I am a yoga trainer, mostly people wants to learn sun-salutations when they come to learn yoga (specially westerners), normally I avoid and show very simple and basic poses, I know dos and don't in sun salutations but this video gave very proper information the way I wanted.
Thanks a lot. Jayesh
Wow... I finally got it thanks to your crystal clear instructions! I really don't comment anything on UA-cam but you deserve to be the exception to the rule ;) Thumbs up and you just got another subscriber!
tangram thanks so much for taking the time to share with me. I’m so glad this was helpful for you
This was very helpful, especially the rotation practice. I did that before placing my arms for dog and it made a big difference. Thank you!
That’s so great to hear!!
Wow very technical but indeed useful to know so that it is done properly appropriately and effectively.thanks.
yes at first it will be technical, but then it becomes a simple muscular pattern that your body will do and you will not need to think about it.
Thank you for such explicit instructions both verbally and visually. I have learnt more with this video that 5 years of yoga and numerous teachers.
Suzanne Rushton thank you so much for watching and sharing that positive feedback! I’m so glad this was useful for you!!
I love this guy. He explains things so good and so just natural. There are some other yoga teachers doing too much show about theirselves. He is great and smart.
Hey thanks so much for that I really appreciate it
Thank you for descriptions using technical terms. Much better than the weird “visuals” sometimes given in yoga classes. Not everyone has an anatomy background but even so, you can always go and research EXACTLY what “pronation” or “upward rotation of the scapula” means if you don’t know.
Hey Linds thanks so much for checking out the video, I’m glad you enjoyed my use of anatomy. Much appreciated
Finally I understand what to do ... thanks so much
Fatinah Al Skafi I’m so happy to hear that thanks for sharing
Great! Thanks! :)♥
Florencia Sosa my pleasure!
Ohhhh wow ..tHis is tbe first time I CAN FINALLY UNDERSTAND THE MOVEMENT OF THE SHOULDERS..thank you so much 🤗😘🙃🤔🤔🤔🤔🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄😉
denisse my pleasure thank you for sharing! Happy holidays to you!
Wow thanks
my pleasure, thank you for watching
thank you it's so important to care about the impact of each movement to prevent injury. Thanks a lot.
paul philippe thanks for watching Paul, glad you agree
my pleasure Paul, I appreciate you watching
Very true yogi ji thanks for you both Namastey
you are very welcome, thank you for watching!
thanks man
any time, thank you
I have scoliosis, slipped discs and other spinal issues and am always struggling with poses. You explain so clearly and in with such specific detail that I feel so much more confident in my practice. Blessings to you, sir 😊
Sandra D thank you for sharing that with me. I am sorry to hear of your spinal issues. I have scoliosis as well which affected me quite a bit before I started yoga. I’m happy to hear these videos are supporting you!
There's a lot of misinformation about shoulder positioning in yoga. I was originally taught to press my shoulders "down" from my ears. Same w/ Tadasana (urdhva hastasana). Thanks for clearing this up.
🙏🏻Super
Thank you so much. And your name is creative.🤩
Yeah thats true 🕉💜
thanks a lot..this helps.a.lot..i have shoulder injuries from doing yoga
sorry to hear of your injuries, I am so glad this helps
You need to teach it all yoga teacher, i got problem my shoulder for lack of knowledge, it very important the yoga teacher know that, and pass it to students.
Brancaalice doing my best to share it around the world. Please share this video to help
Great tips Matt, does this apply to the cow-face pose too- I just cannot clasp my hands at the back despite regular practice, can you make a video on cow face arms/shoulder impingement? Many thanks 🙏
Il following for more proper alignment
Thank you for that, I appreciate it
Rare gem! I’d suggest more awareness for the model’s elbow, which she pressed into a hyperextended orientation while in prep. A regular yoga practice with weight loaded hyperextended elbows can lead to pain, injury, repetitive stress, and the like. Often, hyperextenders habitually hyperextended on and off the mat, so it’s a great movement pattern to correct. Thanks for such a great share. Namaste.
Sazy Plew thanks for your share here, appreciate you weighing in. I agree with you remarks about habitual hyper extension. There is a difference between hyper extension and compression - hyper extension is based on average joint articulation, where as compression relates to increased pressure of the joint and potential over stretching of ligaments. Most people who hyper extend are not at risk for elbow injury in downward dog due to the trajectory of pressure - unlike the knee in triangle pose - the gravitation pressure and the weight of the torso are all creating a fulcrum point at the knee joint. This is less likely to be an issue at the elbows in down dog - and studies show that lack of tricep engagement can actually lead to shoulder impingement as well. What is important, to your point, is co-contracting the biceps as well as the triceps in order to maintain enough tension at the elbow joint which would avoid compression. Great subject to chat about thanks for bringing it up!
Thank you! Is it safe to do this asana if you don't have a full external rotation range of motion?
No. It's a bit fast. What do I not do? A bit slower explanation? Thank you a million.
I always thought you need to drop your chest down (while lifting your hips up) as much as you can. This seems to be the "hyper flex of shoulder joints" you warned about. So should I never try to drop my chest down?
Depends - you have to be in tune with the sensation of compression and impingement - if you can maintain space in the joint then hyper flexion might be ok. On the other hand using gravity and repetitive actions is not recommended. We do down dog a lot so best to keep it neutral in my opinion
Hey thank you so much! You really enlightened me today. I broke my right forearm in a way that I cannot perform the pronation any more because the two bones are not able to move and twist against each other caused by fasciae and scars. That happened as a child, but only a year ago I started my daily Yoga practice and my shoulder has been killing me. Do you have a tip what to do? Maybe one use the side of the hand? I also have problems with forearm plank or sphinx, the right palm is always facing to the left, not to the ground. I guess Shoulder and upper arm alignment ist more important than hand and forearm.
It depends on how much probation you have - you could try hands wide, and turned out. If that still doesn’t work than I’d use pirouettes
@@TheYogiMatt than you for answering! If you hold your arms in a right angle with the palms facing each other, as if you were carrying a tray, and then turn your palm towards the floor, a full pronation would be 90 degrees. My right hand stops after turning 30-40 degrees, less than half the way. I shared your video with friends who do handstand and muscle ups, they love your descriptions!
I fractured my wrist 5 months ago and post surgery did not move my entire arm for about 2 months. Now I have limited shoulder mobility and impingement. Trying to do downward dogs to create space in shoulder joint, but have been confused about whether I’m doing more damage. About 20 years ago I did a workshop on downward dog and was taught to retract the the shoulders down and back. So less pushing away from the floor and more action going on with scapula. Is this creating more impingement?
Hi there, after watching this I have a question. When the model "elevates her scapulae" I see that her ears gets much closer to her shoulders which I thought was wrong? I thought the correct idea is bringing the scapulae down the back and in turn this brings the shoulders away from the ears? Please clarify this. Thank you!
Keeping the scapulae down while doing overhead movements (like with the downward dog) can cause shoulder impingement. Elevating (or shrugging) the scapulae can prevent this from happening.
thank you so much for this video. i always skipped downward dog in the yoga videos that i do because it seems extremely risky if it's not done correctly, and nobody takes the time to explain how to protect your body while doing it
wonderful to hear this is helpful, thanks so much for watching
isn't there a pose where you do hyperflex into your shoulders in this dog position!
Turning your triceps/armpits inward, toward your face while holding your arms overhead is internal rotation, not external.
Tim Bass Hey Tim; thanks for watching. This is always super confusing when the arms are over head but in anatomical terms “lateral” or external rotation is when the triceps go in. The best way to figure this out is to star with hands by your side in tadasana and exadurate external rotation then bring them up continuing the same rotation and then over head and keep the same rotation the whole way
I dislocated my shoulder when doing the forward dog, it was painfull very painfull
What muscles externally rotate the upper arms in downward facing dog?
Teres minor and infraspinatus
Could you please explain to me , in almost every Asana shoulders should be away Fromm the ears but here you are saying that we should elevate the scapula. In my book it also says “upper trapezius away from the ears. Thank you 🙏
Hi sure, “Should be” where did you learn that, and did they tell you WHY your shoulders should be away from your ears in “every asana”? In ballet the aesthetic is to have shoulders away from the ears at all times. That has creeped its way into yoga, and in yoga you are weight baring - in ballet you aren’t hanging out in down dog or head stand, forearm stand, handstand. That’s a major distinction. Also in ballet 5th position the upper arm bones are not usually vertical - the elbows are bent creating an oval like shape. The reason that’s important is because it’s the relationship at the shoulder joint
Can anyone tell me difference between adho mukha savanasna and mountain poes (parvatasana)
Scientific reason please
I don't know for sure but from what I understand Parvatasana has the feet together instead of apart, so that would mean you wouldn't be stretching adductor magnus as much but rather you would stretch the outer hamstring line, maybe the Gluteus Maximus/IT band a but more. Typically it is hard to do hip flexion for most people with legs together, and easier when they are further apart. otherwise they dont seem much different to me, but I also dont know if there are specific alignment points to traditional ways of doing Parvatasana
Hi Matt, big time fan of yours! In my down dog position the eye of my elbow faces the front. Am I rotating my triceps too much?
Jayshree Davé it’s a great question and in short forearm can rotate the opposite direction of the upper arm in order to balance out the radial ulnar joint. It’s not necessarily bad either way but this is the next step
Im confused, there are many other sites and vids where they pull down their shoulders, but there are others where elevate their scapula like you did now. So which is the right way? Which is better or are just variants?
Yes that’s why I made this video, to clarify the anatomy of why you would want to upward rotate your shoulders when arms are over head. You can look up scapulohumeral rhythm so you aren’t just taking my word for it. You can also look up how shoulder impingement happens.
Clear explanation but it's hard to figure out if I'm doing it correctly because I can't see myself in the pose :/
good idea to video yourself doing the pose - and try it without being in downward dog as well - I have another video that goes over this action without being in down dog.when videoing go back and forth a few times between depression and elevation of your shoulders and see if you can see a difference when you watch the video
But how to touch your feet on ground
What is source of the "elevating scapula" thing? Scapula shoud remain down on the chest with shoulders wide.
What’s the source for “shoulders should remain down”? You can open any Antony book and look at where the supraspinatus and bursa are. Then you can ask any physical therapist about how to maintain the subacromium interval when the arms are over head. Or you can look up scapulo-humeral rhythm. While I’d love to claim discovery of this knowledge - shouder impingement and causes of it are widely known. This is not an eye opener for someone that has researched the glenohumeral joint, it’s only an eye opener if you have not.
"Shoulders up to the ears". I am really confused, because when doing sirsasana or tripod headstand it is the opposite. We have to have our ears far away from our shoulders. How can you explain it ?
If the palms are on the floor you don’t have to worry about them,, the floor will take care of that so all you really need to do is activate the shoulders as you’ve indicated.-. However regarding the palms the index finger knuckle of the palm must always be DowN-- btw--This is All BKS Iyengar’s work,,, you should acknowledge that particularly when you dispense this data online,, you must teach respect and honor those who worked diligently to outline proper alignment and use of the body.
If I spent this video telling you where each bit of information came from it would be 30 minutes long and you would never watch it. BKS iyengar is responsible for many great alignment ideas, yes respect to him for that.
Elevate the scapula. Hmmmm...Well crap, I've been doing this wrong. Wish I could practice right now but I'm in a place with carpet and just slid all over LOL
LolaH I am just glad you have come across it now
1:54 2:08 2:58
Oh. Not what I came here for. Got really excited for a moment. OVER extension on the shoulders???? Anyone have the exact opposite problem of this? Nope? Still just me then.