We carry a lot with our shoulders. The shoulder joint is truly amazing. It’s strong and very mobile, allowing us to raise our arms up over our head in a way the hip doesn’t do for the legs. And we work with our hands so the shoulders can get quite stressed by work and life. But many people stress their shoulders out even further. With demands. To stay “down” or “back”. But the shoulders don’t need to “stay” anywhere! They are made to move!
People worry about “posture” and the shoulders often get the blame. And they get “fixed” with unhealthy holding patterns. If you want to move your arms you must let those shoulders move. Pulling your shoulder down while lifting your arm up creates a world of misery for your shoulder joint. There are many moving parts that make up the shoulder. None of them benefit from being held “down” or “back” or fixed in any way.
We don’t want our shoulders hunched up to our ears, but cramming them down isn’t good either! We need strong muscles but more than that we need healthy movement patterns. Good mechanics. Pilates can teach you about how your body is meant to move but many teachers fixate on keeping those shoulders down. And it’s not helping. The body is a balance of mobility and stability. The Pilates exercises are designed to take us through all ranges of motion to have a body that’s balanced and capable. But if you over focus on stability you can get rigid. Too much mobility is not good either. It’s about balance.
And our shoulders are just part of the body. You can’t just “fix” them and viola! “Good Posture”! They are sitting towards the top of the spine, everything from the feet up affect them. To improve your posture it requires working your whole body and learning what your body needs to be better organized. An organized body will respond and adjust as it goes through life.
So, there’s no need to pick on your shoulders. Let them move! Give them some freedom. Because, really, has yelling at them actually helped them relax?!
Solara Pilates 