Call to Arms
Let’s call to arms better information. There is a lot of poor information about scapular stability. I walk into many classes: dance, pilates, yoga, etc and hear the cue:
Shoulders down, Press Your shoulders down!
The problems of the shoulders might be the placement of the spine, placement of the scapulae, lack of movement of the shoulder girdle due to too much locking down and muscular imbalance and poor use of arms and hands.
Hand-scapula relationship
Essential for a healthy shoulder is the timing and the control of the motion of the scapula, clavicle and humerus bone. This is called scapular humeral rhythm. This is the hand-scapula relationship of the Bartenieff Fundamentalstm.
If the shoulder girdle is not riding on the ribs correctly, pressing down could create dysfunction. There are many interpretations of down that can lock the shoulder blades from moving and compress the ribs. If the spine changes with the cue of pressing the shoulders down, then the client is initiating from the wrong place.
Hearing and feeling a new Symphony:
Movements of the Shoulder Girdle
A symphony is a musical composition of many instruments. The composition can include different melodies and rhythms of particular instruments. A great symphony in the end has a full sound and effect. If one instrument is not in sync with the other instruments, this will affect the quality of the sound of the symphony.
The movements of the bones and muscles are like the instruments of an orchestra. Each bone and muscles of the shoulder girdle with the spine have intricate timings and phrasing depending where the arm is in space. Some of the sounds can be quite soft and delicate (i.e., the rotator cuff muscles) but are essential for the quality of movement of the arms and scapula.
The shoulder girdle has unique phrasing and rhythms depending
where the arm is in space and different with open and closed chain movements.
Join me February 9 for Anatomy Dances: Call to Arms.
I taught this workshop last June to teachers and clients. The morning session is a movement class. The afternoon class will go deeper into understandable how the shoulder works. Afternoon session will have applications to pilates, yoga and dance.
For more information: www.movementsafoot.com movementsafoot@me.com 917-902-6301