01/22/2026
Yesterdays Class:
Need 2 tennis balls
Focus is on shoulder girdle and how parts relate
shoulder blades
arm bone
rib cage
neck
Not going to focus on specific muscles because if there’s long standing imbalances it’s never one muscle that’s the culprit
We need to retrain how the parts work together…retrain the patterns.
Today either sitting on the edge of a chair or standing. We’re working from the ribcage up. If you want to stand that’s ok, but it’s a long time standing.
shoulder rolls
moving from the shoulder blades, arms move with the blades.
move blades up
move blades back and down (remembering we’re really good at shoulders forward so we don’t need to practice that move!)
Notice how the blades are moving on the rib cage
are they moving…or not moving?
any crunching or clicking?
Adding the breath to the shoulder rolls
Inhale up; exhale back and down
Notice if you’re using muscles between the ribs and pelvis; if so, you’re working too hard
Let the blades gently move down your back, no forcing or gripping
Tennis ball or MFR ball into armpits
not squeezing arm into ball, just holding. Super gentle
Bothe sides at once is ok
hold for about a minute
Roll the blades again
notice anything different in moving or breathing?
Retraction/Protraction
raise arm in front of body to about shoulder height
if this is uncomfortable you can sit in chair and use a table to support the arm
moving horizontally (not vertically) the arm reaches forward
shoulder joint moves with the shoulder blade
setting the shoulder blades creates tension or compensations
Try with 10-15 % less effort
notice what it feels like
Roll the blades about 3 times and notice
Strap with loop about shoulders width apart
loop over elbows on both side like the movement of putting on a coat
placing the loop on and taking it off is part of the movement
if available, bend elbows so forearms are parallel with the floor
arm bone moves backward in socket
stay and breathe easily
Remove the strap and notice
Roll the blades 3 times
sensing anything new or different.
There are 2 very distinct concepts and we want to learn to experience them both
How the body parts are moving
what am I sensing or noticing, what has changed?
Sensing may be that you perceive the shoulder blade moving on top of the rib cage, or maybe earlier your ribs were pushing forward and now the are quiet
more steady
smoother movement
clicking, crunching changes
more sensation of ease or better gliding
etc…
Neck -this is not stretching; meaning we don’t want to feel the sensation of stretch
Ear to one side, hold; then other side, hold
watch for shoulders rising up or pulling down; just gentle movement of ear to
shoulder rolls shoulder blades again and notice
rotate head side to side, again no compensations in the movement so the movement may be small
Tilt head to one side again and add rotation so the chin is gently rotating towards armpit
repeat on other side remembering not going to sensation of stretch or compensations
***Remembering just because you have a larger range of motion doesn’t mean you’re moving well
Roll the blades and check in
Twists
Obliques are the engines for rotation; right between ribs and pelvis. We want to feel the ribs moving by way of the oblique muscles
Thinking I’m moving my ribs and pelvis stays quiet
When movement is limited often people will move their head and whee the eyes go, the torso follows
we don’t want the neck to be the driver in twists
bring palms together at chest with middle fingers under chin
keep chin in line with chest
rotate using the oblique muscles, getting used to moving from here
feeling movement in ribs
pause for a bit
Adding protraction and retraction to the twist
starting position
bring left arm forward, move shoulder blade away from spine
lower hand to outside of right leg
rotate to the right
right shoulder blade retracts; helping the twist (without setting the shoulder blade)
hold for some breaths and release back to center
try on the other side
Come to standing; how does your body feel. Explore shoulder movements, neck movements,
What’s new or different?
Maybe noticing something in lower body?
Easy shoulder extension
place strap in hands behind hips and gently move arms backwards
easy extension; hold for about 15 seconds and let go
rest a moment
Wrist extension to fists
Hold arms about 30 degrees away from body; palms forward
extend from wrists, back of hands move towards back wall
make a fist
hands and wrists back to starting position
Flow like this about 3 times
then raise arms a little and repeat
move arms towards the back wall in gentle extension
repeat previous movement with arms in extension
Roll the blades once more and notice
***Many people hold tension around the ribs, shoulder blades, arms, and neck
you might feel sore after this practice
Maybe you feel more crunchy, or delayed muscle soreness, like after a workout. Sometimes this happens when building new movement patterns If it lasts more than 4 days that means you worked too hard.
