Movement Lab - 6/6/17

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Per request, I'm posting the sequence that we explored in yesterday morning's Movement Lab.

The focus was on releasing the humerus from its scapula. Often these two are glued together, and many common cues reinforce this ineffective patterning. For example, a common cue to open the chest is to rotate the arms such that the palms face forward. No doubt this cue can help place the shoulder-blades against the back, though the mechanism that this cue uses to place the shoulder-blades does not translate to functional, daily-life movement.

Rather than defaulting into an ineffective movement pattern (using the arms to place the shoulder blades) in order to release another ineffective movement pattern (shoulders rounded forward), we focused on placing the shoulder blades independently of what the arms are doing, and then using the shoulder blades to support the arms. The goal was to cultivate the movement patterns that support improved posture during daily-life activities.

Making sense? If not, please let me know.

Here's what we did:

Supine – explore how arms can rotate either from forearm or from the shoulder socket
Prone Mountain – practice rotating arms from shoulder
Locust – practicing above, and adding contralateral coordination (swimming-like)
Rocking Chair
Roll Like a Boat
Teaser
Can-Can
Squats/Chair repeats
Contralateral Psoas Walk
New-School Side Angle
Foam Roller – stabilization
Foam Roller – lift arms
Foam Roller – lift legs
Foam Roller – contralateral lifts
Push-Ups
Crab Walk
Dog Pose
Rest


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