Yoga Cues for the Shoulder - Part 2

Trish Corley Author

The muscles of stress and how they impact shoulder cues.

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Last week we looked into yoga cues for the shoulders and explored the anatomy behind the confusion! We focused on:

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"Pull the shoulders away from the ears.”

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"Bring the shoulders up towards the ears.”

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If you have not already read last week’s article, I suggest you do before you dive into this one!

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Why is it that so many students tend to shrug their shoulders up to their ears, and even more so when they raise their hands overhead?

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Well, this is the one hint I gave you in last week’s article:

The muscles related to stress have a big impact!

Think about what causes you to elevate your shoulders. Does fear, stress, or anger come to mind?

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It’s true that when the body experiences stress, muscles contract as a form of protection. And some muscles are more impacted than others.

One highly impacted muscle is the upper trapezius.

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The upper trapezius is the muscle on the top and back of your shoulder that connects to the neck. You know, the one that may carry a little more tension than some other muscles; the one that many people crave to be massaged.

Well, the primary job of the upper trapezius is to ELEVATE the shoulder blade! That means the muscle helps lift the shoulders up to towards the ears. 

You can test this out for yourself. Place your left hand on the top and back of your right shoulder. Shrug your shoulders and notice the tension in the muscle on the top of your shoulder. That’s your upper trapezius.

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What’s this muscle have to do with stress?

Well, think about your body’s reaction to a loud sound, a sudden surprise, and even to the concern of making a deadline, pleasing someone, or getting the job or relationship you want.

It’s quite common for the shoulders to come up towards the ears! And that means the upper trapezius is at work.

This is often why we feel tension in this muscle. If you deal with a lot of stress, there’s a good chance your upper trapezius is overworked!

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Ok, maybe you’re following here but wondering what this has to do with the confusing yoga cues?

Let’s look at a bit more yoga anatomy:

While the upper trapezius has the primary role to elevate the shoulder blade, it also plays a key role in upward rotation of the shoulder blade. However, it is only 1 of 3 key players. The lower trapezius and the serrates anterior are equally important.

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The three key muscles active with upward rotation of the shoulder blade are:

1. Upper Trapezius
2. Lower Trapezius
3. Serratus Anterior

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In short, these three muscles pull on the shoulder blade to make it rotate upwards. For smooth rotation where the base of the scapula stays steady on the ribs, all three muscles need to work equally.

One of the common causes of poor biomechanics at the shoulder is that the upper trapezius works harder than the lower trapezius and serratus anterior. This results in shoulder elevation during upward rotation. 

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As I mentioned in last week’s article, repeated shoulder elevation with overhead movement could lead to more and more problems with the biomechanics of the shoulder and to eventual overuse injuries.

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Since many people already have an overactive upper trapezius from stress, it’s common to have poor biomechanics related to the upper trapezius dominating over the lower trapezius and serratus anterior.  I think this is why yoga teachers started cuing “slide your shoulders down your back” or “away from your ears”.

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This is a classic case of the development of a good cue taken out of context.

>> If a students shoulders are elevated up to the ears, it’s probably a good idea to tell them to bring the shoulders away from the ears. After all, this will help improve the biomechanics of shoulder blade rotation.

>> But what happens when the shoulders are already in a good position and someone hears this cue? They may drag their shoulders down the back and out of the neutral position, leading to poor biomechanics.

🙃 Sometimes, cues are taken a bit too literally.

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>> The cue to draw the shoulders down can lead to an overemphasis on shoulder blade depression, which can actually hinder the shoulder rotation and the overall biomechanics of the shoulder. Instead of the shoulder blade being too elevated, it’s too depressed and can't rotate smoothly. 

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>> Perhaps the overemphasis of shoulders down the back did not feel so good, so some teachers started doubting this cue. They started saying “Don't tell students to slide their shoulders down their back as it's harmful.” Instead, they started saying “Let the shoulders go up to the ears when you bring the arms overhead.”

>> But that cue does not always work either and can also lead to poor biomechanics of the shoulder!

>> And so the confusion and saga could go on and on.

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If you are confused right now, that’s okay!

So, how do we find our way through this maze of cues?

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The human body can safely move in so many ways. So this does not mean that you can’t elevate your shoulders while lifting your arms overhead. And it does not mean that you cannot depress your shoulder blades when lifting your arms overhead.

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What you should be more interested in is if you really understand WHY you are using the cues you do!

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Instead of extremes, find a balanced distribution of effort throughout the shoulder girdle. Avoid both excessive shoulder depression and elevation.

I've found it helpful to focus on simply keeping the shoulders away from the ears. This is different than pulling the shoulders down or sliding the shoulder blades down the back.

If students shoulders are elevated, instead of telling them to slide their shoulders down their back, encourage relaxation. You could focus breathing exercises to help this. I might even cue “bring your shoulders down away from your ears.” And then I look to see if they are strenuously pulling them down, or are they relaxing to get the shoulders away from the ears.

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There is an art to understanding why you say cues. When you speak to someone’s body, you are speaking to anatomy and biomechanics and causing a change. This is both exciting and a responsibility.

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So you might be wondering this: What cues do you use Dr. Trish?

"Pull the shoulders away from the ears.”

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"Bring the shoulders up towards the ears.”

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Well it depends, and to be frank, I don’t tend to use either of these cues. My go to is “Keep your shoulders away from the ears.” Which is one of the cues from Balanced Postural Alignment (the framework of 16 anatomy informed cues used inside the Yoga Anatomy School to ensure yoga teachers learn anatomy and use it). 

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If the shoulders are up by the ears, I tell students to bring them away from the ears.

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If the shoulders are forced down the back, I tell students to relax the shoulders and allow them to rest more naturally away from the ears. 

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By understanding the difference between shoulder upward rotation and shoulder elevation, we can offer clearer cues in our classes and support students in finding greater ease and stability in their practice.

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If you are ready to use clear anatomy informed cues, then you need to download my list of 16 Anatomy-Informed Yoga Cues to Start Using Right Now.

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 The Free Yoga Teachers Cheat Sheet: 16 Anatomy Informed Cues to Use Right Now is packed with anatomy informed cues that I have refined using my twenty+ years experience as a doctor of physical therapy, an anatomy professor, and a yoga teacher.

These are the exact cues I use in my yoga anatomy courses and yoga teacher trainings to ensure teachers are confident with teaching anatomy informed yoga!

Go from “I can’t learn anatomy” to teaching anatomy informed yoga classes. Your students will not only feel safe, but excited to learn from you and keep coming back!

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Let's keep exploring and growing together on this journey of yoga!

Categories: : Cues, Shoulders, Yoga Anatomy