While there are many ways to practice trikonasana, the usual way of transitioning into it is with the front leg already straight. There's nothing inherently wrong with this approach, if a) your students have relatively flexible hamstrings and b) they have the body awareness and physical ability to laterally tilt their pelvis.  However, what often seems to happen is that many students have difficulty laterally tilting their pelvis for one of the above reasons and as a result end up laterally flexing their waist in order to get their hand down to their shin bone or a block. So they end up looking more like the student in Figure A than the student in Figure B. 

Part 1 of this 2-part post includes a discussion with images illustrating a unique way of transitioning into trikonasana that makes it easier for some students to finesse the perfect amount of hamstring stretch while maintaining strong lines of energy through the axial body and extremities. Part 2 is a 5-minute video that shows these steps, along with a couple of hands-on assists that accompany them. Enjoy!

In a previous video, we explored how the thoracolumbar spine can only rotate about 30-45 degrees, and discussed how trying to force it to rotate more could create stress at the intervertebral and costovertebral joints. While there is certainly merit to attempting to rotate hypomobile segments of the spine, "cranking" ourselves or our students into deep twists may in the end do more harm than good (check out the revolved triangle video).

In this video, we explore an alternative to "deepening the rotation" in a supine twist and instead choose to incorporate some release work for:

• the pec major and minor, which can help open the chest and increase the mobility of the shoulder joint
• the forearm flexors, which can help release tension in these muscles and facilitate great wrist extension 
• the iliotibial band and lateral quadriceps muscle, which will help prevent IT band friction syndrome and patellofemoral tracking dysfunction

Enjoy, and let me know if you try any of this stuff! 

Should we "draw the shoulder blades down the back" when raising the arms overhead? Or "plug the arms into the sockets" when reaching the arms forward? "Melt the heart" in plank? Squeeze the shoulder blades together in eagle pose? 

In this fifth and final video in our series on scapulohumeral rhythm we make the case that none of the above are very skillful verbal cues, and explore alternative cues and hands-on assists that support the natural, healthy rhythm between all of the joints within the shoulder joint complex. 

If you missed the other videos in this series be sure to check them out! In the first video we explored the anatomy and movements available at the shoulder and scapulocostal joints. In the second video we explored how movements of the shoulder joint should be coupled with movements of the scapulocostal joint to ensure safe, efficient biomechanics at the shoulder joint complex that will help prevent injury. In the third video we explored shoulder impingement syndrome... some of its causes and recommendations for how to prevent it. In the fourth video we reviewed the muscles of the rotator cuff and offered a variety of ways to help strengthen them. 

Your comments and observations are welcome. Please share with anyone whom you think might benefit!

Scapulohumeral rhythm is the coordinated movement that should occur between the shoulder and scapulocostal joints during all movements of the arm. We feel that there are a handful of verbal cues and hands-on assists out there in yoga world that go against this rhythm, which can lead to shoulder instability and/or impingement syndrome (e.g., "plug the arms into the sockets," "draw the shoulderblades down the back," "melt the heart" in plank, etc.). Learning more about scapulohumeral rhythm will better inform your own practice, refine the biomechanical accuracy of your verbal cues and hands-on assists, and help keep your shoulder joints happy and healthy.

In the first video in this series we explored the anatomy and movements available at the shoulder and scapulocostal joints. In the second video we explored how movements of the shoulder joint should be coupled with movements of the scapulocostal joint to ensure safe, efficient biomechanics at the shoulder joint complex that will help prevent injury. In this video, we examine shoulder impingement syndrome... and offer three suggestions to help prevent it. This is knowledge that you can put to immediate use in your practice and teaching!

In subsequent videos we'll explore:

• the muscles of the rotator cuff and how to strengthen them, which will help prevent shoulder impingement syndrome
• verbal cues and hands-on assists that might sabotage scapulohumeral rhythm within a variety of postures, and alternative cues and assists that will help support this rhythm and create more stability

Your comments and observations are welcome!

Scapulohumeral rhythm is the coordinated movement that should occur between the shoulder and scapulocostal joints during all movements of the arm. We feel that there are a handful of verbal cues and hands-on assists out there in yoga world that go against this rhythm, which can lead to shoulder instability and/or impingement syndrome (e.g., "plug the arms into the sockets," "draw the shoulderblades down the back," "melt the heart" in plank, etc.). Learning more about scapulohumeral rhythm will better inform your own practice, refine the biomechanical accuracy of your verbal cues and hands-on assists, and help keep your shoulder joints happy and healthy.

In this first of several videos we explore the anatomy and movements available at the shoulder and scapulocostal joints. In subsequent videos we'll explore:

• the coupled movements that should occur between these two joints during all three planes of movement
• shoulder impingement syndrome, and three ways to help prevent it 
• verbal cues and hands-on assists that might sabotage scapulohumeral rhythm within a variety of postures, and alternative cues and assists that will help support this rhythm and create more stability

There seems to be two schools of thought regarding the position of the pelvis in parivritta trikonasana. Some teachers insist that the pelvis should be held in a level position and that the rotation should primarily occur in the spine, while others hold the view that the pelvis doesn't need to be level and that there are in fact benefits when you allow it to rotate (see a New Take on Twists by Jason Crandell, where he indicates how his view has changed about the position of the pelvis during rotated postures). I hold the latter view, that the pelvis should be allowed or even encouraged to follow the lumbar spine into the rotation, and in the following video present three benefits for doing so.

​The three main points that we explore in the video are that letting the pelvis follow the rotation of the lumbar spine will...

1. reduce the amount of torque at the sacroiliac joints,
2. adduct the front hip and create a unique and valuable opportunity to stretch the hip abductors, lateral rotators, lateral hamstrings and iliotibial band, and
3. create more freedom and ease in the neck and top shoulder.

As usual, please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

Related Posts

• ​​​Let's Do The Twist (Thoracolumbar Rotation)
• Spinal Extension Vs Flexion In Rotated Postures
• Anatomy of Asana: Revolved Chair Pose ​​​

In Pincha Mayurasana ("feathered peacock", aka forearm stand), it is common for teachers to instruct new students to place a strap around the elbows and a block between the hands in order to keep the elbows from sliding wider than shoulder-width and the hands from sliding toward each other (see image, right).  However, this set-up significantly reduces the range of motion of the shoulders and necessarily forces more of a backbend into the posture, even for more advanced students.  This is all fine and good provided that the student has developed enough flexibility in their thoracic spine and the ability to stabilize their lumbar spine (by contracting the pelvic floor and the transversus abdominis). However, allowing the arms to turn inward slightly, which is a very natural action from a biomechanical perspective, will decrease stress at the shoulder joints, increase range of motion at the shoulder joints, and enable the posture to be more vertical with less backbend. Check out the video below for more of an explanation, as well as a demonstration from one of the ASFYT-3 classes.

The Inner Spiral of the wrist vs the Outer Spiral of the Shoulder

When students first begin to practice Downward Facing Dog, one of two common misalignments typically occurs in the upper body:

1.  the upper arms medially rotate at the shoulder joints, causing a downward facing "bulldog" shape in the upper body (Figure A), and/or
   
2. the inner heels of the hands (thumb side) come up off the floor, such that all of the weight shifts onto the pisiform bone on the outer heels of the hands (Figure B)
   

As teachers, most of us probably spend a lot of time telling students to ground the inner heels of their hands and an equal amount of time telling them to work the external rotation of their arms at the shoulder joints, while performing corresponding hands-on assists that encourage these actions.  These cues will help for awhile, but over time there is the potential that many students will take the "externally rotate the shoulders" cue too far, causing biomechanical stress/torque at the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints.

In the following video...

In both Agnisambhasana (Firelog pose, or Ankle-to-Knee pose) and Gomuhkasana (Cow-Faced pose), one of the key anatomical factors is that the thighs need to laterally/externally rotate in order to keep the knees safe.  If the thighs don't laterally rotate enough in these postures then the medial condyle of the femur will dig into the medial meniscus of the knee and overstretch the lateral collateral ligament (for a more detailed overview of this, be sure to check out the video Keeping the Front Knee Safe in Pigeon). A great hands-on assist in both postures is to manually press the outer thighs down to help facilitate the lateral rotation.  For more flexible people, you can also deepen the stretch in these postures by adding a little bit of your body weight to the top of their pelvis to increase anterior tilt.  Check out the video to see these assists, and then practice them with a friend or in class!

Virasana (hero's pose) is a fantastic seated posture for beginners because it fosters a tall, upright spine for pranayama and meditation.  However, it requires flexibility in the quadriceps and the ankle dorsiflexors, and if these muscles are tight then a student might experience pain in their knees and/or feet.  To accommodate tightness in the quadriceps, all that is really needed is to decrease the amount of knee flexion by sitting on a block or two placed between the feet.  However, accommodating tightness in the ankle dorsiflexors requires a  bit more finesse. 

In this post, we'll review the muscles that plantarflex and dorsiflex the ankles and go over a few modification that will accommodate tight dorsiflexors. We've also included a video from one of the recent ASFYT-3 classes where we offer a strategy that might help prevent cramping when coming into the pose, as well as how to fold the blankets for our favorite modification.

Dandasana, staff pose, is a great assessment posture to determine whether or not a student will be able to skillfully practice seated forward bending postures like Janusirshasana and Paschi-mottanasana.  The ideal alignment in Dandasana requires that the thighs are flexed 90 degrees at the hip joints with the knees fully extended, while maintaining the natural lordosis of the lumbar spine and the natural kyphosis of the thoracic spine.  If a student has tight hip extensors this won’t really be possible, as the pelvis will posteriorly tilt at the hip joints, the lower back will round and the student will either just slump forward or overwork in their thoracic erector spinae muscles to maintain some semblance of sitting up straight.  If you notice that a student is having quite a bit of difficulty sitting upright, you could have them transition to a supine position so that you can get a better idea about how tight their hip extensors actually are.  In the following video...

Check out this fun little video that I put together awhile ago showing a posture progression that prepares for Eka Pada Galavasana, Flying Crow.  I’ve updated this post to include some bullet points after the video indicating which muscles need to be stretched, and which postures you can stretch them in.

When coming into pigeon pose, if a student is unable to laterally rotate the thigh at the hip joint sufficiently they may inadvertently overstretch the ligament on the outside of their knee (the LCL) and/or compress the soft tissue on the inside of the knee (the medial meniscus).  In the video below we explore how this might happen, and offer a few suggestions that can remedy the issue.