Polly: JOURNAL 3 – NEW FOUND SHOULDER MUSCLES

NEW SHOULDERS ARE AMAZING! I was a runner and swimmer. My legs
gave me power but my shoulders were useless (not to mention – tight).
When I first started yoga 2 years ago, I couldn’t move my arms past my face
when asked to have my arms up. Before yoga, I compensated that arm raise
with arching my lower back. I have a slightly flexible back so arching was
never an issue so it became a habit. At present, my arms are almost aligned
to my ears and that’s progress. I would still like to open them further because I
want to do a proper handstand eventually. Due to the reliance on my back, it
is very easy to arch it to find the balance in mid air, which is dangerous!
I’ve always had weak shoulders and arms. Chaturanga is the hardest pose
ever! I had issues in ashtanga namaskar, even pushing up to cobra was a
challenge. Over the 2 years, I’ve developed the muscle to make chaturanga
possible (max 5 in one day). During YTT, I realized I haven’t protracted my
shoulders sufficiently to optimize my chaturangas. Need to un-learn to re-learn!

Polly
200 Hour YTT Nov’19