Spread Your Wings
With inversions, the position and stabilization of the
scapulae set the stage for the alignment and lift of your entire pose.
By Julie Gudmestad
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Perhaps while sweating through a long Handstand or Forearm Balance you've had occasion to wonder what was supporting you. Obviously, your hands or forearms form the base of your pose where they contact the floor, but how is the weight of your torso transmitted to this base, and how do you lift your spine up out of your arms?
If you guessed that the major connection of the arm to the torso is the scapulae, or shoulder blades, and the muscles that support them, you would be right. It's important to understand that the scapulae form the foundation of the arms, just as the pelvis forms the foundation of the spine. In poses where you are bearing weight on your arms, whether on hands and knees in Marjaryasana (Cat Pose) or completely upside down in Headstand, the scapulae transmit your body weight from your spine and torso to the earth via your arms. The position and stabilization of the scapulae set the stage for the alignment and lift of your entire pose.
Headstand's Foundation
The scapulae are held in position by the collarbones and also by a number of important, if somewhat obscure, muscles. Actually, the only bony connection of the arm to your central skeleton is through the collarbone. Your humerus (upper arm bone) meets the scapula in the ball-and-socket shoulder joint. The scapula in turn connects to the collarbone, which connects to the breastbone, which connects to the rib cage, which connects to the spine. The collarbone is quite moveable, but it also guides and substantially limits movement: People that do not have collarbones, whether due to birth defect or trauma, can touch their shoulders together in front of their chests. The collarbones normally prevent this, acting like struts to hold the shoulder blades in their normal position on the back rib cage.
While the scapula meets with the humerus at the shoulder joint and also meets with the collarbone at the acromio-clavicular joint-the site of the injury commonly called "a separated shoulder"-the scapula does not have a true joint with the rib cage. Instead, it "floats" over the rib cage, separated from the ribs by a couple of layers of muscle. This mobility of the scapula allows it to move in several directions, including elevation (the shoulder blade lifting up toward your ear), depression (pulling down away from your ear), protraction (pulling around your side toward your chest), and retraction (pulling back toward the spine).
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