Imagery for Posture: Shoulder Crosses 2

Last week I presented to you some anatomy around the shoulders and neck, and now is the time to use this newly acquired knowledge to create images that will help us progressing towards a better posture, and more relaxed, strong and stable shoulders. There will be many images, so feel free to just pick a few and play with them, and come back to this post when you want more material.

First an image using the first cross, the one between the lower skull and the scapulae:

  • Let the weight of your scapulae counterbalance the weight of the frontal part of your skull, by being suspended at the back by the cross, so that the left scapula balances the right part of the skull, and the right scapula balances the left part of the skull.

Then some using the same cross, but continued by the serratus anterior:

  • Shorten this cross to “push your chest forward” and align it better under your skull (serratus anterior in orange).
  • To turn your head to the side (e.g. right), shorten the whole line made of the splenius capitis of the side you want to turn to, and the rhomboids and serratus anterior of the opposing side (in our example, the right splenius capitis and the left rhomboids and serratus anterior). This will spread the rotation over the whole top half of the spine.

Then images centred around the scapula:

  • Move your scapula and your arm around, and visualise how each movement impacts the shape of the cross in question. What happens when you draw your scapulae together? What happens when your reach forward with your arms? What happens when, hanging from your hands, you draw your scapulae down on your chest?
  • Imagine that the rhomboids and serratus line is like a conveyor belt, transporting your scapula along their diagonal. Try and move your scapula with this conveyor belt as smoothly as possible, and as far as possible in both directions.
  • Imagine that your coracoid process is attached to a bunch of helium balloons, and floats up. If we could make that happen, how would that affect the muscles of the crosses?

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post!

Want more like this?

Check out the following blogs from massage therapists I know from around London: You might also like these more commercial and global sites:
  • MovNat on natural movement and finding health through re-learning the basics.
  • GMB presents a lot of interesting insight on movement and exercise, from a more gymnastic-y and physio-y approach.

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