Changes in Latitude

Strengthen weak latissimus dorsi (the lats) and feel your shoulders open for Upward Dog and Pendant Pose.

By Julie Gudmestad

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The lats have yet another action that influences shoulder flexibility and function in yoga poses. In addition to performing shoulder extension and adduction, and torso elevation and its postural influence, the lats powerfully internally rotate the shoulder. Many other muscles help the lats do this, including the pectoralis major (the primary muscle of the chest), the subscapularis (one of the four rotator cuff muscles, located deep in the back of the armpit), and the teres major (which originates on the outer edge of the shoulder blade and travels with the lats through the armpit to the inner upper humerus).

To experience internal shoulder rotation, stand with your arms by your sides and face your palms back, then continue the rotation until your palms face out to the sides and the little-finger sides of your hands are forward. If you hold that rotation and bring your arms forward and overhead, your palms will face out away from each other and your thumbs will point forward. This is internal shoulder rotation with flexion—and, with very few exceptions, it’s not the rotation you want to accompany shoulder flexion in your yoga poses.

In fact, to create the shoulder position you want in almost all yoga poses, you must use the muscles that oppose the lats. Before taking your arms overhead into flexion, for example, rotate your arms externally by turning your palms forward and continuing that rotation until the palms face out to the sides; hold that rotation as you raise your arms, so your palms face each other and your thumbs point back when your shoulders are fully flexed. Also, whenever you stretch your arms overhead, whether lying on a roll or standing in Warrior I, don’t engage the lats to arch your lower back and poke your lower ribs forward. Instead, move your kidneys backward—they’re located just inside your back lower ribs—and feel your back rib cage lift away from your lower back. Visualize the lats lengthening from the back of your waist diagonally up and out, over the side ribs to the armpits, and let the lift continue up through your arms to your fingertips and beyond.

When your lats can fully release, your whole pose will open up. You probably won’t wind up with the pronounced triangular torso of an Olympic swimmer, but you’ll most likely experience a wonderful sensation of inner spaciousness.

A licensed physical therapist and certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, Julie Gudmestad runs a private physical therapy practice and yoga studio in Portland, Oregon. She regrets that she cannot respond to correspondence or calls requesting personal health advice.

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