Creating Shoulder Strength and Stability – Focus on Serratus Anterior

TEACHER ED
November 2016

One of the most important shoulder muscles for upper body weight-bearing yoga poses is serratus anterior. It is a hard muscle to find and describe, and isn’t mentioned often in yoga classes. That is especially unfortunate, because many students come to yoga with weak serratus muscles. Serratus weakens due to lack of strengthening activities, including weight-bearing exercises like push-ups, so women are especially prone to weakness there.

Strengthening the serratus anterior is key to building a strong foundation for weight-bearing on the arms in elementary poses like Downward Dog and Plank, and especially important for inversions like headstand and handstand, in which the serratus muscles are bearing nearly the whole body weight. If the serratus isn’t strong enough in these poses, problems with the neck, shoulders or wrists can be an unhappy consequence.

In this course, Julie explores the anatomy of the serratus anterior, and how to find it and engage it. You’ll then learn a set of progressive strengthening exercises, starting with very easy and building up to challenging poses that will help build a strong foundation for weight-bearing on your arms. With that foundation, you’ll be able to gradually build up to safe and strong inversions and sun salutations.

This Course Also Includes:

  • Video Practice Video: Enjoy a 30-minute video practice with Julie targeting shoulder strength and covering the principles Julie discusses in the course.
  • Recordings of All Webinar Sessions: It’s generally acknowledged that many people only retain 10-20 percent of what they learn in a workshop. You will get access to the recordings of all webinar sessions – both MP3 (downloadable) and MP4 (streaming online), enabling you to go back and listen to the workshop as many times as you like.
  • Transcripts of Both Sessions: Ever wanted to refer to a certain part of a course? Even the best note takers miss a point every so often. With the transcripts of the sessions, you can go back and refer to particularly important passages or clarify sections you were in doubt about.

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Julie has devoted her professional life to integrating the healing benefits of yoga with her medical training as a physical therapist. She has integrated decades of patient care experience with 40 years of yoga teaching.

$127/ Lifetime Access

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