WELCOME TO the MONTHLY THROUGH LINE

Hey ciaoooo Chromatic family, it’s Simon here from Chromatic Yoga. October is here, autumn is upon us and the mornings around Lake Garda are crisp, and we’re heading around to the back of the body into the most misunderstood real estate in the upper body to explore two bones that quietly influence almost everything we do with our arms: the scapulae, aka the shoulder blades. 

We talk a lot about “the shoulder” in yoga. But the shoulder isn’t really one joint doing one thing. It is a beautifully complicated relationship between the humerus, scapula, clavicle, rib cage and several articulations working together.

The scapula is particularly interesting because the scapulothoracic articulation isn’t technically a conventional anatomical joint at all. There is no typical bone-to-bone articulation, joint capsule or synovial surface between the scapula and rib cage. Instead, the scapula essentially glides over the posterior thorax, supported and controlled largely by muscular and fascial structures.

Which gives us a pretty important clue about how we should approach it:

The scapula was designed to MOVE.

It can elevate and depress.
Protract and retract.
Upwardly and downwardly rotate.
Internally and externally rotate.
Anteriorly and posteriorly tilt.

And usually it is doing several of these things simultaneously. So join me in this months Through Line where dive deep in focusing on these specific actions:  Week 1 Protraction, Week 2 Retraction, Week 3 Anterior Tilt, Week 4 Posterior Tilt. 

For anyone who is new here, read on about what the CHROMATIC MONTHLY THROUGH LINES are, for you regulars, skip on to the juicy stuff! 

In Chromatic Yoga, we keep things straightforward. That’s why we’ve being doing this “Monthly Through Line” community initiative for some time now. It’s designed to help you – our Chromatic Teachers – focus and intelligently design your classes to best support your students. If you’re not a Chromatic Teacher yet, and are simply here out of interest, that’s great too, as you’ll be able to apply these through-lines to gain more insight in to body biomechanics and potentially access the poses in a deeper and more intelligent way.

WHAT IS A PHYSICAL THROUGH LINE? 

• A Physical Through Line is a term we use in Chromatic Yoga that is defined by the muscle engagement (e.g. engaging the glutes in Warrior 3), or the joint action (e.g. hip extension in Warrior 3) that becomes the primary anatomical focus through the duration of the yoga class. Rather than throwing fifteen unrelated anatomical instructions at students, we repeatedly explore one action in different relationships to gravity, load and joint position.

  One action. Multiple contexts. Deeper understanding.

  Certified Chromatic Teachers construct their classes around a PTL (Physical Through Line) in order to create a more effective progressive learning environment where students don’t simply perform poses, they develop a clearer understanding of how their body creates them.

  . As a student you can expect that each Chromatic class will include a PTL. Of course, you will do other postures and other muscle engagements within a Chromatic class, however there is a strong emphasis on the PTL.

THE SHOULDER GIRDLE – A QUICK TOUR

Your arm is attached to your torso by almost nothing. The only bony connection to the skeleton is the tiny sternoclavicular joint at the front of the chest. Everything else is muscle, which is why the shoulder is the most mobile joint complex in the body, and the one most likely to file a complaint.

The girdle is a team of four bones (sternum, clavicle, scapula, humerus) and four working parts:

• The glenohumeral joint is the ball and socket. Picture a golf ball on a tee, with the humeral head much bigger than the shallow glenoid. That’s mobility, at the price of stability.
• The acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joints are the clavicle’s two ends, and they act as the strut that holds the scapula out from the ribs.
• The scapulothoracic “joint” is the scapula gliding over the ribcage. It isn’t a true joint, since no bones meet, but it does the heavy lifting.
• The rotator cuff (of which there are 4, composed of supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis) keeps the ball centered in the socket.

Then there’s scapulohumeral rhythm. Lift your arm overhead and roughly two degrees of movement happen at the ball and socket for every one degree at the scapula. Skip the scapula’s contribution and the shoulder jams.

The scapula is the foundation the whole arm moves from.

Week 1: PROTRACTION

What It Is: Protraction is the movement of the scapula forward and away from the spine and around the curvature of the rib cage. Place your hands on your mat and imagine pushing the floor away without bending your elbows. Feel your shoulder blades slide away from one another? That’s protraction.

Key Muscles:  Serratus anterior, Pectoralis Minor, Pectoralis Major can assist depending on the position and task.

Why It Matters: Protraction does not automatically mean rounding the spine while pushing the floor or mat away from you. Try Plank. Keep your thoracic spine relatively neutral while pushing the floor away and allowing the scapulae to separate. That ability to differentiate scapular movement from spinal movement is where body awareness becomes much more sophisticated.

Where it shows up: Balasana Childs Pose (with arms alongside the shins), Cat, Plank, Bakasana Crow Pose. 

Week 2: RETRACTION 

What It Is: If protraction takes the scapulae away from the spine, retraction is the action of drawing them together and gliding them toward the spine.

Key Muscles: Middle trapezius, Rhomboids (major and minor)

Why It Matters: Retraction is not the same thing as spinal extension. You can extend your thoracic spine without aggressively squeezing the scapulae together. And you can retract your scapulae while keeping the spine relatively neutral. Again, differentiation creates control.

Where it shows up: Locust Salabhasana with clasped hands, as well as any bind which will (and should!) require at least a minimum amount of retraction, Cobra Bhujangasana (with lifted palms), Bow Dhanurasana, Camel, Warrior 2 (gently), Cactus arms, and the lift out of a Chaturanga in to Upward Facing Dog.

Week 3: ANTERIOR TILt

What It Is: the top of the scapula tips forward while the bottom tips (inferior angle) lifts off the ribs. 

Key Muscles: Pectoralis Minor, Levator Scapulae and Upper Trapezius are assisting

Why It Matters: You may notice this more as the shoulder head rounding forward and down (think rounded shoulder posture) although in effect its the scapulae responsible for this – and it’s a small subtle movement, and when you hone in on the scapulae movement being the origin, it changes everything.

This week isn’t really about getting students to produce enormous amounts of anterior tilt. It’s about helping them feel a movement they probably didn’t know existed.

Where it shows up: any pose with the arms are extended behind the body, such as Reverse Plank, Reverse Prayer, Cow Face arms (the bottom arm), Cobra, and Locust with the arms reaching back.

Week 4: POSTERIOR TILT

What It Is: the reverse of anterior tilt: the scapula’s bottom point glides forward and flat against the ribs as the top tips back.

Key Muscles: Serratus anterior, lower trapezius

Why It Matters: Posterior tilt becomes particularly important as the arm travels overhead. To get the arms overhead without risking impingement or discomfort, or cranking the low back, the scapulae need to tilt posteriorly. Normal arm elevation doesn’t simply involve the humerus moving inside the shoulder socket. The scapula also moves, typically combining upward rotation, posterior tilt and changes in internal/external rotation as elevation increases. 

Where it shows up: overhead reaching in Upward Salute Urdhva Hastasana, Warrior 1 Vira 1, Downward Dog Adho Muka Savasana, Dolphin, and Handstand, and some backbends like Upward Facing Bow.

Check out this video giving you a week by week break down of each of this months actions, as well as pose suggestions, biomechanical and anatomical insights.  

Simon’s RECAP AND TIPS

We talk a lot about “the shoulder” in yoga. But the shoulder isn’t really one joint doing one thing. It is a beautifully complicated relationship between the humerus, scapula, clavicle, rib cage and several articulations working together. And so I’m guessing at this point the teachers out there have figured out that the shoulders/scapulae aren’t a light switch. Protraction ON. Retraction OFF. Posterior tilt ON..etc. Real movement doesn’t work like that.

The scapula was designed to MOVE and moves in three dimensions. 

It can elevate and depress.
Protract and retract.
Upwardly and downwardly rotate.
Internally and externally rotate.
Anteriorly and posteriorly tilt.

Several scapular actions normally occur simultaneously. When the arms elevate, the scapula normally upwardly rotates and posteriorly tilts as part of the movement.

Our PTL intentionally isolates one action for educational clarity, not because the human body actually moves one joint action at a time.

That’s an important distinction. We simplify anatomy in order to learn it. We shouldn’t simplify it so much that we misrepresent it. For this reason as teachers lets move away from the “shoulders back and down” cue. Although this cue can and might be absolutely be useful in the right context, as a single cue it risks mixing depression, retraction, and posterior tilt, so students get all three at once. Unpack it and decide what you actually want. 

Perhaps the biggest lesson from October isn’t whether the scapula should protract, retract, anteriorly tilt or posteriorly tilt. It’s understanding that the answer is: it depends on what you’re asking the body to do.

And that’s where intelligent movement begins. As always with Chromatic, start with your intention and choose the action that best serves your students.

Chromatic Yoga is a global community. No matter where you are in the world, we hope you’ll join us this month for a deep dive into the possibilities of flexion. Share/tag/collaborate your poses on Instagram. 

 Wishing you an intentional and transformative practice, 

~Simon Darroch, Director of Projects and Initiatives

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