I have a student who when doing the Joint Freeing Series from your book has limited movement in the internal and external shoulder rotation. I had her lying on the floor, elbows bent and then moving the hands down toward the floor and back to the floor behind. Will doing this movement over time help to return the shoulder to full range of motion? Are there any yoga postures you might recommend I have her do to help?
Yes and I would recommend that you check that her elbows are below shoulder joint height as she does the motions. Lying on the floor will free the joint but not tone muscles. Then do them again sitting so that the muscles can be strengthened.
Dear Mukunda,
Please clarify. My understanding for this motion (and others working shoulders in JFS) is to place the arm at shoulder height. Is this recommendation for this student because of the limited shoulder movement?
Namste,
Chandra
This modification is especially beneficial for limited range of motion and in fact now when i give trainings i am showing modifications of this and hip rotation in all classes because shoulder and hip problems are so common in rotation positions. I modify whenever person complains of discomfort regardless of the practice. All yoga poses are to follow Patanjali’s guidelines in Yoga Sutras II, 46-48 and be comfortable and steady achieved by relaxation of effort and creating a continuous connection to breath and its underlying pranic field which induces peace and serenity. See my text on Yoga Sutras of Patanjali for more details.
namaste, mukunda