mukunda-
i have a new student who is trying to rehabilitate both of her rotator cuffs after tears and a subsequent operation. her ROM is very limited and she can’t take much pressure on the shoulder area. she feels comfortable doing unsupported cobra and anything that allows her arms to go behind her body and can raise her arms above her head, but not out to the sides. she is working on increasing her strength with therapeutic hydraulic circuit training equipment, but i’m wondering if there are any yoga poses that would assist in those efforts. i’ve only worked with her once and for a short time. she was in a fairly large class, so it was difficult to try to work with her limitations in that environment!
do you have any suggestions? i know that you prefer to see the student personally, but i’ve been trying to get information through the web and books, but am coming up pretty short. any help you- or anyone else!- can give would be appreciated.
namaste-
kerry
I have written a series of article on yoga therapy for knees and shoulders, published in yoga international magazine. you can buy reprints from me for $5 or from YI. They have much more details than i can convey here.
For such an injury to the rotator cuff best is to learn to differentiate sensations of the external musculature from the deeper muscles. Working with strength in the deltoids, latissimus dorsi, triceps, biceps and pectorals is optimal for recovering mobility. By learning to feel these muscles independently that can help speed recovery time. This is most easily done with the help of my joint freeing series in my book it shows which movements isolate which muscles.