As a follow up question to your comments on shoulder/elbow issues, I have developed tenderness in the right shoulder and elbow after increasing the number of sun salutations in my practice. This tenderness is most noticeable when going to full chatturanga Dandasana (with full push up rather than bent knee) and then into upward dog i.e., full weight rather than taking some in the lower body with a ‘bent knee’ push). I’ve gone through your book and several others and tried to isolate where the pain seems to originate from to modify my positioning, and am very confused. At times, it seems the pain comes from a lateral movement (rotator cuff). As I look through the texts, I’m wondering whether perhaps I should be keeping the elbow closer to the body and have a elbow/arm kept parallel to the body during chatturanga Dandasana but then isn’t it natural as I go up into upward facing do to open the shoulder, which seems to naturally have the eye of the elbow looking somewhat forwards. Any thoughts/suggestions – note this is happening only on the right side. Many thanks, M
I suspect you are right in that your right shoulder is making an external/lateral rotation in that the eye of the elbow is facing forward. Neutral shoulder would keep the eyes facing torso, in this position the latissimus muscle is more able to hold your posture thus preventing strain in shoulder. Holding the elbow to the sides is also the job of the latissimus the stronger it is the more secure your shoulder will be. The elbow should be as close to the body as possible in Chatturanga Dandasana thus acting as a preparation for peacock, Mayurasana. namaste Mukunda