Rhomboid muscle: how to engage the zone of scapula in yoga practice

Pain in the neck and shoulders very often indicates a lack of tonus of the muscles of the back, in particular the rhomboid and extensor spine: the head with the neck as it were hanging on the thoracic region and excessively stretch your already tired muscles and tendons with your weight. The many hours of being in awkward positions related to the specifics of the profession( seamstresses, IT-shniki, beauty salon masters and bookkeepers) make people end up suffering from unbearable feelings of discomfort and burning between the shoulder blades, in the neck and numbness in the fingers. These are signals that it's time to get busy with your body, in order to avoid health problems in the future.

Location and movements

The rhomboid muscles, in fact, consist of two parts: a small and large diamond-shaped muscle of the back. The small rhomboid originates from the sixth cervical vertebra, then connects with a large rhomboid that goes from 1-5 thoracic vertebrae, and together they attach to the inner edge of the scapula.

These muscles are located under the trapezius muscle, and thanks to them, the blades move inward and downward. By touch they can not be separated from each other, and sensations, too. Therefore, in everyday life they are often considered one diamond-shaped muscle.

Saddle - the first sign of the passive diamond-shaped muscles

The dropped shoulders with the rotation inside, the sunken chest and bulging blades are characteristic signs of the overstretched rhomboid muscles of the back and, consequently, the shortened pectoral muscles, which are antagonistic muscles. A person with a sedentary, sedentary lifestyle has this kind, and this is a direct way to the emergence of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine and problems with the cardiovascular system, which will entail even greater health problems.

The second risk zone is people who are inclined to complex because of their high growth: they deliberately slouch to visually appear lower and be "like everyone else," shy girls also arrive during puberty, when the mammary gland begins to actively grow and increase in sizesizes. Because of the chronic contraction of the sternum and constantly tightened rhomboid spasm, the body remembers this position as natural and after five years even with a strong desire can no longer accept the normal form given by nature. Then it's time to go to the yoga class and re-teach the body to be free and elastic.

For many people who make the first steps in yoga, the concept of "shifting the shoulder blades" or "lowering the shoulder blades down" is completely incomprehensible: the body forgot how to do it, and only convulsive jerking of the shoulders and hull is present.

How to use the work of the blades?

In order to reduce the muscles of the interlopar zone, you need to raise the sternum upward, synchronously with the movement of the scapula down, along the way directing them inward to each other - this will activate the rhomboid muscles of the back, which will lead to awareness of the work of the deep muscles and tendons. Initially, such movements in a simultaneous performance will be given hard, especially if a person spends too much time sitting at a table or driving a car - at such times the interlopper zone slumbers and gradually overstrains, giving a "green light" to the kyphosis.

To help the shoulder blades move, you need to pull the shoulder joints behind your back, thus stretching the pectoral muscles, which will allow the rhomboid muscles to contract further.

Asanas for activation of the interdispassal zone

The most optimal poses for working out the zone of the shoulder blades, shoulder girdle and rhomboid muscles are asanas, involving the stretching of the muscles-antagonists, the thoracic in this case, and the small intercostal areas in the anterior part of the thorax.

• Purwottanasana and its simplified version of the Pada Pattam Chatus( table position), they can also include the pose of the half bridge and Prasarita Padatanasana S. All these positions directly and very powerfully affect the thoracic area, while they learn to contract the back muscles, in particular the control vanes andthe shoulder girdle.

• Also on the interscapular zone the twists are well influenced: Parivrta Parshwakonasana, Marichiasana S and Ardho Matsiendrasan. Due to the opening of the chest, the pectoral muscles are stretched, which removes excessive tension in the zone of the shoulder blades and nearby muscles. And due to the rotation of the thoracic spine this process becomes more profound and effective.
• To remove excessive fatigue from the upper back, shoulder blades and neck, apply stretches in the prone position: the best of them are Lappasans A, B and C, named after Andrei Lappa, the Ukrainian yogi, who introduced them into active use. Also, all sorts of joint movements of hands in various amplitudes and directions of movement, as well as rotation of the neck and wave-like movements of the spine, proved to be well established.

Note for bodybuilders and wrestlers

It is extremely important for these athletes to pay more attention to the stretching of pumped and rhomboid muscles, because beauty is good, and health is more important, and what is spectacular now, in five years can turn into big difficulties with the spineand clogged muscles, in which blood circulation and the correct lymph flow were disturbed.