Improve Rounded Shoulders

Tip 71 – Video: Point Your Shoulders

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Rounded shoulders? Don’t pull them back. Instead, try gently pointing your shoulders away from each other.

More on Rounded Shoulders

Point Your Shoulders

Five Tips for Improving Rounded Shoulders

Roger Federer

An Arch Made of Arches

Extra
A Podcast from Robert Rickover: Developmental Issues and the ability of Children to Learn how to Write

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By |2014-08-22T18:00:46-04:00August 13th, 2011|Rounded Shoulders, Weekly Tips|17 Comments

Tip 53 – Be Like Roger Federer

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Oppositional relationships are an important part of Roger Federer’s excellent use.

Alexander Technique teachers talk about using the body well or poorly, and Roger Federer certainly displays excellent use in the above image. One component of good use is dynamic oppositional relationships between the various parts of the body. I added lines and arrows to the image to show these relationships, and to show that good use is something more than posture, position, or relaxation.  As shown in the image, the dynamic oppositional relationships between Federer’s right leg, arm, and back, are part of what gives him his power and stability.

More on Dynamic Oppositional Relationships:

Be Like Katharine Hepburn

Video: Good Posture Is Like a Wave

Stability and Posture

Exercise: Lean Against a Wall

Bending, Leave Your Hips behind Your Legs

Think of Your Body as a Wave

Dynamic Opposition and Your Body

Finding Your Hip Joints

Video and Article: Isaiah Mustafa, the Old Spice Guy

Be Like Walter Payton

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Tip 6 – Point Your Shoulders

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For broader shoulders, gently point point them away from each other.

Without a doubt, this is my most viewed and controversial tip. Avoid pulling your shoulders back. Pulling your shoulders back narrows the back of your upper torso and restricts arm and rib movement. Instead, to prevent you from pulling your shoulders either forward or back, gently point point them away from each other as if your shoulders are pointing fingers.

More Posts on Shoulders

Point Your Shoulders Video

Five Tips for Improving Rounded Shoulders

Roger Federer

An Arch Made of Arches

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By |2015-12-12T20:24:16-05:00May 6th, 2010|Rounded Shoulders, Weekly Tips|2 Comments

Tip 5.5 – An Arch Made of Arches

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I mention this idea in almost every lesson.  The body is a spring  made of springs, or an arch made of arches.  This is true in every structure and every combination of structures within the body.  As shown in the images below, every part and structure of the body forms an arch.

Every structure and combination of structures in the body forms an arch. There are no straight lines.

 

What that means:

People often look for straight lines in the body, but really, the body tends toward a roundness and openness both in structure and in action.

What you can do:

  • Allow for a feeling of roundness in the space between your between your arms.  This will make your chest feel more open without having to pull your shoulders back.
  • No matter your position, think of your body as a spring from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.  Instead of pulling yourself down toward the ground, think of your body as expanding away from the ground.
  • When standing, recognize that you rise also from the arches under your feet.  Even the flattest foot has some remnant of an arch– don’t discount it.

More on Arches:

Your Body Is a Spring

Video: Point Your Shoulders

Article: Don’t Pull Your Shoulders Back

Video: Good Posture Is Like a Wave

Alexander Technique and Personal Training

The ideas here are partly based on fractal geometry and self-similarity. Click here for more information on  self-similarity and fractal geometry in the natural world.

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By |2015-12-12T19:41:53-05:00May 1st, 2010|Rounded Shoulders, Weekly Tips|5 Comments