Does Yoga Cause Shoulder Pain? The Answer May Surprise You

Transcript

does yoga cause shoulder pain this video is primarily for people who are interested in doing yoga but are concerned whether or not it will cause shoulder pain [Music] hey guys my name is Dean welcome to man flow yoga by the end of this video you'll know whether or not yoga causes shoulder pain and I'm going to give you specific advice to help you approach yoga safely in a way that does not cause shoulder pain I'll tell you what to do to prevent shoulder pain from happening while doing yoga and also you'll understand key technique points to help you avoid shoulder injury or pain when practicing yoga before I get started I want to ask you to to this YouTube channel that way you don't miss out when we release new videos or workouts also be sure to hit the bell button that way you receive notifications whenever a new video is released I also have a quick question for you have you done yoga before and if so have you experienced shoulder pain or discomfort as a result of yoga let me know in the comments below alright now let's get back to the question does yoga cause shoulder pain the answer is possibly and it depends on four things number one if you are using proper technique so you have to be using proper technique to avoid shoulder pain number two if you are currently injured so we want to avoid certain exercises if you're currently injured number three you want to use appropriate modifications or progressions to make sure that you're doing it properly for your fitness level and then number four do you have the proper scapular stability so this comes down to proper technique and strength in your upper back let's talk about that first part so proper technique is incredibly important and even though you'll hear some yoga gurus talk about yoga in a way that says it's as harmless as Mother's Milk it can be harmful if you are not paying enough attention to your technique so when you're practicing yoga there are a few things that you should be aware of you want to know what muscles you're targeting you want to know what you should be feeling in your body you want to know the proper technique points for each part of your body and you also want to know what you should be doing to avoid certain or common mistakes that you should be avoiding and if you're not getting that from your current yoga source if that's a yoga instructor in person or online I would recommend seeking out a yoga resource that is more Fitness focused either an online instructor a program or a book to make sure you know that information the second part is if you are currently injured so a very common injury is rotator cuff strains or tears and if you have pain lifting your arm overhead or putting on a shirt that's indicative of rotator cuff rotator cuff issues and for you you probably won't avoid motions where you're lifting your arms overhead or doing weight-bearing exercises with your upper bodies so things like down dog dolphin a plank those are not going to be good for you if you currently have a shoulder injury and you'll want to avoid that number three you want to make sure that you're using the proper modifications or progressions so if you are new to yoga if you don't have a high level of fitness or you know whatever the case might be you want to make sure that you're doing yoga in a way that's appropriate for your flexibility and your strength levels so that means that you could use a wall in some instances it might mean that you bend your arms or use a strap or you use blocks but you want to be sure that you're doing the proper modifications for your current fitness level and if you're not getting that again from your current yoga instructor you don't know what those modifications are you're going to want to seek out a yoga resource that can help you with that and then lastly you'll want to make sure that you have the necessary strength or scapular stability in your upper back now practicing yoga on your own with proper technique will help to reinforce proper scapular stability but you need to do specific strengthening exercises to address that so these are exercises that you would experience kind of when you're doing physical therapy or other bodyweight exercises that help to specifically address scapular stability so you'll want to find those exercises and make sure that you have that awareness in that strength and your upper back in order to practice yoga safely so to sum it up the ants to the question does yoga cause shoulder pain is no but only if you're following these four criteria number one you're using proper technique number two you aren't currently injured in your shoulders number three you're doing yoga in a way that makes sense for your fitness level with the necessary progressions and modifications and number four you have the necessary strength and awareness and your scapular stabilizing muscles in your upper back if you're looking for a program that comprehensively addresses all of these things be sure to check out bullet proof your shoulders this is a brand new program just released on my website you can get access when you join the man flow yoga members area learn more at manifold yoga comm slash join be sure to to this YouTube channel we put out tons of useful videos on a regular basis all with the goal of helping you improve your fitness and get stronger with yoga