How to Target the Rotator Cuff in Yoga
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Before we dive into how to target the rotator cuff in yoga... do you know what the rotator cuff is? 😉
Let's clarify! The rotator cuff is a group of four small-ish muscles in the shoulder.
Together, these four muscles (and their tendons) form a "cuff" around the shoulder joint, protecting and stabilizing it.
I go into more geeky detail about rotator cuff anatomy – like the names of the individual muscles and what they do – in my educational video How to Target the Rotator Cuff in Yoga, which I’ve shared below!
For now, let’s focus on the basics. The rotator cuff has two main functions: moving and stabilizing the shoulder.
When the rotator cuff moves the shoulder, it performs external and internal rotation. (That’s where the "rotator" part comes from!)
When it stabilizes the shoulder, it works to keep the head of the humerus hugged into the shoulder socket as we move our arm.
Targeting the Rotator Cuff in Yoga
With this understanding, we can target the rotator cuff in yoga in two ways:
1) We can move our shoulder through external or internal rotation. This activates the rotator cuff in its movement role.
2) Move your arm in any direction! This is because whenever we move our arm, our rotator cuff necessarily works to hug the head of the humerus into the shoulder socket. This asks the rotator cuff to work in its stabilizing role.
So, targeting the rotator cuff isn’t as complicated as it sounds – we do it anytime we move our arm! And the more load that's involved in our movement, the more we'll load our rotator cuff. 💪
And if you want to dive deeper into these concepts, including detailed explanations, visual demonstrations, and specific movement examples, check out my new video (below)!
This tutorial is like a free, mini-YTT for yoga geeks. 🤓 I hope you enjoy it, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!