One of the main differences between having your arms up or down is the difference in the position of the shoulder blade. The shoulder blade position is important because all the actions of the arm are based on the position of shoulder blade (Scapula). Your postures come alive when you begin to consciously use your hands and arms for creative and functional expression. And opening yourself up to the possibilities for using your arms to express your position leads you directly to your shoulder blades because they anchor and support all expressions of your arm from mundane to sacred. When setting up and doing your postures it is essential to learn to locate your awareness at the root and foundation of the arm. When you think of your arm movements as originating from the scapulae on the back side of your body you reach to new heights of skill and artistry in using your arms to express your position.
The shoulder blade is like a base plate that fastens or stamps your arm to your torso and helps ensure that the ball of the humerus (upper arm bone) remains properly situated within the shoulder joint. The shoulder blade is a flat, triangular shaped bone that is positioned on top your back rib cage on your upper back. The shoulder blade has complex and diverse functions because it can move up, down, in, out, and it also rotates. But for our purpose I suggest dividing the scapular action into 3 directions of movement. When the arms remain at shoulder height or lower the 3 scapular directions are DOWN, IN and FORWARD. When you take your arms overhead the 3 scapular directions change to UP, OUT, and FORWARD.
Here’s more detail on the directions first we’ll look at the down arm position where the directions are down, in and forward. 1) DOWN-- means that you pull the scapulae down your back away from your ears towards your pelvis, legs feet. 2) IN—means that you work to pull the bottom tips of your shoulder blades towards your spinal column. 3) FORWARD—means that you stamp your shoulder blade forward into your body, attempt to move your shoulder blades forward into the body towards the front, the chest, sternum.
The 3 directions of movement for postures where you take your arms overhead are up, out, and forward. 1) Up—means that to certain degree the scapulae go with instead of against the upward reach of your arms. When reaching your arms overhead you do not pull your shoulder blades down as you do when your arms are down. However use caution when thinking UP because it is easy to over lift your shoulder blades and to wrongly elevate your shoulder girdle in relationship to your rib cage, neck and head. In order to strike a proper balance I suggest you work with the image of a WEIGHTED SCAPULAE. Treat your scapula like an anchor for the arm when the blade shape bone remains heavy you can more easily hug it into your upper back as you reach up. And also think of the entire length of your arm when you contemplate a weighted scapula. The arm begins from its weighted base, spans through the upper arm and forearm and extends through the wrist, hand and fingers. As you reach the arms up (or in any direction) imagine that the heavy base helps you to create extension along the entire arm line. Also imagine that your forearms, wrists, and hands become light. The image of an old-fashioned train barrier that comes down across a road when a train approaches can help you to get the feeling for the weighted arm base. It is the weighted end of the pole that allows the pole to go up after the train passes by and this is the image you can use as you reach your arm up—the heaviness of the scapulae allows the arm and hand to become light and to lift up. Lifting the train barrier pole or your arm would be much more difficult and awkward without a weighted base.
Lastly notice that only the forward (3rd) direction of the scapulae is in both of arm categories. This information helps you to remember that every arm position involves hugging or stamping your shoulder blades forward into your body—regardless of whether you reach your arms up overhead or not.