Latissimus Dorsi myofascial release – the somatic yoga way!

Improving shoulder mobility is something I love to work with on my clients. Many people tend to get ‘stuck’ in their range of movement. Everyday habits add up! One of the issues that can cause lack of shoulder movement is tight lats. So let’s look at a Latissimus Dorsi myofascial release, the somatic yoga way.

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Latissimus Dorsi myofascial release

In case you didn’t know a tight Latissimus Dorsi runs can be one of the major factors in limiting shoulder movement. If when lifting your arms overhead you find your scapular gets ‘stuck’ and the arms can’t get all the way up, well your lats could be your issue. Latissimus Dorsi myofascial release typically are done with foam rollers. Which can be fantastic, but also hella painful! Instead, lets choose a gentler way. Try the somatic yoga Latissimus Dorsi myofascial release with a blanket!

Before beginning this practice I highly recommend trying a few exercises beforehand to get a baseline measure of your shoulder movement. This could be simply sitting and lifting the arms overhead. Things to look for include:

• How close are your biceps to the ears?
• Do you have fluid smooth movement?
• Are your arms in front of your face?
• Can one arm reach higher?
• Does your back arch excessively when raising the arms?

All these things can tell you a lot about your shoulder movement. Instead of grabbing a torture device foam roller, grab a blanket and roll it up. For the somatic Latissimus Dorsi myofascial release lay the upper back on the blanket. With the arms over the top.

Positiong wise for this somatic Latissimus Dorsi myofascial release I like to think about the blanket in the same position as ‘drying your back’. Under the armpits but higher than the waist. From her reach one arm back, and roll towards that same side. Repeat the rolling action “fishing” for areas of tension.

If you find a tender spot, then stay there. Maybe just taking small rocking action a few inches back and forth over that one spot. In all, it should just take just a few minutes to feel some lessening of tension. Then roll back and repeat on the other before coming into seated to retest the range of motion If you’re looking for more help on improving your should mobility check out my other posts.

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Questions

• How is your shoulder range of motion?
• Have you used a foam roller before?
• Would you be willing to try something gentler?