You may have heard me talk about a muscle in the upper chest known as the Pec minor.
I thought I’d expand a little so you can see why it’s an interesting area of the body.
One of the most common things I have seen in my time working with posture is a rounding of the shoulders, typically forward and down and often on one side more than the other.
Your body is super-efficient at saving energy, and it is also a master of compensation.
An im-balance in the shoulder can affect your hip position and how you balance weight.
Ultimately, that recurring pull from the forward shoulder and head position can be what’s effecting you knee, your foot, your lower back etc, etc.
Anyway, I just wanted to share with you a really good base practice to do every day and see if it helps out with other things.
A little information about your Pec minor.
Origin – 3rd to 5th ribs
Insertion – Coracoid process of the scapula
Action – Pulls scapula medially forwards and downwards and aids in reparation.
When the pec minor is not acting the way that it should and has fixed its position forward and down it can affect the way we breath, move and interact in life.
Think about how you may spend your day and whether you hunch and drop your shoulders forward throughout the day.
Maybe at a desk?
Everything in your body is balance.
I’m a firm believer that if you are able to balance your structure and achieve optimum function across muscles, bones, tissues, skin etc, you will move better, feel better, your energy will improve, and your body will respond on a higher level to whatever you put in front of it.
Try this every day up to 4 x per day if shoulders are quite troublesome.
Sit or stand in a comfortable position.
Place the fingertips of one hand across the opposing shoulder at the front.
Apply gentle pressure with the hand and then move the shoulder forward and backward against a little resistance.
Feel the muscle underneath the chest pulling and moving.
Take the shoulder back until you feel a light stretch inside the chest.
Pull forward to approx. 20 % of your maximum tension and hold for 20 seconds.
Release and move shoulder forward and backward a few times before repeating again.
You practice this 4 x in one setting.
If you can, repeat this cycle up to 4 x per day for maximum benefit.
It’s good to start with all the base-line stuff!
It’s the intrinsic biomechanics that determine how you balance your structure.
Balance from the inside out and your body will respond better.