The following information has been gathered and compiled over a period of years, through personal experience, while traveling, teaching classes that include T’ai Chi, Qi Gong, herbal information, martial arts and other health related subjects. The article also contains feedback from students and anecdotal information from friends and readers of my columns. The following are my opinions and deductions from those sources.
As is the case with any exercise you may want to consult with your doctor, especially if you suffer from a disease.
Telling whether you have rounded shoulders can be difficult to ascertain. When you turn the head to look in a mirror, the shoulder you’re looking over will automatically move back and up, and your posture will change. Having someone else look can help but it’s virtually impossible for another person to correctly gauge your progress.
To determine whether you have rounded shoulders it takes a wall, a tape measure and about two minutes. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, and back up next to the wall. If you feel the top of your shoulder, you can find where the bony part of the shoulder ends and the meaty part of the upper arm begins. The end of the bone is where you want to take your measurement. It may be easier to measure the distance if you have help.
Sit in a normal position with your legs straight out in front and your arms down at your sides, don’t pull the shoulders back, you’ll only be cheating yourself. Relax for thirty seconds to make sure you’re in your normal posture/shoulder position. If you have help, have them look and see if they think your shoulders are where you normally hold them. Next, measure where the end of the shoulder bone ends and the top of the arm begins. The distance you’re interested in is the open space, the distance, between the wall and your body. The measurement should be between one and three inches. Write the measurement down so you can compare it a a later time. Be sure to take the measurement from the same place every time. If you know or suspect that you have rounded shoulders and the measurement is within the guidelines, you probably measured too close to the spine.
The following exercise will strengthen and help remedy rounded shoulders plus tone and strengthen the trapezius muscles, arms and upper back muscles. It also helps to open the chest and lift the sternum. Lifting the sternum and opening the chest aids in increasing lung capacity and breath control. Proper breath control can help lower stress levels.
Stand with the feet shoulder width apart, feet parallel and pointing straight forward. Make sure you’re standing erect and vertical. Straighten the arms, then raise them to shoulder height and parallel with the floor. Palms can be down or up. Begin making small circles with the arms and hands. Concentrate on putting more emphasis on the circle toward the rear. Start with ten circles in one direction and then change directions and repeat the same amount of repetitions in the other direction. Next, if the palms were down, turn them up and repeat the above sets. If you bend the knees while doing the exercise you can work the quadriceps. Standing on the toes with bent knees will help improve balance and strengthen the calf and other leg muscles. Start slow and work up.
