The Shala Daily

Your shoulders are speaking. But are you listening to the right conversation?

Yoga Journal recently published “4 Unexpected Causes of Shoulder Pain in Yoga” and it landed in my inbox like a teaching I needed to hear. The article’s central revelation isn’t about the shoulder at all—it’s about how we habitually ignore the interconnected nature of our body, seeking quick fixes when the answer lies elsewhere entirely.

The piece challenges us to look upstream. That nagging pinch when your arms lift overhead? It might have nothing to do with your rotator cuff. Instead, two culprits often hide in plain sight: your breathing patterns and your thoracic spine.

The Breath Connection

Here’s the uncomfortable truth many vinyasa practitioners discover the hard way: when we breathe primarily into our upper chest—recruiting those accessory muscles around our neck and shoulders—we’re essentially running a marathon with our shoulder girdle before we even touch our mat. Over time, this changes how our shoulders move and function, contributing to that telltale pinch or tenderness at the front of the joint.

The second revelation concerns our mid-back. Hours hunched over screens create a thoracic slump that forces the shoulder joints to compensate. Reaching overhead now requires your shoulders to work harder, decreasing space within the joint. The article’s advice? Regular active backbends like Salabhasana, gentle twists, and side bends to restore mid-back mobility.

“The body whispers before it screams. Wisdom is learning to hear the whisper.”

The Yogic Thread

This is svadhyaya in action—self-study that moves beyond intellectual exercise into embodied inquiry. Where is the pain originating? What patterns am I bringing to my practice without awareness? The Yoga Journal piece essentially asks us to practice what we preach: look at the whole system.

And isn’t this ahimsa applied to ourselves? Continuing to grind through Chaturanga while ignoring our breathing mechanics isn’t discipline—it’s neglect dressed up as dedication.

Practical Integration

For those experiencing shoulder discomfort, the ashtanga.tech study guide offers comprehensive resources on neck, shoulder and upper back care, including teaching considerations and guidance on choosing appropriate asana.

Understanding anatomy helps. Review the shoulder girdle introduction and function to appreciate why this joint is both remarkably mobile and remarkably vulnerable.

The breathing foundations section offers grounding in diaphragmatic breath—precisely what the Yoga Journal article recommends for retraining those overworked accessory muscles.

For practitioners wanting to build genuine shoulder resilience, Functional Range Conditioning offers systematic approaches, including Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) for daily joint maintenance and shoulder-specific conditioning work.

Those dealing with postural issues will find the thoracic mobility discussion particularly relevant—upper crossed syndrome, kyphosis, and forward head posture all contribute to the downstream shoulder problems the article describes.

The Inquiry

Before your next practice, try this: lie on your back, hands on your belly. Can you breathe low and wide without your shoulders lifting toward your ears? If not, there’s your starting point.

The shoulders are rarely the beginning of the story. They’re usually where the story becomes loud enough that we finally pay attention.

The body whispers before it screams. Wisdom is learning to hear the whisper.

—MJH

Source: “4 Unexpected Causes of Shoulder Pain in Yoga”, Yoga Journal