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Woke this morning with one arm up over my head & it felt so easy and relaxed. Thank you, Erich Schiffmann shoulder stretch sequence.

I did the sequence three times yesterday, and intend to do the same thing today. On the one hand, I guess that is weirdly obsessive. On the other, well, this is a stuck spot and I have to work it out.

Hilariously, ES says things like, “Pause consciously” and “Savor this feeling,” and “This feels terrific.” My favorite, when I’m stretching at work, is when he says, in his suuuuuper calm voice, “Notice how you feeelllll…” to which I always think things like, “Actually Erich, it’s Monday and I feel kind of stressed out,” or “I feel kind of silly doing this at my desk.” Stuff like that.

It’s interesting to see how it feels to move in stretchy ways in an environment where that kind of movement is just not the norm. At first I felt super self-conscious, and I still kind of do — but come on, shouldn’t I be able to take 15 minutes to stretch my shoulders out if I sit at a desk all day?

I should make everyone do this with me.

***

Okay, so here’s a geeky yoga question: In ustrasana or when dropping back into kapotasana, what back muscles are held tight and which are released? This morning I got into the wall ropes and was hanging back while on my knees in a little pre-kapo kind of pose, and suddenly a muscle released and I dropped down a couple of inches. It wasn’t super deep, so I’m guessing erector spinae? Possibly gluteus medius?

I am curious, though, about what is and isn’t supposed to be working as I try to candy cane into a perfect bobcat.