On Wednesday, I talked about how my large bustline has caused postural habits and issues with mobility and pain.
Today, I’ll outline some areas I concentrate on to improve my overhead position for lifting, and try to improve my posture.
First up, the pec minor. In my experience, when your chest pulls the rest of your body forward all day, your pecs feel like beef jerky. Here’s what most folks don’t think about: the extra tissue on top of the pecs and in the vicinity of the armpit makes it tricky to dig in and work on the musculature of the anterior shoulder. A Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Ball and a yoga block at the wall is a great idea, but I would suggest the ALPHA. If you have access to a rig in your gym, it’s an even better tool to lean against; you can put your arm through a much wider range of motion as you lean into the ball.
Next, the trapezius. When your heavy bosoms are strapped to your chest in a bra all day, the weight of the straps on your trapezius is a constant struggle. I am eternally turning my neck at some weird angle to stretch, adjust, or otherwise move the upper edge of my traps. Do yourself a favor with some yoga arts and crafts, and build yourself a trap dock! This is another one that’s good at a rig, or against the edge of a plyo (box jump) box.
Last (but not least, I could go on and on…), to free up the scapulae, a little posterior shoulder work.
These are the areas I hit regularly, and these particular therapy ball sequences give me the most bang for my buck. After all, I am a busy modern woman, and I’m not willing to let what my momma gave me (shout out!) slow me down. In the immortal words of Sweet Brown, “ain’t nobody go time for that.”
Enjoyed this article? Read Trapezius Tension Tamer
Thanks so much for the great tips and creative way to access the upper traps. I will definitely make good use of them. It is so hard for many people to access them without looking like you are a football linebacker trying to push the corner of the wall down.
Yessssss! I learned the trap dock in YTU training today and it’s my new favorite thing. I’m going to try your suggestion of the Alpha ball against a block on the wall for pec minor since I have the problem of extra “real estate” when trying to roll pec minor with original therapy balls on blocks on the floor. Thanks for the tips!
Traps! Yes! I am growing more and more tired of sport bra yoga tops because they wreck my traps… but they do support the girls better so sometimes are needed. I will keep these techniques in mind when occasion calls for a sports bra!
Oh man do I ever need this now! Being almost 6 months pregnant, I cannot begin to express the discomfort I feel with an (already) increase of 4 cup sizes in my bust. I have so many issues from a big bust that I never had to worry about before – namely pain in all the areas you mentioned!! I cannot wait to get on my Yoga Tune Up balls and start rolling out. Thank you so much for creating something that will finally offer me some relief!
Thank-you Tiffany for sharing! This is a topic that doesn’t get mentioned often but causes real issues for a lot of women. Highlighting how to access some of these muscles with a bit of ‘arts n crafts’ building a dock block was very helpful! I like that you summarized your 3 ‘best bang for your buck’ moves. Having simple yet effective moves to get beginners started is key for them to realize the potential of the YTU therapy balls. =:0)
These 3 exercises are my quick upper body care routines when I don’t have enough time to play with the ball. Pectoralis Minor is one of my tightest muscle sits silently when I am under stress. The smart phone and desk work is a great contribution to our tight neck and shoulders.
As a male YTU teacher, I sometimes teach female students with large busts and having never dealt with self-care for (or navigating around) breasts of my own, this is good information into how to teach to these students. Thanks for the insights!
These videos would be a great tools for teenage girls/ women .
I live right by Ottawa U . I watch young women waking by me in kyphotic postures due to heavy back packs or carrying mounds of books in their arms across their chest . Then they sit all day in auditoriums working on computers with their spine misaligned . Awareness is key for postural health .
This is great! Thanks for the videos! I learned some basics with the therapy balls, but these videos are great for someone like me who forgets things the minute I walk out of a class!
Love these ideas! A door jam also works well for allow ROM if access to arig not possible.
Great massage sequence, will benefit everyone! Who doesn’t have stress in their upper body? Great way to work around our everyday lifestyle problems (computer texting posture..)
Wow très pertinent de voir que l’on doit faire attention au stress que l’on met sur les muscles de notre corps au quotidien. J’adore la séquence de massage que vous avez présentées dans les vidéos! Je crois que je vais les essayer puisque j’ai beaucoup de tensions au niveau de mes épaules et de mes trapèzes! Merci du partage!
Merci de partager votre expérience. Je n’avais encore jamais réalisé le stress que l’on place sur nos trapèzes supérieurs via les courrois de nos soutien gorge. Leur donner un peu d’amour plus régulièrement il me semble que ça pourrait réduire bien des maux entre autre je pense aux maux de tête. Ces exercices vont maintenant se retrouver dans ma routine quotidienne pour rééquilibrer ma posture.