Restrictions in Arm Binds in Yoga

In yoga, certain poses can be "bound" by extending the arms so much that they reach behind you to clasp together. Your shoulders open through the front with your chest, and your shoulder blades squeeze together behind you. Your arms usually end up wrapping around your back and sometimes even your legs and hips, to clasp your hands behind you. These arm binds are advanced variations that help open your chest and shoulders but they can often be restricted by certain limitations within the body.

  1. Shoulders

    • In arm binds, your shoulders are rotated open and back to allow for your chest to open and your arms to reach further behind you for the clasp. When your shoulders are tight, they limit the reach of your arms and often limit the amount of bind you can find. To open your shoulders in preparation for a bind, clasp your hand behind your back and roll your shoulders back and down. Lift your clasped hands away from your back as your shoulders stretch. In addition to this stretch, make sure to stretch your shoulders after lifting weights to keep them flexible.

    Chest

    • The chest is often tight and caved in slightly due to poor posture throughout the day. In an arm bind, your chest needs the opposite opening -- expanding from the center rather than caving into it -- to help achieve the bind. When your chest sinks in upon itself, it limits the ability of your shoulders to open, which limits the reach back and around of your arms. To prepare your chest for a bind, try a few gentle backbends, such as baby cobra or bridge pose, which open from the center of your chest. In both of these, think of rolling the shoulders back, keeping your collar bone wide and pressing your sternum forward and open.

    Legs and Hips

    • Arm binds often involve wrapping your arms around one or both legs to clasp into the bound pose. If your hamstrings or hips are tight, your legs usually won't come into the proper alignment for the bind. In most binds, such as Warrior II, your hips are open and pressing towards the ground, while the hamstring is parallel to the ground on the leg you are binding around. If your hips or hamstring lift out of alignment, you have to overcompensate with your shoulders, chest or arms and may not be able to bind fully. To open your legs and hips, try a standing forward fold, where you drop your head towards your shins, or a Cobblers pose, where you sit with the soles of the feet together and your knees wide to help loosen the legs.

    Arms - Muscles and Length

    • In a yoga arm bind, the arms are doing both the reaching and the grabbing to find the clasp of the hands. If your arm muscles are tight, they may pull the arms short and not allow them to lengthen fully to find your reach all the way around into the bind. Arm stretches to help lengthen tight arms are Downward Facing Dog, Child's' pose with your arms stretching forward, and Puppy pose. Also, if you happen to have very short arms, you may have difficulty finding the bind, unless you use a yoga strap to assist.