Before I started restorative exercise my clavicles formed a V formation. V formations help boost the efficiency of migrating birds and in aircrafts in military flight missions. However, when it comes to clavicles, a V formation negatively affects your neck, shoulders, breathing mechanics, upper body, and core strength. This is how my clavicles were mal-aligned last year (see photo below).
man, my reflection is sassy!
Today: Horizontal(ish) clavicles 11/07/13
Here are a few things I did to restore my clavicles to the horizontalish position (I’m still working on it, but I’m impressed with the results so far):
I stopped using my upper trapezius (traps) for things I didn’t need my traps for, like brushing my teeth and drinking tea.
I stopped leaning on my elbow.
I have been working on getting my arms out of internal rotation by changing my internal-rotation-gorilla-like-habits. Internally rotated humeri (upper arm) elevates the shoulder. Try it, internally rotate your upper arm and see what happens to your shoulder altitude.
pull downs, palms forward to encourage neutral humeri
Resistance bands with handles are very handy tools to have. You can get an attachment that hooks into the door so that you can adjust the level and do pull downs, rows, presses, roll downs, and much more. Each color is a different resistance, so getting a set to change bands depending on the exercise and increasing strength level is a good idea. This set has it all: Bodylastics 12 pcs Resistance Bands Set
I also use the Pullup Assist 
Or better yet, get outside and climb trees!
I put on a scarf when I go out in the cold. Listen to your grandma! Unless you are a Wim Hoff type badass you’ll hunch up your shoulders and your neck will disappear.
2011 before my neck transplant.
2013 after neck transplant.
I hang from a Pull-Up Bar 
I do the exercises in the “Can’t Get Enough of Shoulders“, “A Real Pain in the Neck” and “Rhomboid Madness“ Alignment classes. (click on banner below to find all the Alignment Snacks and more).These are highly effective short classes that you can download to your computer and watch anytime you want.
When you shop through one of my Amazon links or banners, you help support this blog. I only recommend products I truly believe in.
Yay!! I appreciate this blog sooooo much. Working on kyphosis and shoulders 🙂 thank you
Hi there! Came over from Katy’s FB post. Are there ways I can help my children to not develop habits that lead to this so they won’t have to relearn it all later? I have a one year old girl (and three older boys) and I’m wanting to save her pain later.
What if my clavicles are uneven? 🙁 Any tips for reversing this?
If you have hypermobility and a bit of shoulder instability is it still ok to hang from a pull up bar? Would it help?
That you blacked out your own face for the “bad” picture JUST KILLS ME in a good way. I love you and everything you do. The end. KAB
Encourage them to hang and climb. A lot of our upper body dysfunction happens because we stop doing those things and spend too much time on computers. Take them to the playground and climb on the monkey bars with them, they are more likely to model what you do.
Hi Shirley, You may find your answer here:http://www.katysays.com/holding-and-lax-joints/
Sure, watch your habits, you may have habits of leaning on one elbow, sleeping on one side, raising one shoulder more than another. A huge part of alignment is awareness of habits and making appropriate changes.
Barbara, I love your sense of humor! I also love how you share your alignment journey, and makes me feel that I can do it too! Keep up the good work!
Thank you!! I just realized I was leaning with one elbow up as I read this post!
Barbara,
This might seem dumb.. But Does the set of bands have examples of the exercises you mentioned doing with them ?
No, it’s not a dumb question at all. I was thinking I should add more photos of the band exercises that I do or do another post. I’ll do another post, I didn’t want this one to be too long and overwhelming. The resistant band set does come with a dvd with a bunch of exercises. I haven’t seen it because I bought individual bands, not knowing about the set at the time.
Once again you have nailed it, Barbara. It is so inspiring to see the positive changes that RE is making in your life! RES 2015 homecoming hanging and chin up competition in ????
Good work! Thank you!
Cool.. Awesome!! I wasn’t sure what the other exercises look like that you mentioned and I would absolutely love to have a neck 🙂 (among other things lol) thanks!!
Hi Barbara,
I’ve been in pain for 20+ years. It started with headaches and TMJ and has morphed into severe neck and shoulder pain. I have pronounced forward head posture and recently stopped sleeping with a pillow which has relieved my morning headaches (I have a mattress topper which I think made the transition easier?).
But now the front and back of my shoulders hurt more and I’ve been trying to work on bringing them back/down, but I think sleeping on my side with them scrunched up doesn’t help. How are you teaching yourself to sleep on your back? I go to sleep on my back, but toss and turn and always end up on my side!
Hi Jenny,
If my feet are cold, I’ll curl up into a ball, so tucking my feet under the blanket helps. I wouldn’t suggest going from using a pillow for 20 plus years to not using one. Like when transitioning from positive heeled shoes to flats it should be gradual so your muscles have time to adapt. If you sleep without a pillow, is the back of the neck long, or does your head rotate back? You may want to bolster your head with a flatter pillow or folded towel or blanket until you can keep the back of the neck long.
That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing too. What’s interesting is that for years I slept on my side curled up in the fetal position (I get cold too), and the minute I stopped sleeping with a pillow I stopped curling up.
I have noticed though that sometimes when I wake up on my back my head is rotated back (and my chin up), and sometimes when I’m on my side, my head seems to be jutting forward slightly.
But even though my headaches are gone and my neck feels better without the pillow, you think the quick transition may be effecting my shoulders?
I’m reluctant to sleep with a rolled up towel for the same reason I no longer want to use my pillow with the neck support roll – because I toss and turn so much that I wake up with the roll under my head which is then pushed too far forward… but I could try going back to a flat pillow I guess for a little while.
Thanks for sharing this. It’s super helpful to see someone else’s journey to better alignment…my husband has awfully hunched shoulders so now I just have to find a way to change his habits without being a nag! 😉
Apes walk on there mid knuckles ,monkeys walk on there palms. Using the mid knuckles as Apes , this hand configuration releases the whole of the upper skeleton frame . It is a slow process of change ,but very real. Hanging by the hands brings the hands close to this hand configuration.
This is a great article! I’ve been working hard to drop my collarbones for a long time, especially the right one. I’m a professional guitarist and it really screws up my upper back and shoulders if I play too long without stretching. I’ve found some other things that help with the colarbones too. First is sleep position, if I sleep on my side my shoulders and collar bones are much tighter when I wake up in the morning so I try to sleep on my back. Next is spreading my arms out like the letter “T” with my palms facing up, then dropping my shoulders and rotating my elbow pits and palms up and back as far as I can. I also like to stand with my back to my bathroom mirror, hold a small mirror in my hands so I can see my own back, then I squeeze my scapula together and try to pull them down as far as possible using my lats while still keeping them squeezed together. and last but not least, I hold a dumbell in each hand and hang them at my sides while relaxing my upper trapezius and also rotating my elbow pits forward. basically the same thing you’re doing in your photo, just “gravity assisted” with weights. All of these things seem more effective when I visualize my breath rising up from the bottom of my back into my upper traps, if that makes sense!