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When it comes to Gomukhasana, or exercise 12 from S&F, how do you prevent the scapula and the shoulder of the lower arm from rolling forward during internal rotation of the shoulder? I find that in order for myself to reach the top hand with the lower one, I have to let the arm of the lower roll forward, thus causing an impingement. I may have not been reading the cues right in the book, but shouldn't it be necessary to roll the shoulder back and retract the scapula before internally rotating the arm? I also notice with exercise 59 for the external rotators, that Kit explains (the narration from Master Shoulder Flexibility) how you need to roll the shoulder forward first before starting to internally rotate. Is this still a proper cue or should the shoulder be rolled back? What am I not understanding? I can provide pictures of my attempting to do the stretch at a later time.

Hello! I'm new to the forums, and I want to start off with a puzzling stretching issue that has been bothering me for some time, and it has to deal with the internal rotation of my shoulder (ankle joint restriction is another problem of mine but I'll share that in another topic). My goal is to make more substantial progress with clasping my hands behind my back (cow face pose, or the shoulder stretch from the FMS). I've used both Master Shoulder Flexibility and Stretching and Flexibility 2nd Ed. The major problem I'm facing is pressure/discomfort in the front delt as well as stagnation with being able to draw my hand up behind my shoulder blade. Based on Stretching and Flexibility 2nd Ed, exercise 12 and exercise 59 (also E7 from Master series) . Both illicit this feeling in my front delt, and I feel very little stretch from the external rotators, or it could be a matter of the pain from my front delt is overpowering the feeling of the stretch. Also I just feel like my hand gets stuck behind my back and I can no longer pull it upward with a strap in exercise 12. I sometimes use a band instead of a strap but I still feel the discomfort in the front delt. Can shoulder extension affect my ability to internally rotate since the front delt is mostly stretched in extension? I feel like I'm missing something very simple, I'm just not seeing it right now.