What the Shoulders Carry: Structure and Freedom in the Upper Body

Name: What the Shoulders Carry: Structure and Freedom in the Upper Body
Start: 2026-04-11T14:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-04-11T16:00:00-05:00
Location: 1108 Davis St, Evanston, IL, United States, Illinois 60201

Schedule

Sat Apr 11 2026 at 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

1108 Davis St, Evanston, IL, United States, Illinois 60201 | Evanston, IL

The shoulder is one of the most complex joints in the body — and one of the most misunderstood. Unlike the hip, which trades mobility for structural stability, the shoulder sacrifices bony stability for an extraordinary range of motion, relying instead on a dynamic web of muscles, connective tissue, and coordinated support from the entire body below. When that support system works well, the arms can reach, lift, and express freely. When it breaks down, the shoulder becomes a site of chronic tension, impingement, and compensation.
What we often miss is how far down that support system actually reaches. Stable, mobile shoulders depend on the rib cage and thoracic spine — but also on the pelvis and even the feet. The arm lines, traced through the fascia from fingertip to sternum and beyond, are continuous with the whole body. Treat the shoulder in isolation and you'll keep chasing the same tightness.
There's also another layer. The way we carry our arms, chest, and upper back is not purely mechanical. The emotional body lives here too — in the rounding that protects the heart, the bracing that signals vigilance, the collapse that can accompany grief. BKS Iyengar observed that the armpit chest — that soft, often-closed inner space where arm meets torso — is "where we hide all our secrets." Opening it is both a physical and a subtler practice.
In this workshop, Lori and Reneé will use the MELT Method, yoga, and pranayama to release compression in the thoracic spine and rib cage, restore mobility through the arm lines, and open the heart center — both as anatomical territory and as the energetic hub yogic tradition has always recognized it to be.
You'll leave with a clearer sense of why your shoulders hold what they hold, and practical tools to create more ease, openness, and lift in your upper body.
Studio only; all props provided.
Cost: $50 per workshop, members save 15%
Sliding scale available by request