Before you move those shoulders.
Where is the correct position?
“If you want to strengthen your shoulder's inner muscles, you just need to move the shoulder joint”—haven't you seen advice like that?
Recently, I've also often seen a more advanced approach: 'Moving while in a poor posture won't solve the problem. First, you should align your trunk, scapula, and clavicle positions, and only after those conditions are met should you proceed to rotator cuff exercises.'
Admittedly, this is a much more careful approach than advice that just says to move blindly. Even so, I couldn't accept this explanation as it is.
Where is that 'appropriate position'?
The specific methods introduced with this line of thinking include things like: aligning the trunk position, internally rotating the ribs, depressing the scapula, activating the serratus anterior, extending the thoracic spine, and adjusting the position of the clavicle. And then, strengthening the rotator cuff.
As you can see when you list them, these are all 'interventions into muscles and body parts.' They are trying to improve the position of the shoulder joint by manipulating muscles and partial elements.
The problem is that the standard for what constitutes the 'correct position of the scapula or shoulder joint' is never actually shown. If you say 'only when in the appropriate position,' then where exactly is that appropriate position? To me, the fact that the discussion proceeds while omitting this standard—which should be the most important thing when dealing with posture—feels quite superficial.
Furthermore, I believe the understanding of scapular depression is also backwards. The scapula settling into a depressed position is the 'result' of it having entered the correct position; it does not come into the correct position because you depress it.
Is a position created by muscles a correct position?
To put it briefly, 'the position changed as a result of using muscles' and 'the position became functionally correct' are two different issues.
It is possible to depress the scapula, adduct it, and move the clavicle. If you move the scapula, the clavicle moves in conjunction. But the position you arrive at by doing that is not necessarily the truly appropriate position for the shoulder joint. Just because the clavicle has moved, there is no guarantee that the position is correct.
What is important is where the scapula should be, where the humerus should sit, and which position is stable under gravity. If you pile up manipulations without having this standard, you will end up having only 'changed the shape.'
What I do first
In the view of the body that I am learning, the first thing to do when improving the shoulder joint is not to use muscles to create a position. It is to make the body recognize the correct position of the shoulder joint.
The standards are the horizontal plane and gravity. Specifically, I guide the shoulder joint to the zero position, and when the arm is returned to the side of the body, the inside of the elbow faces forward. When the arm is swung, the outside of the elbow is visible from behind, and the arm swing occurs behind the body. I first create a state where the person understands the position of the scapula at that time.
Then, with that correct position established, I have them repeat the movement. As a result, the tendons, joint receptors, nervous system, and proprioception learn that position and movement. Instead of 'using muscles to create the correct shape,' it is 'recognizing the correct shape and using it in that state so the body adapts.' The sequence can only start from here.
I believe that if the premise is different, the risks also change. If you pile up manipulations of the ribs and scapula without a standard for position, you may end up training the body to use itself while in an incorrect position. The harder you work at the exercises, the better you get at moving in a misaligned position—if that happens, not only does the speed of improvement change, but the direction itself changes.
Even with the same phrase 'aligning the shoulder joint position,' manipulating the body by controlling muscles and breathing is completely different from determining the correct position based on the horizontal plane and gravity and having the body memorize it through repetition.
And the horizontal plane is not a standard chosen by preference. If you use the body or muscles as a standard, the standard itself moves every time your posture or conditions change. But the horizontal plane and gravity do not change for anyone's body or under any conditions. They are the only absolute standards in athletic movement.
That is why I look at the body from here.