Yoga Glossary · Muscles
Trapezius
The kite-shaped muscle of the upper back and neck that positions the shoulder blades.
The trapezius covers the upper back and back of the neck in a broad kite shape. Its upper fibers lift the shoulder blades, the middle fibers draw them together, and the lower fibers pull them down the back. Between the three parts, the trapezius steers almost every position the shoulder blade takes.
In yoga the cue 'shoulders down and back' is a trapezius instruction: middle and lower fibers set the blades so the arms can work without the shoulders climbing toward the ears. The upper traps are famous for the opposite habit — they hoard tension from stress and desk work, and poses like Eagle arms give them a deliberate squeeze followed by a release.
In practice
- Shoulders creeping toward your ears in Chair or Warrior I? That is upper traps overworking.
- Lower traps are the quiet stabilizers that keep blades down as arms reach overhead.
- Eagle arms and Cow Face arms both load and then stretch different parts of the trapezius.
Poses that lengthen it
Related terms
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The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.