The Secret of the Yoga Club: The Women's Identity is Not Simple

After class, Lin Feng rushed home to change his clothes and then took the subway to Forest Peninsula without stopping.

The subway was packed with people during rush hour. He stood in the middle of the carriage, gripping the handrail, the band-aid on the back of his hand standing out conspicuously in the crowd. The middle-aged woman opposite him glanced at the wound on his hand several times before silently looking away.

It was already 5:50 when I arrived at Forest Peninsula Station.

He swiped his card to enter the No. 3 club and took the elevator straight to the third floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he saw Xiao Wei at the front desk tidying up a stack of folders.

"You're here quite early." She looked up and smiled at him. "Sister Du is already here, changing in changing room number one."

Xiao Wei picked up a folder from the table and handed it to him. Lin Feng had already looked at Du Xia's personal information on his phone that morning, and now he quickly flipped through it again, memorizing a few key points: right shoulder periarthritis, limited range of motion in the shoulder joint, taciturn personality, and aversion to discussing marriage and children.

"Sister Du doesn't talk much, but she's very straightforward." Xiao Wei put the folder away. "Don't be nervous, just teach the class normally."

Lin Feng agreed. Xiao Wei was busy and didn't notice the wound on his arm.

He turned and walked into yoga room number three.

The air conditioner was already on, and the temperature was pleasant. The wooden floor was spotless, and the blinds were half-open, letting in soft light.

He went into his small changing room and changed into a clean white yoga outfit. After coming out, he did a set of warm-up exercises on the mat, including shoulder rotations and leg stretches, to loosen up his muscles and joints.

When I did the downward-facing dog pose with my right hand, the band-aid on the back of my hand was stretched taut, and the skin around the edge of the tape was slightly itchy.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door twice.

Xiao Wei pushed open the door and stepped aside.

The moment Du Xia walked in, the first thing Lin Feng noticed was her posture—her shoulders were slightly hunched inward, and her neck was unconsciously jutting forward, a habit accumulated from years of working at a desk. Her entire upper body carried a sense of tension from staring at a computer screen for a long time.

She had already changed into her yoga attire: a dark gray matte short-sleeved top and capri pants, simple and clean without any patterns or decorations. Her figure was well-maintained, a result of long-term yoga practice, with graceful and balanced proportions, sharp shoulder and back lines, and harmonious limbs, exuding a cool and capable aura.

Her face was well-maintained, making it impossible to guess her actual age. Her skin was firm, and there were almost no fine lines around her eyes, except for a faint bluish tinge around her eyes, a sign of prolonged eye strain. Her lips were thin, without lipstick, and her mouth was flat, giving her her usual expressionless look.

"Hello, Sister Du, I'm Lin Feng." Lin Feng nodded slightly in greeting.

Du Xia nodded slightly in response. She walked to the mat, bent down to take off her shoes, neatly placed them against the wall, straightened up, walked to the center of the mat, and stood facing the mirror. The whole set of movements was crisp and efficient, without any unnecessary words or actions.

Lin Feng walked to the mat next to her: "Sister Du, could you please lift your right shoulder so I can check your range of motion?"

Du Xia raised her right arm and slowly lifted it from the side of her body. She found it difficult when she raised it to shoulder height, and when she went any higher, her shoulder involuntarily shrugged, her scapula lifted a lot, and her entire right trapezius muscle was taut.

Finally, when I raised it to about 120 degrees, my arm got completely stuck, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't lift it any higher.

Lin Feng walked behind her, placed one hand on her right shoulder, and gently supported her right elbow with the other: "Sink down, don't shrug. Imagine your shoulders sinking towards the ground."

He placed his palm on her right shoulder, applying a steady pressure downwards. Du Xia's shoulder slowly sank under his palm, and the tension in her trapezius muscles eased slightly.

She slowly and steadily raised her hand, which was supporting her elbow, until it reached the position where it had been stuck. She didn't shrug anymore, and her arm moved up a little further.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt, it's just a little tight," Du Xia said briefly.

"Okay, that's enough, don't push yourself." Lin Feng slowly lowered her arm. "Sister Du, how much time do you usually use the mouse with your right hand at work?"

"Eight hours or more."

"Will you get up and move around in between?"

Du Xia didn't answer. Lin Feng caught a glimpse of her lips twitching almost imperceptibly in the mirror, so he didn't press the matter further.

"Let's start by activating the scapula." Lin Feng knelt on the mat, hands on the ground. "Cat-Cow Pose, follow my rhythm."

Du Xia's movements were very standard, thanks to her two years of yoga training; her spine rolled smoothly and naturally, segment by segment. But Lin Feng immediately noticed that when she arched her back, the bulge in the right scapula area was much smaller than that on the left—that muscle wasn't being fully activated at all.

He got up from his mat, walked to her side and squatted down, placing the heel of his right hand on the inner edge of her right shoulder blade and his left hand on the front of her right shoulder.

"When you exhale and arch your back, direct your breath to the spot where your palm is pressing. Feel that bone pushing towards the ceiling."

Du Xia exhaled, her back slowly arching.

The right scapula bulges slightly under Lin Feng's palm, but the bulge is smaller than that on the left.

"One more time. Inhale and arch your back—exhale and push your shoulder blades towards my palm."

This time it was much better; the bone under Lin Feng's palm was noticeably raised.

"Yes, that's the feeling. Hold on, do five more times."

After completing five cat-cow poses, Du Xia's right scapula had a significantly greater range of motion than before.

Lin Feng then led her into Downward-Facing Dog. Du Xia pushed her hands into the ground and lifted her hips up, a beautiful movement with her back almost flat, creating a smooth straight line from her wrists to her sit bones.

But Lin Feng soon noticed that she had shifted her weight more to her left side, and the force with which she supported herself with her right hand was noticeably lighter than with her left.

Lin Feng walked to her right side and gently tapped the back of her right hand with two fingers: "Push your right hand down a little harder and shift your weight to the right a bit."

Du Xia pressed her right palm down, but almost simultaneously her right shoulder shrugged slightly.

"Relax your shoulders." Lin Feng moved his fingers off the back of her hand, pressed down on her right shoulder and gently pressed down. "The power to push the ground with your palm should be transmitted down from your shoulder blade, not by straining your trapezius muscles."

Du Xia did as instructed and lowered her right shoulder.

This time, her right palm actually landed on the ground.

"Okay, hold for three breaths."

After three breaths, Lin Feng helped her knees to the ground, returning her to the baby pose.

"Sister Du, when you sleep, does your right shoulder feel uncomfortable no matter how you position it?"

Du Xia's forehead was still pressed against the mat, and her voice was muffled: "Yes."

"Then let's transition from Child's Pose to a pose specifically designed to relax the shoulder blades." Lin Feng helped her sit up. "Thread the Needle Pose."

Du Xia followed along, her left hand passing across her chest, palm up, her right ear pressed against the ground. Lin Feng squatted behind her, his right palm resting on her right shoulder blade, gently massaging in a clockwise direction.

After massaging for a while, the taut muscle softened slightly under his palm. Du Xia's breathing also became deeper than before, her chest rising slightly with each inhale.

"Right here." Lin Feng's palm stopped at a particularly stiff spot on the inner edge of her shoulder blade. "When you exhale, direct your breath to this spot."