A newbie that joined our club last year had the same problem with a painful bow arm shoulder. I asked him to shoot a few arrows while I watched. Very first arrow his problem was obvious. His shoulder was up around his ear when he was shooting. It took me several weeks of working with the guy before he learned how to relax that shoulder and hold it low throughout the shot cycle.

The difficult thing about getting those shoulders relaxed is that many people are under a great deal of stress these days. Many, many people carry that stress in their shoulders. You have to learn how to release the tension in your shoulder muscles before that shoulder will drop down where it's supposed to be.

Once you learn how to release that tension, you will be learning how to deal with your stress level too. Clearing your mind and concentrating on shooting a few arrows every day is a big help. Especially if you can get a picture of your boss to shoot at. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>