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Slept On Your Neck Funny? These 6 Stretches Will Soothe Your Pain By Noon
Looking to relieve neck pain? Try these Yoga Medicine exercises from Tiffany Cruikshank and Diane Malaspina to help release tension and tightness in the neck.
By Bee Creel for Yoga Journal.
Before you book that massage or get stuck in unhelpful thought patterns about your neck pain, try one or more of these yoga poses and stretches.
Whether you woke up with tension in your neck or you often have low-grade pain because you spend so much time hunched over your phone or laptop (hello, tech neck!), you know that neck strain can be terrible. What’s worse, it can also lead to poor posture, irritability, and even migraine headaches.
If you’re dealing with neck pain, it’s important not to do anything to make it worse. Avoid deep stretches, says Tiffany Cruikshank, an acupuncturist, yoga teacher, and founder of Yoga Medicine®. And if the muscles in your neck are in spasm, Cruikshank recommends taking an epsom salt bath to help calm the inflammation.
When you’re ready for some gentle stretching, try this sequence created by Yoga Medicine® therapeutic specialist Diane Malaspina, Ph.D. Grab a foam roller, block, and strap and practice one or all of the following yoga poses designed to ease neck pain—fast.
Yoga for Neck Pain: A Home Practice
Neck Stretches with Strap
Come to a seated position and place a strap or resistance band around the base of your skull. Holding either side of strap and extend your arms forward. Relax your shoulders and make “Egyptian-like” movements, moving your head forward and back 15 times.
Myofasical Release On Block
Place a block on medium height and rest your head on the edge of the block (where the base of your skull and your neck meet). Hold here for 8 slow breaths, then turn your head as far to right as possible. Then, move your head back toward your center line about halfway (until you feel a small mass of muscle), and hold there for 8 slow breaths. Finally, take your head back about a quarter way toward your centerline (keeping your head tilted slightly to the right). Again, you’ll locate another small mass of muscle. Pause and breathe here for 8 slow breaths before returning your head to the center and repeating on the other side.
Seated Neck Stretches
Trapezius and Neck Release
From a comfortable seat, bring your left hand behind your body, resting your left hand on your right thigh. If you are unable to reach your thigh, rest your hand on the floor behind you. Drop your head to the right and hold for 10 slow breaths, then repeat the stretch on the opposite side.
Thoracic Extension on the Foam Roller
Come on to your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Lie on a foam roller, so that your mid rib cage area (bra strap line) rests on the foam roller. Interlace your fingers behind your head and keep your neck in neutral position. Lift your hips and roll the foam roller toward your neck and then back to your mid rib cage. Roll between these two areas for about 30 seconds, then release and place the foam roller to the side. When you’ve finished, lie on your back and feel the blood flow and release of the connective tissue in your neck.
From a comfortable seat, bring your left hand behind your body, resting your left hand on your right thigh. If you are unable to reach your thigh, rest your hand on the floor behind you. Drop your head to the right and hold for 10 slow breaths, then repeat the stretch on the opposite side.
Myofascial Release for Rotator Cuff and Latissimus Dorsi
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