Self Care: Stretching the Neck

If I had a nickle for every time I've heard, "I've got allot of tension in my neck and shoulders," I'd...well, I'd have allot of nickles, that's for sure. We store so much stress in our neck and upper shoulders, especially if we are heavy computer users (or work with our hands, or carry a child around allot, or...the list goes on and on.) It's really important to keep the neck muscles flexible. It not only feels good to stretch them, but it can help prevent or relieve neck pain and headaches caused by muscle tension.

Allot of times, you see people stretching their neck by rotating their head around in a circle, but this is not always the safest option. It can aggravate neck injuries, and as it's really easy to stretch too far with this method you could even create a new one.

When I stretch my neck, I like to imagine that my head is smack dab in the middle of a compass. North is right in front of me, east is my right shoulder, south behind me, and west my left shoulder. I usually sit in a chair with a low back, close my eyes and take a nice deep breath. As I exhale, I slowly let my chin drop towards my chest (towards north.) As my head lowers, I'm aware of the stretch in the back of my neck and I am conscious not to stretch to far. If I feel pain, I let up a bit. I take another breath and return my head to center with the exhalation. I then follow this process for the east point on the compass, bringing my right ear towards my right shoulder. I can feel the stretch on the left side of my neck and upper shoulder and I'm conscious not to let my right shoulder "help" by lifting up to touch my ear. I then take another breath and return to center. I repeat that for both the south and west points. If I'm feeling really tight, I'll incorporate the in between points (north & south east and north & south west) into the routine. To finish off, I'll slowly turn my head to look over each shoulder, making sure that my shoulders stay still, not coming forward to try to meet my chin half way.

So, they next time you find yourself imitating a scared turtle (head tucked down and shoulder up around your ears) you may find taking a few moments to stretch those neck muscles can help a bunch. Please listen to your inner guidance when stretching the neck, though. No over stretching, and don't push it if you feel any pain. When done correctly, a neck stretch is a great way to reduce allot of that stress tension we generate on such a regular basis. Hope it helps!

This information is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or disorder. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about starting any exercise or stretching routine.

Webring & newsletter

Well, the webring is helping my hit count! Yea! This weekend I'm going to take some time and visit some of the other sites on the ring. Spreading the love, that sort of thing. ;)

I haven't had anyone sign up for the newsletter yet, though, so in light of that (and the fact that finals are approaching at an alarming rate) I'm going to postpone that until next month. I've got some ideas about doing a series of stretches for before and after all those fun outdoor activities going on right now. Now if I could just find someone who would model the stretch for me, I could include pictures...or even start a youtube channel. Hmmmm....

Self care and self promotion

I am currently house (and cat) sitting for a good friend while she is away at a month-long training conference. She's a yoga instructor at a local studio of the chain Dahn Yoga. I've discovered that when you house sit for a yoga instructor, there are tons of yoga books laying around all over the place. If you sit down in the evening to watch a little tv, they call to you from the bookshelf, "Oh, Merry...why sit there like a bump on a log when you could be stretching? Come on, you know you wanna..."

Ok, so maybe my friend's books really aren't physically talking, but they do have a bit of a siren song of their own. So, last week I broke down and started thumbing through them. She's mostly got Dahn publications, and they have some simple, easily understood instructions for stretching, qi gong, and their tai ci-like martial art, Dahn Mu Do. At least, my mind easily understands them. My body, on the other hand, keeps reminding me that since self care ceased to be a priority for me a while ago, if we are going to move and bend like we used to we're going to have to build up to it. Like allot of other people, self care just slipped to the background as life got busier and busier. But, just after about four days of taking about an hour in the morning and a half hour at night for stretching and strength training, I can see a difference in the way I move and even stand.

So, my next thought after "Hmm, I didn't realize my quads were so tight, " was, "I wonder how I can apply this to my business?" (This seems to be an increasingly common thought these days.) The answer that has bubbled to the top is, "Write a monthly newsletter about self care!" Not only will it be a self promotion, but it will keep my on target in my own journey of self care. Ya can't beat that with a stick.

So, over the next few days I'm going to be looking into how to incorporate a mailing list into my website. The design tool I'm using is pretty restrictive, so i may have to consider some other options. Wish me luck!