Important Tip for Neck Care
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The neck is one of the most common parts of the body to injure. Not ONLY from any sudden movement or accident, but ALSO from long term damage - such as cellphone use, computer use, driving etc. We also hold a lot of our day to day stress in our neck.
So one of the easiest and best ways to relieve that tension is to stretch our neck. We love to stretch it up and back, forward and down, and side to side.
How you rotate your neck is important. We sometimes have a tendency to wantonly rotate our neck as if it were some spineless doll. If you are laughing at me, think again.
What most people do is they throw their heads back and let gravity and momentum do the work. Bring their sometimes dizzy heads back and think they have done themselves some good.
Truth is, you might have just caused further harm to your neck, especially if you already have a long-standing forward neck tilt, and have some minor impingements you weren't aware of. Sure, once or twice may not affect you, but if you do this everyday, you are bound to cause harm to your neck.
In Yoga, there are lots of head back postures and upward neck stretches.
I too wantonly flung my head around and wondered why I felt dizzy. As I became more aware of my movement, spinal alignment and muscle usage - I realised I wasn't doing myself any favour by throwing my head back as far as it would go.
Consider these two statements:
Let your head hang back OR let your head drop back.
Lift your head up slowly, allowing your chin and the front of your neck muscles to guide you in the stretch.
Go ahead! Try it.
You will feel the difference immediately.
Like I said, I could do this one day and never be affected by it, or perhaps if Murphy would have his way - it just might.
But if you continue to wantonly throw your neck like a rag doll, then most likely you are going to be wearing out a lot of the natural lubricants around your spine (neck region) and invite some unnecessary trouble down the road.
Hope this tip brought about a greater awareness and appreciation for your body. Oh, and "You're Welcome!" ;)
Thank you, Namaskar and continue shining your brightest.
p.s. I haven't made a video or audio recording of what I do in class, so I will have to leave you with this one from the web if you are looking for a good neck sequence. ;)
I like their approach and all the muscles groups they are targeting in this video. Pls find the link at the very end. Thank you for stopping by.
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The Art of Living through the Science of Yoga
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How to Relieve Writer's Block using Backbends and Downward Facing Dogs!
Yoga and Leadership Series: #2 Yogini to an Entrepreneur - an Insight to Yoga and Spirituality
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Neck sequence video:
Nice, tip. The other day I got a bit of a fright since I was yawning but then the muscles in my neck below my jaw (dunno what you call it) started cramping pulling tighter. was fucking sore. Usually if I feel my neck feeling a tad tense I just tilt left and right and crack it, if it does not then I can be pretty sure I am going to have a headache and get asprin which also serves to relax the muscles a bit.
I tried your tip though it , add a nice half a roll left right and it feels so good you are not sure when to stop... unlike with other things they seem to have indicators when the fun is over.
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Thank you for the @tipu Pen.
It sounds like you may be clenching your teeth a lot subconsciously. Especially when you sleep. Perhaps even grind them? Next time you wake up see how your jaws feel
Glad to hear the tip helped. I would recommend you try the crocodile pose, and add the element of relaxing your jaw consciously.
I sure am feeling more motivated to start tackling videos soon. I wish I could share more
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