Yoga for the Neck & Shoulders

I have clients that I’ve had in class for so long that I don’t even need to ask them what they want to work on at the beginning of class. We just have an understanding….when I see them, yes I think of their name, maybe their family but I also immediately think of what I most often hear from their lips: Neck & Shoulders.

Having come from Corporate America myself — I can relate.  Sitting at my desk in front of a computer monitor or laptop…hunched over the keyboard — powering through to get the assignment finished, meet the deadline. Frequent breaks? Who needed a break — I wanted to get it done so that I had that particular project off of my desk, out of my cubicle.  Sound familiar? And those were the good days — not the days that a boss drove me crazy with some unreasonable request or rumors of layoff’s permeated our office or (you fill in the blank)….With each new thing, the shoulders and ears united and the neck stiffened.

If this is you — there is relief…while I can’t promise a fulfilling and secure job I can give you some tips on minimizing the stress & strain for your neck and shoulders and some simple stretches when the stress & strain have already come to visit you.

• Pay attention to how you sit at your desk. This is most important. A lot of our strain comes from poor posture habits.  Check out this blog post for posture basics:  Sitting Tall Throughout Your Day
• Take frequent breaks – get up, take a walk, stretch….don’t power through. The only person who pays for that is you.  Every hour, try to get up and change how you’re sitting…not only will your body feel better…but your mind benefits as well.
• Rest your eyes — even if it’s just a few minutes every hour, look away from your computer. Try to look out to different distances…take 30 seconds to just close your eyes and breathe.
• Try these simple poses right at your desk to relieve neck & shoulder tension (takes 10 minutes or less):
• Head Tilts — gently roll your head forward and tilt your right ear toward your right shoulder — hold for a breath or two and reverse. Continue slowly 4-6 times.
• Shoulder Rolls — sitting tall at your desk with both feet on the floor, roll your shoulders up and back 4-6 times.
• 1/2 Eagle — cross one arm in front of your chest and draw that arm closer to you with the other hand. Hold and breathe for 4-6 breaths, and switch sides.
• Wrist Circles – gently roll your wrists in one direction 4 times and then reverse.
• Forearm Massages – with your right hand, gently massage or knead the muscles of your left forearm (from your elbow to your wrist)…after a few breaths, switch sides.
• Prayer Hands – bring your palms together in front of your body (allow the shoulders to rest down). Gently press the hands together.
• Office Down Dog – stand up and place your hands flat on your desk. Walk backward and lower your upper body down so that you are making an “L” shape with your body. Feet are hip-width apart and ears are right by your biceps. Lengthen the spine and engage your belly. Breathe and hold for 4-6 breaths.

For more on yoga for the neck & shoulders, take a look at our latest DVD: YogaXoga’s Demystified Yoga, Vol. 2 with a class devoted to these stretches.

Introducing YogaXoga’s Demystified Yoga, Volume 2

I’m so excited to introduce you to our latest yoga dvd: Demystified Yoga(TM), Volume 2, featuring three 20-minute classes for Neck & Shoulders, Lower Back & Yoga Before Bed, plus, helpful hints on great breathing techniques for stress relief and better sleep.

The inspiration for this DVD really came from my clients and blog subscribers (thank you!).  Stretches for the neck & shoulders and lower back are the most common requests I hear at the beginning of class.  Yoga stretches before bed is by far the most commonly searched for phrase that I see on my blog…  We’re living in stressful times and it’s difficult to let the mind rest so that our body can do the same. What better way to integrate a little bit of yoga into your day than by addressing the areas we most need help with in bite-size, doable chunks?

Sometimes we think a yoga class should be an hour or 90 minute experience set in the perfect environment when you have ample time to prepare, practice and enjoy the benefits of after-class stillness. While that sounds lovely, this isn’t reality for most of us! Each Demystified Yoga, Volume 2 class is just 20 minutes long so that even those of you with the most hectic, crazy schedules could creatively find 20 minutes (we all have 20 minutes, right?) just for you.  When you have more time, you can “play all” for an hour long practice.

If you have questions, leave me a comment here or click:

Learn More about YogaXoga DVDs

Let me know what you think….

Yoga in KC: Yoga for Freedom Event

Those of you in the Kansas City area: The Yoga Alley in Lee’s Summit is hosting a yoga mala event June 20th, Yoga for Freedom.  A yoga mala is 108 sun salutations (or full flows). What a great way to come together as students of all yoga styles and levels for a great cause….A minimum donation of $20 is requested. Proceeds to benefit International Justice Mission www.ijm.org. After your amazing experience at The Yoga Alley, don’t forget to stop by our YogaXoga DVD Release Party & Wellness Celebration 3-7 p.m. (email us if you’d like details: info@yogaxoga.com)

For more info and the registration form for Yoga for Freedom: click here

For those of you not in KC — check out this info on how you can create (or suggest to your local yoga studio/teacher) your own event: Global Mala Project

If you’ve participated in a yoga mala before…leave a comment and tell us about your experience…

Enjoy & be well…

Real Yoga Stories: Staying present in difficult moments

My 103 year old grandmother peacefully left us this past week. My family gathered in a small town in Kansas to honor and remember her, sad to see her go but so thankful that she had such a full and long life. As we went through the rituals of a Christian Catholic memorial: visitation, rosary, funeral mass and gravesite prayers, I found myself drawing on my yoga practice…finding my breath – rushed at first, shallow with tears welling up…and then as my attention turned to the pattern of my breath, it slowed, becoming more steady and strong.  It’s not that I didn’t want to cry or feel — but my main intention was that I wanted to be present.  I wanted to savor every moment of this celebration of my grandmother…laughing as we remembered her quotes (“If you don’t have laughter in your life, you might as well be dead”), and reconnecting with family & friends that we see every week and those we see every 10 years or so…

Yoga has helped me take a step back from the normal way I tend to approach or experience things…A funeral seems sad – we should just get through it, right?  Power through? To me, that’s the wrong approach…yoga teaches us to acknowledge what we’re feeling, thinking, experiencing and release it…let it go…  When we do that we notice new things, we find new ah-ha’s that were there all along but we’re too busy powering through…I drove 3 hours to a funeral to say goodbye to a wonderful lady and came back with much more including a truer perspective of myself.

My grandmother was always smiling – sometimes it looked more like a mischievous grin…especially after she claimed victory in her frequent game of pitch.  (She always won card games – even at 100+) Most of all, she fully enjoyed & experienced life – all the moments of life – not just the happy ones…she lived her life as a loving & dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, friend…She loved Jesus and lived her life in a way that reflected that… I can’t think of a better example for me…she was present in her life.

A New Take On Forward Fold: Antidote for a Crazy Day

As yoga teachers, sometimes we get into ruts — where the same sequence, the same poses keep coming up in class.  This we try to avoid by getting on our own mats for practice, taking class from other teachers, listening to our students and researching new, creative ways to approach the space of yoga.

This week, I’ve been in a rut that’s not so bad…with the springtime/summertime weather, I’ve heard from many students recovering from their gardening adventures…and “low back” is one of the most frequently requested areas when I ask for requests at class…so here’s the pose we’re doing a lot of these days… I call it Supported Forward Fold:

Often if our hamstrings are tight and our low back is stiff, it’s difficult to find the right alignment and stretch in a Seated Forward Fold.  We end up feeling strained in the low back, or frustrated with our ability to hinge and fold over the legs.   When we’re in a supine (lying on your back) position, the back is supported by the floor.

Getting into the pose: Lie on your back and draw your knees into your chest.  Breathe here, feeling your back supported by the floor.  Place both feet in the middle of your strap and extend your legs up toward the ceiling. They can be bent or straight but should be making somewhat of a 90 degree angle towards the ceiling vs. angling away from your body.  Take a moment to draw your shoulders down and back towards the floor and try to hold the ends of your strap to keep the upper body relaxed…Stay here and continue to breathe. Over time, you might find that you’re able to draw the legs a bit closer towards you…always stretching deeper as you exhale or release your breath.  After 6-8 breaths, if you’d like more of a hip stretch, try taking your legs wider — with your feet still along the strap….continuing to breathe into your stretch. Hold for another few breaths and gently release, drawing your knees back in toward your chest.

Benefits of the pose:

Great for the low back, relief from sciatica and low back discomfort

Great antidote for those who are seated or standing for most of their day

Great stress reliever as this is a mild inversion (getting the legs up)

Great stretch for the hamstrings and hips

I’d love to hear your comments — give this pose a try and let me know what you think!