Quick and Easy Neck Stretches That Help Fix Your Posture
A lot of what we do all day involves forward neck posture: driving; phones / computers; eating, cooking, and cleaning; chasing after kids and picking them up ...
No wonder we often end up with stiff necks.
Ideally your ears are directly above your shoulders. This means your neck is straight, relative to the rest of your spine.
If your neck is tense or in pain, realignment may take several weeks or even months.
Once you're there, I think you'll find that it's worth the effort. Chronic neck pain is a pain in the neck! It's often related to TMJ, teeth grinding, headaches, and migraines. It's an underlying cause of eye strain, sometimes.
Below are a couple stretches I like to use in the realignment process. Think of them as gentle reminders of where you want your head to be relative to the rest of your body.
Hair Pull (credit: Esther Gokhale)
Take a handful of your hair from the lower, back part of your head. (Below is another stretch you don’t need hair for. 😉)
When you have a handful of hair, pull your hair slightly back and up. You should feel a gentle stretch through your whole neck. Ideal neck posture is a straight spine all the way up to the top.
You can also do this against a wall. Stand with your feet a few inches from a flat surface so you can lean back against it easily. Contact the backs of your shoulders against the wall and the back of your head. Slightly tuck and retract your chin, and you'll find your neck gets closer to the wall as well. This approximates what good neck posture is like.
We're never "craning" the neck - we're retracting and holding the chin a little closer to the chest.
This goes for when you're doing stretches or yoga. Never crane your neck! Always imagine you're holding a little ball between your chin and chest.
A few times throughout the day, do this exercise to remind yourself of proper neck posture.
Neck Traction (no hair required)
Lay down on the ground and place the broomstick perpendicular to your body and under your neck. Place your hands on either side of the stick – on either side of your neck and pull the stick toward the top of your head.
When it reaches the occipital region – the place where your skull meets your neck bones, you should feel a good stretch through your neck.
Hold it for 3-5 breaths and repeat 2 or 3 more times.
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