I wanted to post a serious video. A few seconds into recording my 2 year old niece walked in. I think the video is much better with her in it. You can watch me or you can watch her running around having fun. She doesn't need to be told how to release her neck and shoulders as she spends her time running around and playing and we can all learn a lot from such unencumbered movement and joy.
For those of us who have become a bit gnarly with age, see if you can watch and listen to my instructions and move your shoulders and neck in freedom.
Remember, never force, tense less, stretch less, and move slowly. If it does not feel good then it is not good. Talk to me in class, by email, or otherwise discuss with your teacher if you need clarification.
Shoulder/Shoulder Blade Movements
This sequence gets us to move our shoulders and shoulder blades in four general directions (there are some other things going on but I won't complicate things).
High Shoulders
I ask us to move the shoulders up high. To the ears if possible. Some people are scared of this movement, believing their shoulders are already a bit high. However, while most of us probably do hold our shoulders a little high and tense this is generally subconsciously. That is, they are tensed without us realising it. We rarely bring them up through the full range of movement.
The ability to move the shoulders up high is essential for some other yoga postures where the arms are raised overhead (e.g., warrior 1, handstand).
Being able to bring the shoulders up high also helps to traction (lengthen your spine), especially when combined with softening the sitting bones down.
Taking the shoulders high and holding for a time also gets us to move them through the full range of movement. If you release the shoulders down after holding them high for a little time you will often find they relax down more.
Armpits down
I also ask us to move the armpits down towards the waist. Moving the armpits towards the waist firms the inner and outer armpit muscles.
It also causes the muscles on top of the shoulders to relax through a spinal reflex known as reciprocal inhibition. This basically means that when I firm a particular set of muscles, the muscles that cause the opposite movement to occur will relax. If you hold tension on top of your shoulders then this is a great little trick to do a few times a day. Just don't overdo it. Do not firm to your full capacity. Be relaxed and calm.
Shoulder blades forward
Pressing the shoulder blades forward helps strengthen muscles on the front and sides of the chest. When held for a few breaths this can also cause relaxation of the muscles that squeeze the shoulder blades together.
Moving the shoulder blades forward also naturally causes the upper spine to bend forward. Over the years I have found that a lot of people spend a good deal of time being too straight--with shoulders pulled back and chest puffed up. If you ever get pain between the shoulders blades or tired between the shoulder blades after sitting for some time then moving the shoulder blades forward like this can help relieve the fatigue and/or tension.
I find that I need to be particularly mindful of head and neck position when I press my shoulder blades forward or I get a little tense around the throat.
Shoulder blades drawn back
Drawing the shoulder blades back is something most of us are familiar with. Some people will find this really difficult if they habitually slump or have their shoulders rounded, however.
At a particular point in the sequence I bring my shoulder blades back, then I press my armpits down. From there I interlace my hands behind my back as this is comfortable for me to do. It might not be comfortable for you so you do not need to interlace the hands and you can just keep the shoulder blades back and down. Remember do not force this action. Do not force any action.
Holding the shoulder blades back together will cause the muscles that draw them forward to relax a little.
Head/Neck Movements
This sequence also has some combined head/neck movements. Make these movements small. So small it feels like your head is floating. Do not move the head as much as it can move. Be cautious and alert to any disturbing sensations. Correct practice can help your neck problems (I have them myself--you might notice how asymmetrical my head is atop my shoulders) but incorrect practice can aggravate.
Throat lightly forward, chin lightly up
At certain points in the practice I do what looks like taking my head up or looking up. However, this is two movements. The first movement is me pushing my throat lightly forward. The second movement is me taking my chin lightly up.
When performed correctly it should feel like the front of the neck is lengthening without squashing the back.
Chin to the middle of the throat
I also direct us to bring the chin to the middle of the throat. That action is also two movements. Here, the throat moves lightly backward and the chin moves down towards the middle of the throat.
When performed correctly it should feel like the back of the neck is lengthened without squashing the front.
Chin to the shoulder, ear tipped away
At certain times in the practice the head is facing in a different direction to the centre of the chest. If this is the case, then I tip the chin in towards the shoulder that my head is closest to and I tip my ear away from that shoulder. I do this in twisting and side bending.
When performed correctly it should feel like both sides of the neck is lengthened.
I pop on a good song and do this type of practice throughout the day, especially if I have been sitting down for a long time. It helps bring circulation into the shoulders, upper back, and neck area as well as improving overall mobility.
There are many ways to move and I tend to encourage finding ways to move that help you find freedom.
If your neck is squashing when you turn it then you are not in freedom. In this post I want to offer a way to turn the head and neck so it is free rather than squashed.
I learned these tips from courses and classes with Simon Borg Olivier and Bianca Machliss of Yoga Synergy. It is always good to go direct to the source so please take a class or log onto their website for lots of interesting stuff.
I previously posted on a way to move your shoulders to free your neck. In that post it was suggested you can move your armpits down towards your waist so the upper shoulders and neck can move more easily.
I am one of those people with neck issues, which is perhaps why I like to post about freeing it.
I like to think my neck issues started courtesy of a man who did not give way to me riding on my bicycle and smashed into me. This resulted in my head spearing through the windscreen of his car. I thank the bike police (who'd caught me riding without a helmet a few weeks previously and who put the fear of spinal injury into me with their caution) for saving my life.
The man was also nice about it and, after staying around to peel me off the road (where it appeared that I had only experienced a few seconds of unconsciousness and a few scratches), he drove me to uni and fixed my bike.
Anyway, since then I have experienced 'weirdness' in the upper spine. I don't know what it is, and am not inclined to have scans, so I just call it weird since it is not normal and go about helping myself with yoga.
I do know that if I don't turn my head mindfully, to the left in particular, sometimes it jams up and I have had weird (that word again!) sorts of spasms occasionally.
Even if you have never head-butted a windscreen, chances are your neck is an area that can feel stiff and problematic due to the way most of us tend to move and work.
That said, I was really glad to discover the way of turning the head to the side that I describe below. It creates space on both sides of the neck, lengthening the side you turn to rather than jamming it.
The Short of It
If you just turn your head to the side the side of the neck in the direction you are facing shortens or squashes.
To prevent this squashing bring your chin towards the middle of the throat before your turn. Then, once your head has turned towards the shoulder, move the ear away from the shoulder you are looking towards.
It's pretty much that simple.
The Long of It (Applied To Postures)
There are lots of postures where you turn your head to the side, although you might not think of them that way.
The basic twisting postures are obvious ones--usually the torso turns and then the head turns to look over one shoulder. It is often the back shoulder but can be the front.
You don't actually have to turn the head--you can keep it in line with the centre of the chest (which is in line with the spine)--but most of us will turn it and often turn it excessively.
Excessive turning of the neck is because the neck is much more mobile in turning (rotation) than the rest of the spine so you will feel like you are twisting more if you turn your head more.
And while it might be good for the ego remember it is not our ego you are practicing for.
A spinal twist should be a twist from the whole spine from the base up rather than a big twist at the neck.
Aside from the more traditional and obvious twists, there are other postures that we turn our head in.
Trikonasana and parsvakonasana are two of them.
These are two postures where students typically feel discomfort in their neck if they do not hold it right.
I believe this is because many of us turn the head to look up in those postures without thinking about what it is doing to the neck.
You must remember that when you look up in these postures you are actually turning the neck so the basic principles I outline here are relevant.
So what to do about this pain in the side of the neck when turning it to the side?
Look for freedom rather than squashing
The main thing to remember in any posture is you are looking for a feeling of comfort. In the neck you don't want to feel squashed or restricted in any direction. Being mindful of this is the first thing you can do for yourself: if you notice squashing then do something about it.
Move slowly and smoothly
You can also make sure that you move slowly and smoothly. Moving slowly and smoothly is part of mindful movement and you will be able to stop before any discomfort arises.
Initiate movement from the base up
To help reinforce mindful movement you can try initiating your movements from the base of the spine first and moving the neck and head last. That is, in a twist you could try initiating movement from the navel, lower ribs, chest, collarbones first and then mindfully position the head.
Position the neck and head: Chin in, ear away from the shoulder you are looking towards
With mindful, slow, smooth movement that is initiated from the base up you can then make sure that when you turn your head to the side you move the chin towards the shoulder you are looking towards and the ear away from it.
Summary
Whenever you turn your head to the side you are likely to squash the side you are turning towards.
A basic principle in yoga is to lengthen without squashing.
To avoid squashing the neck when you turn it to the side, keep the chin in and move the ear away from the shoulder you are turning towards.
It helps to be mindful that you might be squashing, and to move slowly, smoothly, and from the bottom of the spine to the top.
I hope this trick helps you find freedom. Please do not do anything that causes discomfort and talk to your yoga teacher if you need help.
The Short Of It
Necks are delicate structures. If you are going to try anything I suggest, always move mindfully and slowly. If something hurts, don't do it. See your yoga teacher for guidance or get to my class where I can explain more fully!
One of the reasons we can take our arms up is to traction the spine, but, if done incorrectly or with too much vigour, you risk squashing your neck and/or your lower back.
Stand comfortably, moving the weight towards the toes, bending the knees slightly, and lengthening the lower back by pushing the sitting bones down and forward. This also firms the lower belly in a way that you can still breathe into it.
Start by remembering that you don't actually have to take your arms overhead. They can always stay by your side and you can just be there standing and breathing.
If it feels ok to take them up then try taking them up in a forwards direction rather than out to the side (although it is not wrong to do that).
Pull the armpits down towards your waist. Then, emphasise a forward movement of the armpits as you take the arms up. The shoulder blades will feel like they come around your ribcage and hug onto the ribs and the upper back will feel broad.
As the arms come up, roll the underside of the arms towards the face so the inner elbows start to point towards you. This will free the neck. If you move the arms so the inner elbows point away from you it is likely you will feel congestion in the neck.
Keep pushing forward with the armpits.
As you get to just after parallel to the floor, start pushing the armpits forward and up. Do not lose the forward in favour of the up. As you go higher the armpits will want to start to roll out to the side and move back so you will need to consciously keep moving them forward.
If, as you raise the arms, you feel the back start to arch then stop taking the arms up. Be content to stay where you are knowing this is a good place for your spine.
Reach out long through the elbows, wrists and fingers. They are firm but not tense.
As you keep moving the arms towards the head, keep pushing forward and up and keep rolling the inner arms to your face.
Relax, breathe, be content.
Once the arms are as high as they can be with comfort and freedom, drop the sitting bones lower without dropping the arms. The spine should lengthen.
The Long Of It
It can be hard writing about physical things. Sometimes words do not capture what you are trying to convey. So, as you read, do so with reflection and remember that nothing beats the guidance of an experienced senior teacher. I recommend getting to either Paddy McGrath or Simon Borg Olivier or Bianca Machliss if you can. If you come to me I will do my best to pass on their teachings with the respect and intelligence they deserve.
One thing I have always tried to look for in my practice is freedom. A feeling of freedom. A feeling that my body is moving as though through water.
So as you read my posts offering ideas on ways to move into, be in, and move out of postures please remember that I am always writing from a place to help you find freedom--particularly spinal freedom.
If something I say (or something you interpret me as saying) does not bring freedom or if it brings pain then stop.
I say this all because I want to talk about freeing the neck. The neck is a pretty delicate area of the body on most of us, and it is often injured or the source of some discomfort. When following any guidelines on how to move your neck and head remember to move slowly, mindfully, and search for freedom.
At Your Desk
One thing that you can do in your daily life to help free your neck as you sit at your desk (or anywhere else), and I have posted on this before, is to actively press your armpits down towards your waist.
This action activates muscles below the armpits, which can cause a relaxation response in the muscles that do the opposite action (that is, muscles that pull the shoulders up).
If the muscles that pull the shoulders up are really tight you might even feel them stretching when you press your armpits down. But, actively pressing them down for a few slow breaths should eventually help the tight muscles to relax a little.
At our desk our arms are generally by our side so the instruction to press armpits to waist is valid, if over-simplified.
In yoga our arms are in all sorts of positions--sometimes out to the side, sometimes overhead, sometimes behind us. This is significant because position of our arms has a huge bearing on what happens in our neck.
Here I want to focus on how arm position when the arms move overhead can be done in a way that frees the neck (good) or in a way that leads to compression and pain (not so good).
Physical Purpose Of The Posture
I believe there is a common misunderstanding amongst some students that the arms need to be taken so they are level with the ears to be doing poses (where the arms are up) correctly. Perhaps this is because they believe the purpose of the pose is to get the arms up and then take them as far back as possible.
However, this results in some people taking their arms too far back at the expense of their necks and, possibly, their lower backs.
Taking the arms too far back in these overhead positions, while not wrong, can be uncomfortable.
It is perfectly fine to have the arms up but in front of the face. In fact, it would be fine to not even take the arms up at all if it is uncomfortable.
It all comes down to understanding why you are doing a particular pose in the first place. In most cases the answer will never be that you are doing a pose so you can take your arms overhead! It is more likely that you are doing the pose (speaking from a physical or anatomical perspective) to traction or lengthen the spine and to create more mobility and stability in the shoulder joint.
So bear the purpose in mind.
If your aim is to bring length to the spine and mobility and stability to the shoulder joint complex then be mindful of these things as you move.
If taking the arms up starts to cause tension in the neck or lower back then reassess how you are moving them and try to correct the movement (I offer some tips below) and if that does not work, stop doing the movement until you get the chance to speak to your yoga teacher who can give you more personal attention.
If taking the arms up causes pain or discomfort in the shoulder joint then, again, reassess how you are moving and stop if pain persists. See a suitably qualified teacher who should be able to point you in the right direction.
Common Causes of Discomfort
From observation, there are a few common things that could be causing or contributing to tension in the neck and spine when moving the arms.
First is the misconception that you need to take the arms up at all when there is pain or discomfort. Unless a suitably qualified professional has directed you to do so (sometimes they do) then do not take your arms up if it is painful.
Second, there is a misconception that if the arms are up then they need to be taken back so they are level with your ears. This type of movement is not available to a lot of people and, if attempted, is likely to cause discomfort. So, don't try to take them back as far.
Third, there is a tendency for some people to roll their inner arms outwards so the inner elbows point away from the face as the arms come up higher. Rolling the arms that way can squash the neck. As the arms come up you need to be rolling the inner arms towards your face so that you can see the inner elbows. [Here I am starting from an understanding that you are taking the arms forward and up and not to the side and up].
Moving Towards Freedom
Here is an alternative way to bring the arms up that should bring freedom. It brings the focus to the armpits and shoulder blades, with an emphasis on pushing the armpits forward and up rather than taking the arms back as far as you can.
1. Bring your hands into namaste: palms together, thumbs at the nose. Check your neck is relaxed.
2. Set your base: feet comfortable, weight shifting forward into the toes, knees slightly bent, sitting bones moving down and forward (a little like a scared dog). This should bring a light firmness to the abdomen and lengthen the lower back. This is a foundation you want to keep. Try not to move the top of the pelvis forward. Keeping the lower back long will help you to traction the spine as the arms move overhead.
3. Lightly press the armpits down towards the waist.
4. With palms together start to push your armpits forward, push your elbows forward. You will feel this is an action of scapula protraction--the shoulder blades move around the side of the ribcage. As you do this keep the elbows moving towards one another rather than letting the move apart.
5. Start to straighten the elbows. As you do so let the hands come apart. They'll come to be about shoulder width apart.
6. Reach out through the elbows, wrists, and fingers so they are firm but not tense. The arms will be parallel to the floor. Keep pushing the armpits forwards like you are trying to reach out for something just beyond your reach. You might stay here. That is ok. Breathe and relax and be content.
7. If it feels ok, then go further. Start to push the armpits forward and up. As you do so keep rolling the inner elbows towards your face. Breathe and relax. Move slowly. Be mindful that as you take the arms up the spine might start to arch. Do not let the spine arch so stop if it starts. Remember to keep pushing the armpits forward and up. Don't lose the forward movement as this is what will help free the neck once the arms come up higher.
8. Keep checking that your neck is free as you move. Keep breathing and relaxing the face, throat, neck.
9. At a certain point--perhaps when the arms are about 45 degrees from being overhead--the upward movement will feel more predominant than the forward movement. That is ok. Just don't lose the forward movement. Reach up and reach forward. Move slowly and mindfully. Keep rolling the inner elbows in towards your face. If they start to roll out then stop and be happy where you are.
10. Keep stretching out through the elbows, wrists and fingers in a way that is firm but not tense.
11. Once your arms are as forward and up as they can comfortably be lengthen the spine more by letting the sitting bones drop down and forward. Imagine you are holding onto a tree branch and everything is lowering from there.
12. Relax, breathe, be content.
A Final Note
If you watch my video you might notice a few things. If you look really closely you will see I have an asymmetry in the movement of my arms. So you can see I am not perfect. What a relief. I bring to yoga my old injuries, one of which being a car accident many years ago. Do not worry about asymmetry. Be mindful that it is there.
I also had a point about 18 months ago where a lot of stress at work and some inappropriate work tasks contributed to a severe spasm that meant I could not even lift that arm. You know what I did? I kept up my practice. I even kept teaching. This was to the surprise of my students I think. But I knew that I could still practice yoga without arms. I just didn't take my arms overhead. I didn't do work on my hands. I did gentle movement with my shoulders to keep the blood and energy moving through the joints as best I could until I recovered, which I did and fairly quickly.
You might also notice that at times I do funny things with my jaw, I swallow, I wobble my head around, I lick my lips. You can't really see but I also sometimes do things with my eyes to relax them too. I am intentionally trying to free up the muscles around my neck, throat, and head that get tense when I am not mindful.
In this video you can also see that at times I have to keep reminding myself to stretch out through my fingers. I am concentrating on what I am doing with my shoulder blades and armpits so much that sometimes the fingers get slack. So, don't worry if you forget certain things! In my practice I am constantly forgetting things and then bringing them back to mindful awareness. That is part of the practice of yoga. Continually bringing yourself back in touch with your body.
Summary
Taking the arms overhead should be an action that brings freedom and length to your spine but which can cause squashing and tension if not done appropriately.
Remember to move the shoulder blades forward and up and keep rolling the inner elbows towards your face. Move slowly, check in with your neck, and don't allow the back to arch as you take the arms up.
Stop if there is any discomfort or unease. Relax. Breathe. Be content.
It's probably both safe and fair to say that most of us come to yoga looking to free our necks of the incremental tension that has built up in our bodies over the years.
Habitual hunching of slight shrugging of the shoulders affects many modern people, sometimes without our knowledge.
But, if you draw your awareness to your neck and shoulders this very second you may think things feel normal. However, try to pull the shoulders down and, if you are like most people, you will probably realise your were holding slight tension in them without even knowing it.
Even the slightest bit of tension in the muscles that draw your ears and shoulders closer can restrict freedom of movement in the neck, especially when turning it to the side or looking up or down. Over time this can either just become an annoying niggly sensation every now and then or it lead to more chronic pain.
So here is a trick.
Think about your armpits.
Really think about them.
The armpits are hollow depressions under the shoulder. The hollow of the armpit area is bordered on either side by two chunky muscles. This is a good thing. Knowing this is part of the trick.
The muscle to the front (grab it and feel) is the pectoralis major muscle. The muscle to the back (grab it and feel) is the latissimus dorsi muscle.
Pecs and Lats: Two important armpit muscles
There are more muscles around the armpit but we will stick with these because they are the most important for our purposes.
Now that you know where these two big and important muscles are , the real trick is trying to activate them. Here is the cue. In sitting or standing try to actively draw your armpits down towards your waist. Don't think about the shoulders--just the armpits. Move the armpits down. Relax and breathe naturally. Natural breathing is breathing into a soft abdomen (like a baby). Let everything else be soft.
What you will notice is that moving the armpits down also drags the shoulders down, freeing up space for your neck.
Now release and gently turn your head from side to side. Slowly. Mindfully. Notice anything different?
For most of us, pulling the armpits down will allow your head to turn more freely. There is a new feeling of spaciousness as though the head is floating atop of the spine, which is how we want it to feel.
Try this trick throughout the day. You don't have to pull your armpits down very hard. Try a gentle downward movement that isn't too taxing. Perhaps about 20 percent of your capacity.
Once you know this trick you can do it anytime, anywhere. It helps to relax the muscles around our necks that we all like getting massaged so much and allows our neck and head to move in freedom.
Thanks to Simon Borg Olivier and Bianca Machliss for teaching me this trick. Link to their Yoga Synergy site on my home page.
I want to finish by adding that while I used to believe that taking the shoulders up to the ears was a 'wrong movement' I now know better. In my yoga practice I regularly take my shoulders up high around my ears as, with the arms extended, it can help traction the spine. I will post on this later.
For now it is sufficient to say that while this trick is about taking the shoulders down and away from the head, there are times when it is appropriate to take them up towards the head. The thing is, you probably don't want to live with them stuck half way and with your upper shoulders and neck chronically tense. If you overdo this trick and just hold your shoulders down all of the time it wouldn't be good for you either. Your body needs to move and our job is to learn to move safely in all ranges of motion that are available to us.
Happy and safe practicing!
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