Exercise of the Month: Head Waggle

You can do this exercise anytime, anywhere to release tension at the back of your neck and head. The head waggle is a side-to-side movement (not a yes or a no, but an interesting maybe) of the head on top of the neck. This video shows you how to do it and some other undulations that will make it easier.



A colleague who lived in India for a while observed this interesting culteral movement and surmises that it is the reason why Indians have more fluid structure than Americans.

Exercise of the Month: Nose Circles

The British may be known for their stiff upper lips, but Americans may be known by our stiff necks. Tension at the base of the skull, limited range of motion in the neck, and headaches are experienced by many adult Americans – especially if you sit in front of a computer. Here’s a quick and easy exercise to take the pain out of your neck, called Nose Circles.

1. Sit with good posture so your spine is aligned, shoulders are relaxed and head is not forward.
2. Put your palm flat against your nose. Draw a circle with your nose on your hand. The smoother you can make the circles, the more tension you will release.
3. Go the other way.
4. Spiral in and out.
5. When you get the hang of it, you don’t need your hand against your nose. You can just draw the circles in the air.

This contracts and relaxes the suboccipital muscles at the base of the skull so the head can float more freely on top of the spine.

This exercise is excerpted from the newly published, 7 Undulations to Relieve Office Tension, available for free by clicking on the link.

Exercise of the Month: Strengthen Your Neck Core Muscles

Head Turns
Stand at a wall with your knees bent. Feel your buttocks, upper back, shoulders, and back of your head on the wall. There should be a small space between the wall and your low back and also the back of your neck.

1. Lengthen the back of your neck and slightly tuck your chin so your face is not turned up nor down. This position alone may tax your neck core. If you feel the muscles in your neck working, stay in this position and breathe deeply for several breaths.
2. Once you feel comfortable in the position, add head turns. Turn only as far as you can without any twinges or pain in your neck.
3. Swivel your face to the right as the back of your head turns to the left. You will hear your hair sliding on the wall if the center of the movement comes from the center of your neck, which is what you want.
4. Turn both directions up to three times.
   

You can print this exercise and tape a copy to your bathroom mirror as a reminder. Notice how much better your neck feels and how your range of motion improves with just one minute of daily exercise. (It's pretty good for your thighs, too.)

This next exercise strengthens the neck core even more.

Neck Flexion
Lie on the floor with your knees bent and feet on the floor.

1. Put a finger at the base of your skull and lift your skull, but not the rest of your neck, off the floor about an eighth of an inch and rest back down gently. This movement is too tiny to show up on a photograph.
2. Remember that core movements are slow and small.
   
3. Feel down your neck for a bony bump, which is the back of a vertebra. Now lift this bump and the base of your skull, but not the rest of your neck, up just a tiny bit. Lift and release gently, slowly, just a fraction of an inch using each vertebra in your neck as the pivot point.
4. Don’t Do Any Movement That Hurts! You want to feel the muscles in the front of your neck doing the lifting, not the muscles in your chest or abdomen.

Get a Grip on Tension

Tension doesn’t only come from big, stressful situations like a pile of unpaid bills, pending deadlines, or an argument with your spouse. Tension can creep in through your hands when you least expect it and covertly lodge itself right between your shoulder blades.

How can you get a grip on your stress and stop tension in its tracks? The secret is to loosen your grip.

Is your hand on the computer mouse? Notice how much pressure you are using and its effect into your shoulder and neck. Relax your fingers, palm and wrist. Use a feather touch to move the mouse. Every time you loosen your grip, you turn tension into comfort and take pressure off your carpal tunnel.

A common stressful environment is the car. Release tension there by loosing your grip on the steering wheel. Turn the wheel with relaxed palms and flexible fingers. The fluid motion will translate up your arms and relieve the tightness in your shoulders.

Anything you put your hands on—-a pen, the telephone, your toothbrush-—can increase your tension or release it. Turn your iron grip into a liquid caress and feel some of your stress melt away.

Everyday Exercise 3: Bending Over

We bend over every day, to unload the dishwasher, pick something off the floor, or put on our shoes. Each forward bend gives you the opportunity to create tension in your neck -- or to let go of it.

Notice the tendency for your eyes to be the center of movement with the head craned forward to see what you're doing. This excess contraction creates tension in the back of your neck, right where many of us feel pain.

Instead, let your neck relax and your head hang down before you come back up.

Also, press into your feet and use the muscles through your entire legs, front and back, to start the movement. Be sure that your tush muscles contract before your low back and that your abdominal muscles are engaged.

It's a very different experience, one of relaxation and strength, rather than the typical one of contraction and tension.

How many times can you build this into your day?