Headstands and shoulderstands can pose significant risk of injury to the cervical spine including the vertebrae, muscles and fascia.
Why there are no headstands or shoulderstands in my classes
Moving sequence for neck, arms and hands [video]
This is one of my favourite ways to relieve tension in the neck, shoulders and hands. It comes from Yoga Synergy based in Sydney, Australia. The purpose of the gentle moving sequence is to tension and stretch the fascial tissue
Restorative yoga backbend to stretch shoulders, chest and neck [video]
I recently featured a deep active stretch for the shoulders that also stretches the muscles of the chest and sides of the body. However, my favourite way to stretch these muscles is through a restorative yoga backbend. Restorative yoga is
Different head movements for different neck stretches (video)
Over the last few weeks in my classes we’ve experimented with different positions of the head both while standing and laying down, to see how this changes the stretch in your neck, arms and shoulders. I thought it might be
Yoga@work mini videos
At the start of my weekly classes I always ask for requests. Lately, the shoulders, neck and wrists are a re-occurring theme. We can have tension in these areas for many reasons, but it is often made worse by sitting
Restorative yoga for relieving shoulder and neck tension
Simple steps to setup a supported restorative yoga backbend to help release tension in your chest, shoulders, arms, neck and upper back.
Activating core muscles to stretch the neck and improve body awareness
I’ve talked before about using the shoulders to intensify a neck stretch. This is an action you can do in standing poses as well. When you do this in standing poses you get a gentle release of one of the
Stretching the neck while strengthening the arms
Last week I talked about using the muscles of the back and shoulders to pull your shoulders down as a way to stretch the neck. This not only stretches the neck but helps to strengthen the muscles of your core
Stretch the neck by activating your shoulders
I regularly give the cue of relaxing the shoulders down. Not only do we tend to hunch the shoulders up, but some movements of our shoulders and arms cause them to lift up which can compress the neck – an
Simple seated neck stretches
Lots of people have been asking for ways to stretch the neck recently. So here’s a simple approach. Although releasing tension in the neck is often much more about stretching the shoulders, back and chest. Find a comfortable seated position.