“I have everything now I had twenty years ago - except that now it’s all lower.”
Gypsy Rose Lee
I once caught one of my sons, then aged six, examining my profile very intently. Thinking that I had perhaps forgotten to wipe the toothpaste off my face, I asked him what was wrong. And he replied with a question: “Mom, why have you got just skin around your neck and I have skin AND bone” Well, I guess I would rather be regarded as neckless than spineless, but it didn’t do much for my ego.
So today’s exercise is for all those who need to stick their necks out a bit. It is not a yoga asana as such, but a very good exercise for relieving strained necks and releasing tension in the area. Caution: if you have had a severe whiplash injury, please do not do these exercises.
Stand tall, pulling in your tummy and lifting your chest. Stretch your left arm down the side of your body, stretching into your fingertips. As you inhale stretch your right arm out to the side and up above your head keeping your shoulder down away from your ear. Give yourself a good asymmetrical stretch. Then bend your right arm over the top of your head and place your hand on your left ear. Gently pull your head over to your right shoulder, all the time stretching down into your left hand at your side. Do not use force and do not stretch your neck further than it is comfortable to do so. Hold the position for several seconds, then move your right hand slightly behind your ear, drop your chin straight down onto your chest and slightly to the right. Once again, using your hand, gently pull your head down towards your right breast. Keep stretching into your left fingertips to keep that shoulder down. Release your hand and repeat the exercises to the opposite side.
Holding your head up higher?
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