Do you ever suffer from neck or shoulder pain?
It’s common in today’s society when we’re all looking down at our smart phones and lap tops so often.
I had a request from a follower recently, to share some neck stretches in my ‘Mondays on the Mat’ blog.
So today I want to show you some of my favourite stretches to relieve tension in the neck and upper traps (neck/upper back muscles).
I regularly finish my classes with these stretches because it’s such a neglected area.
We don’t always think about stretching our neck, and yet it works really hard to hold up our head (of about 7kgs) and compensate for our sometimes poor posture!
You can watch the video and the exercises are listed below as well.
PS: be sure to leave me a comment in the comments below if you found this useful and share with a friend who you know would need it. 🙂
Stretches to relieve neck & shoulder tension
Align the head on the neck
– In a seated up right position.
– Place hand on back of nape of neck or back of head
– Gently press the skull back slightly so it aligns more on top the neck
– You can hold this for 5 – 10 seconds
Tips
– Make sure you are already seated in good posture and looking forward to start
Neck stretch 1
1. Sitting up right
– Always looking forward, drop Right ear towards right shoulder
– Make sure your body is not leaning it’s your neck bending.
– To add more intensity reach the left arm slightly to the floor
– Change sides
2. Repeat but also add turning the head slightly to look at the arm pit, feeling more stretch in the back and side of the neck.
– Change sides
3. Repeat all the above in 1 & 2
– Then roll the head down the front of the body up to the other side, and change, repeat as many times as you like to feel more the back of the neck stretch.
Tips
– Make sure you are already seated in good posture and looking forward to start
Let me know how these stretches go for you i the comments below!
I’d love to hear from you!
Be sure to share with anyone you know who can benefit from these Pilates & stretching tips.
Lots of Love and see you soon on the Mat!
Em xo
Related
World Menopause Awareness Day
As women, we go through different stages in life that shape who we are. Menopause is one of those stages—it can feel overwhelming at times, but it’s also a time when we can really take charge of our health. Menopause isn’t a single moment in time—it’s a journey of...
How to stay consistent with your workouts
How's your consistency when it comes to working out? Apart from my morning stretches, or my go to regular exercises, I know if I don't plan ahead to fit in a workout, it doesn't always happen. I can easily get caught up working or doing other things. So for me, a plan...
Happy Birthday Joseph!
Today is Joseph Pilates' birthday! It's funny how someone I never met and never will meet, has had such a major influence on my life. I'll be be eternally grateful to this man. I still remember my first Pilates class, over 25 years ago. I left feeling amazing......
Thank you so much Emma – you have been my saviour during these tough times
oh I’m thrilled to hear you have got some good benefits xx
Thanks Emma, I have been catching up with some of your videos. These stretches are great.
Fantastic! So glad they help x
Hi. I can’t get the neck and shoulder video to play.
It’s a Facebook video link – could that be why?
Hi Emma
Thank you SO very much!
I have been having neck pain for the past week that has been causing headaches and nausea These stretches helped immensely
Oh I’m so glad it helped! Thank you for letting me know. Keep doing them. Do you have desk set up at home and work on the lap top ? It is important to make sure this is set up properly. I will be sending out info on this too at some stage. Em x
Thanks Emma. I’ve been getting such a stiff neck working on my laptop at home. I’m definitely going to set a timer to do these stretches every hour. Feels great!
Fantastic! Great they are useful!! XX
Thanks Emma! I’m really enjoying your videos! We have had such a strict lockdown in South Africa and are going into day 56 tomorrow! Doing your classes has been so awesome and I’m trying to do some every day.
So glad you are doing the classes and it’s helping! Sounds very strict back there xx
Hi Emma! Thank you so very much for recognizing my plea to show these exercises once again! I have tried some of these before but the ones coming from you is most helpful.. maybe because it has some personal touch in the way you do it! Please keep sending more ,it is a big help for my cervical spondylosis . Have a blesses week ahead
Hi Mari!
Thank you for your message.
My pleasure, I’m so glad these stretches helped you.
Thank you for your kind words as well.
Very nice to hear from you.
You too have a great week.
Em 🙂