Welcome all, make yourself comfortable and let us begin.
I know most of you have been working from home, slumped over a make shift desk with probably not the best chair. Your neck aches, your hamstrings are tight and everything feels a little, off. Sound about right?
Here’s a quick and simple stretch sequence to help loosen those knots and ease some of the discomfort that’s built up all day. All you need is a rolling pin or a broomstick if you don’t have the former.
The rolling pin works because you are working with your edge in the yoga pose. Your edge is that comfortable but challenging place that you come to in a yoga pose.
Let’s start sitting down, cross your legs and take the rolling pin above your head holding it at either end and keep your arms engaged and straight. Take a moment here then start to move your upper body side to side, over to the right and over to the left, waking up the sides of the body.
After you’ve done that four times on each side, sweep your arms forward and backward over your head four times. It’s important to keep your arms engaged throughout this whole exercise so every muscle is active and responding to the movement.
Now we’ve woken up the torso let’s work on that tech neck that’s been irritating you. Take your rolling pin and place it horizontally behind your neck, lift your head and take a small backbend, you can be seated or standing for this. You just want to open the chest, and neck by lifting your head up and back. Having the rolling pin in place will prevent you from collapsing your head back and create space.
Next, take your arms straight infront of you, holding the pin at either end again and slightly curve your spine like you would doing a cat, cow pose. Drop your head to your chest and keep your arms at 90 degrees. Holding the pin here really helps engage your arms and to release tension from your shoulders and neck, you’ll probably notice a slight difference from your left to right side and that awareness is key. We aren’t symmetrical beings, so having that awareness in your body will help you reach your edge while you do different poses, stretches and inversions.
Finally, if you’re not seated on the floor already, come join me.
Keep one leg straight and bend the other letting the knee fall out to the side like a seated tree pose. Hold the pin above your arms and fold over without letting your arms drop. You’ll know if you’re rounding over too much if you can see the pin. You want to keep your arms straight so you lift up and out of the spine to fold over.
Feel better? I recommend doing this 10 minute sequence every evening after work and you’ll soon start to see your posture improve and that tech neck disappear.