Three easy postures for tight neck and shoulders

There's some good stuff happening in Chakra Savvy: Reset Your Life Game Plan  right now, and I wanted to let you in a bit. We are focusing on the fifth chakra, or the area of the neck, throat, and upper shoulders.  This is the energetic bottleneck between our ideas and manifesting them in the world.  It's also the bottleneck between our feeling and emotions, felt in the lower chakras, and our ability to speak, them, understand them, and gain insight from them, which is the work of the upper chakras.  No wonder we get tight!  There can be quite an internal traffic jam. And with all the digital devices we use and driving we do, which tends to pull and tighten our necks and shoulders, we need to do some good stretches on the daily.  (If you want to check out your work space ergonomics and make sure you're set up for success, try my YouTube video Work Space Healthy Habits.)

It doesn't even have to be a long or complicated yoga sequence. 

These are my three favorite postures to do when things upstairs get a little tight:

Eagle Pose Arms Plus Head Tilt: With one arm in front of you at a 90 degree angel, sweep the other elbow underneath and wind the forearm around so the palm side of your hands face each other.  With your head in neutral and shoulders down, breathe deeply and expand the space between your shoulder blades. Relax the shoulders more with every exhale.  Then, after several breaths, tilt your head in the opposite direction as the top elbow.  Breathe deeply, letting the neck stretch, for 5-8 breaths. Repeat on the other side.  *To modify for shoulder injury, skip the elbows winding and simply press the fingertips together in front of you, elbows at a comfortable height.  Draw your shoulder blades down, then softly tilt your head to each side.  

Cosmic Head Rest: Interlace your fingers and cup the back of your head with your hands, placing the thumbs at the base of your skull.  Lift your chest up high, move your elbows wide, and gently press the back of your head into your hands. Draw your shoulder blades down your back.  Toning the back body can help open the front body and expand your capacity for beautiful, deep, stress-relieving breaths! Enjoy the yummy shoulder and chest opening here for 5-8 long, deep breaths.

Invisible Walls Stretch: No need to stretch far!  Simply flex your wrists, straighten your arms, and push two invisible walls away from you.  The key is to not take the arms beyond your shoulders.  Your thumbs are within or just barely outside your periphery as you look straight ahead.  The goodness is in the details: For the first 3-4 breaths, focus on pressing out between your index finger and thumb.  For the next 3-4 breaths, focus on pressing out through the long line of your pinkies.  No need to strain the muscles across your chest, arms and neck.  Less is more! 

If you're in monthly Donation-Based Hatha or Chakra Savvy, you know this stuff already, as we practice these all the time!  But for all of us, have you thought to sprinkle these into your everyday life?  Take a quick work break or do these on your road trip pit stop.  A little goes a long way when it comes to opening up your body and getting relief from tension and tightness. If you're looking for even more deliciousness like this, as well as a deeper understanding of the chakra system, enroll in Chakra Savvy Seven for $7 and enjoy the full 5th chakra practice (along with all the others)! 

Let me know how it goes! 

Much love,

Jess