Almost everyone suffers from neck and shoulder pain at some point in their lives. An injury, poor posture, the way we sleep, all the hunching and slumping we do over our computer all day and most of all, stress, can all lead to chronic neck and shoulder pain.
The good news is yoga can help! This week’s featured classes will help alleviate the stress that accumulates in the neck and shoulders due to our modern lifestyles.
In addition to your practice, be mindful of what contributes to neck and shoulder pain in your daily life – take notice of what’s going on with yourself physically, energetically, mentally, and emotionally throughout your day. Any time you notice that you are slouching forward, try to take a moment to roll your shoulders back and take a deep breath.
- Shoulder, Neck and Upper-Back Flow with Jason Crandell: Your shoulders, neck and upper back need regular maintenance. Release unnecessary tension and help you feel comfortable in your body in an accessible flow practice. Focus on postures that relieve discomfort in your upper body and promote strength and flexibility. Move your entire body and promote your overall well being. Props Needed: A strap.
- Relieve Neck and Shoulder Tension with Marla Apt: Relieve tension in the neck and shoulders with these asanas/arm variations done from Tadasana. This practice is a necessary antidote to the stress that accumulates in the neck and shoulders due to our modern lifestyles. Props Needed: strap, wall, chair (optional)
- Neck & Shoulder Elixir with Amy Ippoliti: Do your neck and shoulders need a reboot? Take this brief time to give them some love and remind yourself of healthy alignment for the spine to support a healthy cervical curve as we age. Props Needed: Wall Space and a strap. Props Suggested: A blanket.
- Reduce Neck and Shoulder Strain with Mary Taylor: Sometimes tension, stress and habitually straining in front of a computer can give us a kink or two in the neck. A sequence of movements that can comfortably relax neck and shoulder muscles to help reduce strain. Props Needed: A blanket and a block. Prop Suggested: Strap.
- Align the Neck & Shoulders Tutorial with Tara Judelle: This 10 minute alignment tutorial focuses on an anatomical strategy for aligning the neck and shoulders to help with tension. Start sitting, do a few standing stretches and conclude with some easeful postures on your back to integrate the new pattern.
- Reduce Shoulder & Neck Restriction with Tias Little: It is all too common for the shoulders to collapse and displace forward due to repetitive strain and overuse of the arms. This may result in pain in the neck region, tension between the shoulder blades and numbness in the arm and hand. The aim of this class is to reduce shoulder and neck restriction and to effectively yoke the shoulder blades onto the back. We will practice joint mobilization techniques to help release strain from the shoulders prior to weight bearing. Props Needed: A block, blanket and strap.
