Posted on October 3rd, 2011

Question: I have an anxiety disorder that results in lots of neck and shoulder tension - I'm finding that the cat/cow pose helps quite a bit.  Are there any other poses that help with neck tension? Thank you! 

Answer: Cat/Cow pose can be beneficial for restoring some mobility in the neck and releasing neck/shoulder tension. However, Cat/Cow pose works the spinal only in flexion and extension, and you may benefit from other poses than provide even further range of motion. Here are some light poses that will help with restoring neck freedom:

*seated twists that gently have you look over the shoulder - slightly lift the gaze and cheek so you feel the stretch go across the front of your neck
*lying Two Knee Twist - allow your head to passively turn to the one side
*light chest openers (maybe including yoga mudra hand position) - this will help balance your upper body postural muscles
*eagle arms - this will open the region through your shoulder blades
*sitting tall, doing slow gentle half neck circles (avoid rolling your head backwards)

If you have access to MyYogaOnline.com, we recommend the following workshops, videos, and articles to help you add exercises that will alleviate neck tension (I personally recommend drawing attention to the ‘neck retraction’ exercises as they are wonderful for restoring cervical spine balance and flow):

Upper Cross Syndrome

Sitting Exercises for Upper Cross Syndrome

Yoga to the Rescue for Neck and Shoulders

Neck Relief with Yoga Retraction Exercises

Yoga Anatomy: Neck and Shoulder Pain

Expert Q & A provided by My Yoga Online teacher and Co-Founder, Kreg Weiss.

Tags: Yoga Tips, Yoga, Kreg Weiss, Back Pain, Upper Cross Syndrome, neck pain, anxiety, yoga expert, neck tension, shoulder pain, cat pose, neck relief

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