Asanas for the neck: benefits and technique
During pregnancy, many feel discomfort and try to lighten the load on selected parts of the body. It seems that it is necessary to urgently “save” the back – because it hurts! But dysfunction in the cervical spine creeps up unnoticed, causing no less serious consequences.
Why does this happen? First, because of the weight the body carries, we unconsciously slouch. The body is unprepared! In such situations, we begin to take more and more often a harmful posture of “goose”. When the neck and head protrude forward, the shoulder frame is closed, and the back resembles a question mark.
But the aesthetic side is still half the issue. This deceptively comfortable position affects muscle strain and overload. In a normal state, there shouldn’t be such a strong tone! Just imagine: the head in the tilted position weighs more than in the straight position. It turns out that the muscles of the neck, shoulders, chest need to strain and adapt even more. The muscles change their length: the natural correct position goes away, some of them become excessively lengthened, and some become short.
So, the muscles are in hypertonus, and the muscles we need, on the contrary, do not get the load. The blood circulation in the neck becomes worse, the brain experiences oxygen starvation. You may begin to notice that your head hurts?
Spasm in the neck sometimes leads to a deterioration of sleep, and in the morning after waking up, as if something “jams” between the shoulder and the neck. The problem is not always the posture or the pillow.
To prevent such a condition, as well as to get out of it, it makes sense to practice separate asanas for the neck. Now we will briefly list the main ones. However, it is possible and necessary to approach the problem comprehensively, because not only the neck suffers from such a position. In the programs of “MomsLab” you can find the whole yoga sets that positively influence the general condition during pregnancy.
Hatha yoga for the neck eliminates discomfort and improves circulation. As a result, you feel more alert. Some exercises may seem simple, but with the right technique will have a tremendous effect on your well-being!
Relaxed mountain pose
Sit in a chair – don’t use a couch or a soft chair, you should feel solid support under your pelvic bones. It will also be much easier to keep your back straight on a chair and stool.
Align your back. The head and neck are like an extension of the spine and the top tends upward. The shoulders are relaxed and turned back, and a straight posture is achieved by an erect chest. There shouldn’t be much tension in the back and neck.
Place the legs in front of you at 90 degrees to the floor, palms resting on the thighs. Close your eyes and concentrate on breathing evenly. Each breath further “pulls” the top of your head up, giving it a natural straight position.
Relax your facial muscles – especially your jaw. The tip of your tongue is pressed against your palate.
Stay in the position for a comfortable amount of time.
Flapping the “wings”.
In the previous exercise, we aligned our body position and opened our lungs for more air entrapment. Now we can get circulation between the shoulder blade area, neck, shoulders, and head.
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From the relaxed mountain pose, now extend your arms in front of you. Bend your arms so that your fingers are touching your shoulders from above. Bring your elbows together in front of you on the way out, and on the inhale bring them as far apart as possible. The shoulder blades are pulled toward each other. Five times is enough.
You can complicate the exercise by rotating your arms in a circle.
Turn your head
Banal exercise from school gymnastics, which we resort to when everything really hurts. Now we’re going to do a more complicated version. Try to incorporate it into our daily routine?
Staying in the field of the mountain, bring your hands back and wrap your elbow around the elbow of the opposite arm. This is how we anchor the open chest and give a better stretch for the cervical-collar area.
As you inhale, lean to the side – the opposite shoulder is held in place by grasping the elbow with the palm of your hand. As you exhale, return to the center position. Repeat on the other side.
Lightened bridge
It’s time to stretch not only the neck, but also the spine. We will also tone the glutes and stretch the front surface of the thighs. However, pregnant women can perform the pose only if there are no contraindications or discomfort.
We lie down on the mat with our back and our arms parallel to the body. Bend your knees and bring your legs closer to the buttocks. Breathe out and slowly, vertebrae by vertebrae, begin to lift the coccyx. Imagine that your back is beads. And so you, bead by bead, lift it off the floor. Stop at the first comfortable feeling of stretching. With entry again, vertebrae by vertebrae, return the back to the floor.
Triangle with yoga block.
The pose will help work through the entire spine area, as well as relax your legs.
Spread your legs as wide as you feel comfortable. Arms out to the sides, parallel to the floor. Spread one foot fully to the side. Bend towards the fully turned foot and put your arm on the floor or on a yoga block, standing upright. The other arm is in a straight line with the supporting arm – it’s fully extended upward into the ceiling. Turn your head – behind your free arm.
On the other side, do the same thing.
Our neck yoga is complete, congratulations!
Although yoga for the neck is for the most part a safe practice, there are contraindications. If there have been neck injuries or there are pressure problems, it is worth consulting a doctor before the asanas.
If you do the above exercises daily, you will gradually notice how the discomfort in the cervical-collar area subsides.
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