A Posture How To – Release Neck Muscle Tension

Here’s a posture how to – It’s about discovering the power the shoulder blades have to release neck strain.

The strategy is to find the action of the shoulder blades, to take the pressure off the neck muscles.

Posture How To Instructions

So first, touch them. Just wrap your arm around yourself so that your hand touches the flat triangular bone in the back. Through the medium of touch, notice things about it – the size shape, where the boarders are, etc. There’s a tip at the bottom, and from there you can move over to the side, which is next to the spine. Then reach over and touch the outside. There’s a boarder on top, too, although that’s not actually the technical top of the shoulder blade. Just the same it’s important, so touch that area of the bone, too.

Repeat on other side.

Now lift both arms up so they are in front of you, perpendicular to your body. Don’t lock your elbows. Keep them straight with a bit of bend.

The first shoulder blade movement we’ll do is called protraction/retraction. Bring those blades forward and then squeeze them in back. Repeat a few times. Apply awareness to this simple movement. Notice what your arms do when you concentrate on the action of your shoulder blades in back. This is a basic therapeutic movement for the upper back.

By squeezing in back you build up the rhomboids. This helps keep the upper back straight, tall and pain free. It addresses kyphosis, which is that hump in the back you may have seen, particularly in people who are older. Congrats, you just retracted your shoulder blades.

Now for protraction, the opposite movement from retraction. In protraction, you actually increase that kyphosis. So pay attention to how that feels when you protract your shoulder blades. Congrats, not only did you protract your shoulders, you also developed some awareness about the way in which your body moves. It’s the attention to the feeling that develops exquisite skill in motion and stillness. And it’s the basis for using motions to heal your posture and pain.

Try this again, and check that the action is started and continued from those shoulder blades. Too often we lose track of how we move our shoulders. Then it becomes an exercise that stresses the muscles on the tops of the shoulders – not your best mechanical advantage, that’s for sure.