Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1102144
Notice what happens as you become willing to be with and express the sensations you are experiencing. Oftentimes, our relationship with a specifi c area changes as we connect to it. What surprises you about your neck? Notice whether you're moving toward or away from your neck's inner expression. What does noticing your neck remind you of? What kind of stories do you tell about your neck? Is there something you can appreciate about your neck? With repeated practice of matching your experience by describing without explaining, you may even notice new sensations in other places; a softening, or perhaps a wider sense of aliveness. Maybe the pains in your neck are simply the result of poor body mechanics or holding patterns and can be resolved with a massage or an adjustment to how you are holding yourself. Check in with how you hold your head when interacting with digital devices, watching television, walking, or driving. Notice whether the pillow you sleep on is too fi rm, soft, fl uffy, or squishy. Maybe your neck project comes from a previous fall, injury, car accident, dental trauma, surgery, or something congenital. In our experience, it is rare that resistance is caused by one singular event. Rather, painful projects often present themselves with a combination of symptoms and intermingling preexisting conditions. Are you willing to open yourself up to all the possible ways to support your alignment and heal your neck? To be a holistic health-care provider and educator, it is our goal to look at, consider, and address injuries, pain, and resistance from a 360-degree perspective. Becoming fl uent in all the languages of the body and being able to presence, face, and acknowledge what's emerging in the moment facilitates deep healing. The following exercise is to support your awareness of your head position, create length, and foster healthy alignment and physical integrity. LENGTHEN AND STRENGTHEN YOUR NECK A common cause of neck projects results from shortened and weakened muscles along the anterior bodies of the cervicals, especially the longus colli. This is a simple and potent way to reclaim cervical alignment and reoccupy the regal length deserved by the neck. Place the fi ngers of your right hand on your chin and gently retract your mandible; that is, slide your lower jaw gently toward your throat without dipping your chin down. Enjoy a deep inhale and, as you exhale, see whether you can gently slide your mandible further posterior and superior (backward and up) as you aim to line up your ears with your shoulder joint and keep the back of your neck long. Repeat for a few more breaths. Each time you inhale, see whether you can lengthen your neck, like a turtle coming out of its shell. And on each exhale, notice whether you can retract your jaw and hyoid bones closer toward your throat. Take a transitional breath after a couple repetitions and open, close, or circle your jaw to relax any lingering effort or strain in your neck. Consider practicing this mandibular retraction hands-free by pressing the back of your head gently into the headrest of your car or lengthen your neck when you're massaging or doing everyday activities. If you'd like to add another layer to this practice, bring your right fi ngers back to your chin and place your left hand on the back of your skull. Inhale as you imagine infl ating your neck to elongate it. On your exhale, maintain the length and mandibular retraction as you nod your chin down. Inhale, center, and elongate; exhale, retract, and extend your head up. Use the gentle assistance of your hands to encourage greater length and strength in all the compartments of your neck as you repeat 3–6 times. There are a multitude of physical and psychological variables that determine whether we experience a happy body, heart, and mind. It's essential we give attention to the structure and form we live in and express through. And it is equally valuable to integrate all the related or seemingly unrelated sensations, thoughts, and feelings arising in the moment to support our integrity and felt sense of wholeness. Matching inner feelings and outer expression reinforces a physical and metaphysical scaffolding that allows for a free body, clear mind, and open heart. And, consciously moving and caring for your body releases the noose of tension around your mind, heart, and body. Choosing to see yourself and your clients as a miraculous whole, rather than a bunch of parts sewn together, opens the faucet of our expression and allows for the free fl ow of life energy to support your ease, wellness, and creativity. Heath and Nicole Reed are co-founders of Living Metta (living "loving kindness") and want everyone in the world to enjoy the experience of befriending their body. The Reeds lead workshops and retreats across the country and overseas, including Thailand and Bulgaria, and have been team-teaching touch and movement therapy for 17 years. In addition to live classes, the Reeds offer massage therapy and self- care videos, DVDs, and online trainings, which may be found at www.livingmetta.com. Ta k e 5 a n d t r y A B M P F i v e - M i n u t e M u s c l e s a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / f i v e - m i n u t e - m u s c l e s . 27 Watch "Self-Care for the Neck"