Your neck will thank you.

(read time: 2 min)

I talked with a physical therapist and she knew what was going on immediately. She showed me the RIGHT way to relieve stress held in the neck, and it was NOT letting it hang forward, a common misconception.

This stretch is your boost this week. Spoiler alert, decompressing your neck has big benefits in other parts of your life too, like your mental health.

YOUR BOOST

Get in the habit of stretching your neck by reaching your head toward this sky, then gently tilting your head back. Do this for a count of 20-30 seconds, as many times a day as feels good.

THE SCIENCE

You live in a modern world of looking down; at your phones, your computer, while cooking, and even while walking to avoid the gaze of others. This downward immersion in and of itself signals internal stressors. But the physical act of looking down all the time shows up acutely in your neck. It pinches together the front part of the discs in the neck (your cervical spine). This pinching leads to bulging (also called herniation) in the back part of your neck. The result is pain that starts in your neck but that can refer all across your back, and make you feel like giving up.

Back pain and neck pain have long been associated with depression and anxiety, but a new wave of research shows that by targeting the pain through stretching, and other interventions if your neck is really in dire shape, helps to relieve self-reported feelings of anxiety and depression, and increases your quality of life.

TAKE HOME

Let’s be honest, when you are stressed, where do you look? Down! So the front of the neck pinches, the disc bulges backwards, pain ensues and the negative spiral continues. Take a moment each day, or even better, multiple times a day, to stretch your neck by looking up and then tilting back. This one stretch is your gateway to balancing it all out.

No shame, no guilt, just more good days,

Nicole