Sometimes, all it takes is one email or phone call to put your shoulders on the ceiling and give you a special kind of headache. Let's see if we can take a moment to reverse the damage.
Sit up straight and tall in your chair with your arms resting at your sides and press your shoulders back into the chair. This should lift your lower ribs a bit and that's fine, just engage your abdominals so your back is protected and not arching. Take a very deep breath in, filling your belly. Hold it for 3-4 seconds, then exhale slowly. Repeat this deep breath 3 times more.
Next. keeping your shoulders as relaxed and as far down as possible, place just your fingertips on the back of your head, not locking your fingers. A good place to put them is on either side of the deep indentation at the back of your head. Pull your shoulder blades together and down, and keep pressing your shoulders into the chair behind you, still keeping your abdominals engaged. The idea here is to keep your spine as straight as possible to get the best quality stretch. Go slowly, respect your neck.
Now, take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, bring your elbows in alongside your ears and slowly drop your chin to your chest. Your ribs should only drop a little so you can feel the stretch along your upper spine, between the tops of your shouders and maybe down a bit.
Keep your elbows next to your ears and parallel to each other, and your chin dropped, and pretend someone's just called you over to your right. Keep your shoulders relaxed and down and turn your head to look under your right armpit. You're doing it correctly when you feel a stretch along the top of the right side of your shoulder. Hold for a few seconds.
Bring your chin back to your chest and continue to the left, as though someone's just called you over to your left. Keep your shoulders relaxed and down and turn your head to look under your left armpit. You're doing it correctly when you feel a stretch along the top of the left side of your shoulder. Hold for a few seconds.
Bring your chin back to your chest and relax your arms down to your sides as you take another deep belly breath in, hold it for 4 seconds and then release it slowly. Drop your chin slowly to your chest, do a very slow neck roll to the right and all the way around, then just as slowly reverse it to the left.
As you raise your head, relax your shoulders down and see if you don't see things a bit better now.
Have a big glass of water and a really good Monday.
Teri, time to hoof it around the neighborhood for just 15 minutes. enjoy!
Elaine
