Somatic Practice: Your Daily Routine for Stiff Upper Back and Neck

30 Minute Class, Anatomy Focus, Audio, Low Intensity, Mobility Drill, Neck, Pain Care Yoga, Podcast, Somatic Education, Thoracic Spine, Upper Body | 0 comments

Somatic Practice

Your Daily Routine for Stiff Upper Back and Neck

Ever felt like you needed some extra TLC for your upper back, neck, and shoulders? You’re not alone. Come along as I guide you through an enriching somatic session, inspired by Feldenkrais method.

This is a sublime practice that will not only bring a peaceful awareness to these often cranky areas, but also provide some valuable somatic learning. Healthy human movement is variable, and the most sophisticated movers have the capacity to move globally. This practice will help you to cultivate both for comfortable movement and posture.

You will need a blanket and a bolster or pillow.

Meet the Traps

Anatomy Focus, Low Intensity, Mobility Drill, Neck, Pain Care Yoga, Shoulder, Thoracic Spine, Trapezius, Upper Body | 0 comments

Yin & Experiential Anatomy

Meet the Traps

In this practice, we unravel the potential an often overlooked and misunderstood part of our bodies. We’ll delve deep into the anatomy and function of the trapezius muscles, introducing you to a range of exercises that help you understand and experience these muscles in a whole new way. Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or a curious beginner, we’re sure you’ll find this exploration fascinating and useful.

In this experiential anatomy approach, I’ll guide you through a series of poses and mobility drills designed to familiarize you with the sensation of your trapezius muscles engaging and releasing. I’ll show you how to actively engage both the lower and upper trapezius muscles and teach you some innovative ways to to experience your shoulder blades, spine and neck.

All you need is a bolster, a couple of yoga blocks, a blanket, and an open mind.

Benevolent Awareness for the Neck and Throat

Low Intensity, Neck, Pain Care Yoga, Podcast, Somatic Education, Throat, Yin & Somatics | 0 comments

Yin & Somatics

Benevolent Awareness for the Neck and Throat

Though the front of the neck and throat are only a very small part of the physical body, they have an oversized role in self hood. This practice is amazing for my listeners with neck pain, but especially valuable for those of us who hold stress in the throat area.

In this gentle practice you will cultivate a benevolent awareness for the front of the neck and throat. My goal is to provide a profound sense of safety for any and all movements of the neck and expressions that come from the throat. You will also find that this class is incredibly soothing. Every time I teach it live, students fall asleep! So I can guarantee that the movements and breathing practices have a powerful effect on your parasympathetic nervous system.

If you have been looking for yoga for neck pain, be sure to save this practice!

Neck Pain Relief

30 Minute Class, Audio, Jaw, Low Intensity, Neck, Pain Care Yoga, Podcast, Shoulder, Somatic Education, Yin & Somatics | 0 comments

Yin & Somatics

Neck Pain Relief

The human neck is a tricky place. It’s a complex experience of musculoskeletal, nervous and vascular tissue. But also bound to thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Any of these components of the neck can contribute to issues here.

For this pod practice I have created a somatic lesson to address this complexity. We will lean mostly in to somatics here with just a couple of Yin poses for gentle tension of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM). This is a very simple practice that you could even do in your bed. All you need is something to rest/slide your head on.

Yin & Somatics: How to Stretch Your Neck

45 Minutes Class, Neck, Podcast | 0 comments

Yin & Somatics

How to Stretch Your Neck

I’m sort of amazed, and appalled, about how much misinformation there is about neck pain. One really irksome myth is that if your neck is tight, some stretching will help bring relief and over time, this stretching will fix the tightness and the pain it is “causing”. Total horse$%I$. Sorry to all of those influencers who are peddling this myth. There are ways that we can use stretches as part of a pain care plan however, and this is what you will practice here. I’ve combined somatics, stretches some resistance and of course, breathing to facilitate a bit of relief in the short term. But I’ve also provided some education to help you understand how these strategies can help you over come this discomfort or pain in the long term.

Props needed: A sturdy Yoga mat, a bolster or very firm and supportive pillow.

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only.NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast.