An Unlikely Cue

Do you often find your shoulders up by your ears – perhaps during exercise, working at your desk or just having a conversation? This is definitely worth paying attention to, since having shoulders that are habitually on the rise can cause a great deal of tension and pain in both the neck and shoulders, sometimes causing headaches and fatigue. So it really is best to be aware of what’s happening in your shoulder area.

And – there IS a way in which raising your shoulders and then releasing them, a deliberate compression and expansion, will liberate these tight areas and leave you feeling more open and relaxed.

Let’s explore:

• Sit on the edge of a chair or stool with your legs in a V position, your feet firmly planted, your spine long and your arms dangling at your sides.
• Raise your shoulders as far up as you can and at the same time push the back of your neck into your shoulders, your chin will raise slightly, arms still dangling. See if you can feel the base of your skull pressed into your shoulders and your shoulders pressed into your neck – like a turtle that receded into its shell. This is the COMPRESSION part of the exercise.
• Now reach your shoulders and your head away from each other in opposite directions – the top of your head reaches up to the ceiling, your shoulders go wide and down, your arms reach long toward the floor and your neck broadens in the back like the neck of a cobra. This is the EXPANSION part of the exercise.
• Do this several times exhaling as you compress and inhaling as you expand. What do you notice? Can you feel more space in the back of your neck? Do your shoulders feel more relaxed? Does your head sit a bit lighter on the top of your neck?

Perhaps the unconscious raising of the shoulders is really an unlikely cue from your body to do a little compression AND expansion so that it can feel relaxed, released and at ease.

To Your Body, Carol