Neck Release: Loosen Stiffness & Strain

If you find yourself with neck pain or tension in the back of your head, this track is for you. You will learn and practice effective release techniques that can transform your tension immediately!

This Myofascial Release practice focuses on softening tension in the neck, an area where a lot of stress is held. Through slow pressure, mindful awareness, and breath-led relaxation, you’ll help the tissue to unwind.

This session is suitable for beginners and can be done anytime you feel tightness building in the sides or back of your head. This track pairs well with others on the playlist ‘Myofascial Release Practices To Ease Headaches’.

If this is your first time practicing Myofascial Release yoga, you may wish to listen to ‘Beginner’s Guide To Myofascial Release’ first.

Transcript

Welcome, My name is Elli. I am a transformation guide, Somatic practitioner, Yoga teacher and energy healer based in Bali. After 15 years in the corporate tech world and two burnouts, I turned towards the healing arts. I now help high achieving professionals and conscious leaders reconnect with their body's wisdom, Release stored tension and restore balance through embodied healing practices like myofascial release yoga, Breathwork and energy work. My work bridges the practical with the spiritual and I'm really glad you are here. Please listen to my track Beginner's Guide to Myofascial Release for more information about this practice and how to best approach it in your home practice. The most important things for you to know for now is that you should never experience pain in this practice and that you define how much pressure is applied. Please keep that within the comfortable discomfort range. You will need one or two release balls. A tennis ball is good enough. If you have a rather hard ball, You can also cover that with a towel to take the edge off it and make it more comfortable. Let's arrive at today's practice. Take a moment to get comfortable. You can sit upright or lean back against the wall. Anything that allows your shoulders to soften and your breath to deepen. If you'd like, Play some gentle music in the background. When you're ready, Slowly close your eyes. Inhale through the nose. Exhale through your relaxed mouth. One more in through the nose. Out through the mouth. One more to really arrive here in through the nose. Out through the mouth. Ah. Let your attention settle into your body. Bring your attention to your neck. Without changing anything yet, Simply notice what is present. Does it feel tight? Tenter? Tense? Is there any pain? Is it stiff? There's no right sensation. You're just meeting yourself exactly as you are. Take one more inhale. And a soft, Slow exhale. Keep this breathing pattern as you go into the practice to release your neck area. For the neck, You have two options. You can again either just work with your fingers and press along the spinal muscles or work with the balls. With the balls, You can just place one on your right spinal muscle and one on your left spinal muscle to surround your neck bones. You can either hold both balls left and right or alternatively you can put those balls into a sock or an old tie, Knot it up so that these balls are fixed with one another. Or maybe you actually have one of those twink balls that are fixated and you can lay on them together. So I recommend to release the neck if you just have your fingers. Stay up seated and just press along the spinal muscle from the base of your skull slowly along the spinal muscles left and right all the way down to the top of your shoulders. Yet better if you have those balls, The invitation is to come down on the floor on your back and have these balls right under the base of the skull. That's where we start. Moving slowly from the base of the skull all the way down till you reach the top of your shoulders. And if you just have balls that are free, You probably need to hold them and slowly move down. But make sure those balls are in place using your hands. If you are able to put those balls into a sock or a tie or a pouch of some sort and have them touch one another fixed, Then you can also release your arms and just allow the heaviness of your head and your neck to press against these balls under you as you slowly move them downwards. If you have one of those twin balls then they are fixated anyways already and you can just place that under your head here on the floor. You can press towards these balls however much or however little pressure you want to feel. So I recommend as you slowly make your way from the base of the skull downwards every now and then stop where you feel it's tense. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth to support a release and maybe gentle movements with your head to look to the right and to the left. This will activate those neck muscles in different ways and you may find more tension points, More areas that you can rest and melt into. Every spot that needs to receive your attention, Give it the time it really needs. There's no rush. Even if you just have two minutes and you want to stay in one spot for two minutes that is fine. You do not necessarily need to make the entire way from the base of the skull to the top of your shoulders to release your neck. Even just working in one spot in this region can do a lot of release for the entire neck region. So listen into what your body needs. Stay on just that one spot as long as it's supportive. As long as you feel the muscles to shift, To melt, To release the tension. Support that with gentle inhales through your nose and exhales through the mouth. It's a simple breathing yet very supportive of what we want to achieve here. Releasing of tension. Stay with this breath throughout this practice. It helps the nervous system to stay calm. It helps to signal your body that it's safe. Your breath is also your guide if you are experiencing or are about to experience pain. If your breath reduces or even is held you definitely have too much pressure on the point you're working on at the moment. So reduce it. You should always be able to breathe very comfortably in through the nose and out through the mouth throughout this entire practice. In case you have had any injuries or disc issues in this area, Please stay away and want to apply pressure in these areas and create more damage. You can work around those areas and still support the injured area by releasing the tension from the neighboring spaces. The beauty on fascia is that everything is connected. So even if you're working here on your neck you're still supporting your feet even if you don't feel it. So take your time here to slowly make your way down towards the top of your shoulders. Once you've reached them stay there for a few more breaths as well. And when you feel you've supported your neck enough for today, I invite you to take your last cycle of breath in through your nose, Out through your mouth. To then remove the balls from under you or release the fingers if you were working with the fingers. Just allow the rebound to happen. A rebound meaning you are releasing the tension from the tissue. Your tissue is now reorganizing. Your fascia is reabsorbing the liquids you pressed up before. It's rehydrating. It's integrating the release. And for that sometimes that area doesn't want to be moved at all. Sometimes gentle movements feels good. So if you want to move your head any way, Any circles, Any nodding, Feel free to do that if your body asks for that. Else just keep it calm. Give yourself a pause, A few more breaths to allow your body to integrate the shifts. Notice the after sensations. Notice what is different from before. Notice how your neck may feel different. Maybe a bit softer, A bit more spacious. And notice how far you can feel a release going. Maybe you feel it further down into your shoulders. Maybe you feel it going across your scalp. Just observe and let everything settle. Take one more slow breath in here. Exhale out. I hope this short practice helped you to soften the area of today's focus and ease any tension in that area. To support full integration you may want to listen to my other track called Deep Rest Savasana, Integrate, Soften, Restore. Or simply give yourself a few minutes of quiet time, Letting your breath and your body unwind. Please drink water throughout the day to help your body flush out any stagnant energy or toxins released from the tissue. If you'd like more guided sessions you'll find many more of my fresh release tracks on my profile and they're constantly growing. You're also welcome to try any of my upcoming classes. If you'd like to connect more please join my group called Awakening Inner Light that you can find on my profile page. The intention of the group is that you have a place where you can share how this practice has helped you, What you have experienced. You can ask me any related questions, Suggest content for future tracks or live events and connect with others. This is our space to stay in touch and support another. Please follow my profile to receive updates on new tracks, Courses and live events. Thank you for being here. I'll see you in the next practice. May your heart be your greatest teacher, Your breath your guide and your heart your hope.