Release Neck Tension Without Stretching

What if you could create more ease and movement in your neck without actually stretching it?

In this short practice, we’ll gently pull and mobilize the ears, then compare your neck rotation before and after to notice what changes.

This simple experiment is one I’ve used for years when working with tension and mobility around the neck and shoulders. Follow along, stay curious, and see what your own body has to show you.

Transcript

Hello and welcome. My name is Lillian and I'm a somatic therapist and fascial stretch specialist. And today's practice is really interesting because I'm going to show you how to release tension in your shoulders and neck without actually stretching. Okay. Stay with me to the end of this video and you'll see, You'll see how it worked. Let's try this experiment together, Okay? So the way we start is we are going to Just sit, Sit up straight and see how far you can see. Just let your whole body turn. See how far you can see from here with your peripheral vision and just track it. Okay. See how far your gaze takes you and just like notice something in the room that you can track it with. And now we're gonna pull our ears together. This may sound weird, And if you know me, You know that I love doing weird things. And seeing what happens okay so we're gonna just begin by tugging our ears so this is gentle enough that you're not gonna hurt yourself but hard enough that you're gonna feel something Okay, So this is a practice that is a little bit different than what I normally teach, But it works wonders. At least I've used it for many, Many years. And what's cool about this is that it doesn't just enhance the mobility of the shoulders and neck, It actually enhances the senses. So there's a lot of nerve endings in the ears. You may notice that you hear slightly different, A little better. Oh yeah, Feels good. And we're just gonna go all the way around the ears, Okay, For just a few minutes. We're almost done. Then we're gonna take our fingertips and we're just gonna go on the inside of the ears and just kind of mobilize. A little bit. Feel it out. Okay. You ready? You ready to check with me one more time? Okay. So from the same position, Just turn your head. Whoa. And see how far you can see now. Okay, You'll notice that maybe one side is a little bit more than the other. I definitely noticed that for myself. And I want to know. Did it work for you? Were you able to see a little bit different? Were you able to hear a little bit more, Maybe see the colors outside a little bit different? Who knows if it goes that far, But I would love to hear your feedback. My name is Lillian. Thank you for moving with me.

Reviews

Ooh so simple and effective— and it felt good too! Thank you Lil!