How To Release Neck Tension: 10 Minute Upper Body Stretch

If you have a stiff neck, try this short yoga sequence to release upper body tension. We'll explore simple postures that target your neck, shoulders, and upper back, designed to help release tightness and, with regular practice, even reduce pain and improve your posture.

This sequence can be done seated, making it accessible to everyone. No props are needed but two blocks could be helpful.

Transcript

Hi, Welcome to this yoga for neck, Shoulders and upper back. I'm Laia. This class is ideal for those times when you may feel tension in your neck, Your shoulders, Especially your upper body, Which can be brought by by high stress and anxiety and just living a fast-paced lifestyle. The stretches that I will be sharing with you today are accessible, Meaning I will give you different options so that you can choose what works best for you today. They're also accessible in the way that you can take them with you anywhere. So I encourage you to choose one or two that really work for you and practice them several times a week or even several times a day to really keep your upper body a little bit more relaxed and flexible. So bring yourself to a comfortable seated position to get started. Ground your sitting bones on the earth and bring your hands onto your knees or your lap and take a moment to relax your shoulders a little bit down and back and lengthen through the crown of your head. Take a deep breath in. Lengthen a little bit more from the sitting bones through the crown of the head. Inhale. And exhale. Inhale to lengthen even more. And on your exhalation, Bring your right ear toward the right shoulder and feel the space through the left side of the neck. You don't have to go very far. Inhale, Come back through center. Exhale, Take the left ear to the left shoulder this time creating more space through the right side of the neck. In health center. Exhale, This time lower your chin down to the chest. Inhale, Lift your chin and start to gaze up a little bit more, Opening through the front of the neck, Through the throat. Exhale, Bring your neck back to neutral. Breathe in here to ground and lengthen through the spine. Breathe out, Look over your right shoulder. Inhale, Come back through center. Exhale, Gaze over the left shoulder. Back through center as you breathe in Breathe out once again, Lower your chin to the chest and let yourself remain here for a moment, Noticing the space that's created and the sensations that arise, Whether that's space or tightness or discomfort just notice what arises there and perhaps if that's enough sensation today stay here Otherwise, Bring your hands behind your head, Interlacing your fingers perhaps. And just adding a little bit more weight to shift the sensation a little bit. You could also choose to move your chin a little bit from side to side as if you were tracing your collarbones from one shoulder to the other. Let yourself breathe and notice what arises here. One more breath, Inhale. And exhale. Bring your neck back to neutral, Keep your hands behind your head. Take a deep breath in as you open up through your elbows. You could also extend your arms out to the sides, Keeping your elbows a little bit bent or more extended. Reaching through the fingertips, But the intention here is to draw your shoulder blades toward one another. Lift the chest forward and up, Breathe in. And as you breathe out, Draw your elbows or your hands forward as you round your back. Again, Inhale, Open up through your elbows or your fingertips, Lift your chest, Lift your gaze. Exhale, Take your arms forward and round. One more, Inhale to open up. And exhale to round. Bring your spine back to neutral. Take a deep breath in this time. Reach your hands out to the sides if they're not already there. Bringing your arms to shoulders level. And on your exhalation, Start to take your thumbs back and your pinkies forward, Creating external rotation through the arms. Exhale, Rotate the other way, Taking your thumbs forward and down, And then your pinkies forward, Creating internal rotation. Inhale, Rotating up and back, Lift your chest perhaps, Lift your gaze. Exhale, Rotate down, Down and forward. One more, Breathe in. And breathe out. Fist your palms out to the sides. Reach out through your fingertips. Lengthen through your spine all the way to the crown of the head. Inhale. Exhale, Start to take your right arm over the left and bring your hands toward opposite shoulders here. And perhaps your elbows stay down toward the chest. Or start to lift them up, Noticing how the sensation maybe increases or changes. And let yourself move a little bit side to side here. If you want it to explore something a little bit more active in the arms even. Consider bringing the backs of your hands or the palms of your hands to touch. Just choose whatever variation works for you right now. Breathing in. I'm breathing out. Pause at the center, Release your arms, Open them out to the sides, Inhale. Exhale this time, Take your left arm over the right, Hands to our opposite shoulders and perhaps you stay with your elbows lower or higher. Maybe you find stillness or movement. Maybe you find eagle arms again. One more inhale. And exhale. Pause at the center, Release the arms, Open them out to the sides, Deep breath in. And on the exhalation, Bring your hands behind you on the floor. Walk them back as much as you want to until they feel firmly planted on the earth. And press through the palms, Lifting your chest up, Maybe lifting your gaze. You could also choose to lift your hips off the floor here to open up a little bit more through the front body, But it's not necessary. One more breath, Inhale. And on your exhalation, Bring your spine back to neutral. Let your hands rest on your lap or your knees and on your inhalation lift your shoulders up. And on the exhalation, Send them back and down. And just do that a few times, Rolling your shoulders. You could also choose to bring your hands to the shoulders. And roll them in that way. Let the circles be as big or as small as you want. As quick or as slow as you want. Bree. Pause now, Inhale. And on the exhalation, Reverse the circles, Whether your hands are on the shoulders. Or perhaps your arms are hanging by the side. It's absolutely up to you. Couple more here. And then slowly relax your shoulders. Slow down the movement and pause. Ground through the sitting bones. Inhale, Take your arms out and up. And on your exhalation, Lower your left hand down to the side. You could keep it on the floor or if you had a block, Maybe you bring the block next to you so the ground lifts up to you. Breathe in. And as you breathe out, Bend your left elbow and lean over toward the left with your right arm and with the entire body, Creating more space to the right side of the ribcage. And perhaps you rotate your left ribcage forward and your right ribcage back a bit more. And keep the right arm extended or maybe bring your right hand behind your head. One more breath, Inhale. And exhale. Come back through center, Ground through the sitting bones, Reach both arms up, Deep breath in. And on the exhalation this time, Lower your right hand down to the floor. Or to your block and start to walk it out as you soften your elbow. Keep both sitting bones grounded. And then lean. Toward the right, Opening the left side body. Notice the space between each rib. One more breath. And on your next inhalation, Slowly bring yourself back to center. Reach both arms up, Inhale. And on the exhalation, Surrender your hands to our opposite wrists or opposite elbows, Framing your head. Take a deep breath in. And out. One more inhale. And on your exhalation, Slowly start to open up through the arms. And begin to take your left hand toward your right knee. And your right hand could rest on the floor next to you or on your hip or even behind you. Inhale to lengthen a little bit more. And exhale perhaps to deepen the twist if that serves you, But keep your breath. As spacious as possible. And let the twist be a little bit more secondary. One more breath. Inhale, Come back through center. Reach both arms up. Finding the extension. And on the exhalation, Take the twist to the other side now. Letting yourself find the length first, Breathe in. Breathe out, Maybe the tweeze dippin'. Or maybe you let yourself stay exactly where you are with spaciousness. With awareness. Noticing how the spine feels, Especially your neck, Your shoulders, Your upper back. One more breath here. And then slowly let yourself. Return to center. Lean back for a moment. Bring your feet in front of you. And perhaps you take a moment to windshield wiper the legs or extend them and shake them out. One more breath. Inhale. And on your exhalation, Extend the legs in front of you. You don't have to extend them very much, So perhaps prioritize keeping your knees bent here and grounding through the sitting bones and the heels. Breathe in, Perhaps your arms extend up. And on the exhalation, Let yourself fold over the legs. Maybe your arms rest next to you on the floor, Or if you have your blocks, You could bring them next to your legs and let your elbows rest on the blocks. Remember, Your blocks have three heights, So choose the one that will allow you to relax here a little bit more. Just let yourself settle. Two more breaths. And then slowly let yourself come up. Bring yourself to a comfortable seat. Take a moment to maybe find a little bit of movement once again, Noticing how you feel after this short yoga practice for neck, Shoulders, And upper back. I hope that you return to it anytime that you find yourself perhaps sitting a lot or driving a lot or being stationary and building tension on the upper body due to stress. Thank you so much for practicing with me. Until we meet again, Take care and be well.