20 Minute Neck Pain Relief | Slow, Gentle Yoga Stretches

This gentle neck relief practice is designed to release tension and stiffness in the neck and upper shoulders. You’ll move through slow, mindful stretches that help improve mobility and reduce built-up stress from daily activities. The movements are simple and accessible, making them suitable for all levels.

Expect to leave feeling lighter, more relaxed, and with greater ease through the neck and upper back.

Transcript

Hello and welcome. My name is Leah Sugarman and this is neck relief. So in our modern day and age we tend to have a lot of pain and tension held in the neck. A lot of what we do is in this forward carriage position of the head so we're constantly on our phones or typing on computers or staring at screens. So we tend to bear a lot of tension in the neck. So this is a simple practice very soothing and restorative and gentle to unwind and release a lot of that tension that we tend to store in the neck. No props are absolutely essential although you may wish to have a yoga strap or just a towel and you may wish to have something to sit on top of to elevate your seat. So you can sit on a bolster or a pillow or a couch cushion or a block whatever you have works. So grab anything that you'd like to. You're also welcome to sit on the floor if that feels comfortable for you. You can also sit in a chair. So find a position that's really comfortable for you sitting in any way sitting cross-legged on a prop on the floor sitting in a chair with your legs on the ground. Just find a position that you can relax your lower body and then root down into your sit bones lift in lengthen the crown of your head to the sky. Roll your shoulders down your back and soften your shoulders away from your ears and then align your ears over your shoulders. Align your shoulders over your hips and close your eyes. Take a moment to just soften into your body. Relax any unnecessary tension that you might be clinging on to and relax your breath. Find a slow natural rhythm. From here flutter open your eyes and reach your right arm behind your back and you can either loop a strap or a towel around your left bicep or if it's available to you you can catch a hold of the bicep itself. As you inhale lift the crown of your head towards the sky and as you exhale gently release your left ear toward your left shoulder. Relax both shoulders down away from your ears. Soften the muscles in your neck. Soften your jaw and relax your cheeks. If it feels good you can close your eyes and simply surrender into this release. Slow the rhythm of your breath and imagine that you could send your breath directly where it's needed so wherever you feel the most intense sensations imagine that you could direct your breath specifically to that location in your body. Take a full deep inhale here and as you exhale keep the tilt of your head toward the left but simply draw your chin toward your left shoulder as if you were looking directly to your left knee. Simply change the angle of this release and again relax the weight of your head relax your neck and your jaw. Soften your shoulders away from your ears and surrender into this new angle of your stretch. Take a full deep inhale and as you exhale again keep the tilt of your head towards the left and this time turn your chin to face up toward the ceiling as if you're looking up toward the sky at an angle. Continue to melt your shoulders away from your ears. Soften the muscles in your neck and your jaw and your face and surrender into this new opening. Take a full deep inhale and as you exhale release your chin toward your chest in the center of your body. Release your right arm from behind you and just allow your head to hang heavy toward the floor. Elongate the rest of your spine and simply allow your neck to relax forward. Draw your hands toward your cheeks and use the strength of your arms rather than your head and your neck to lift the weight of your head back up to neutral. Relax your arms down and take your left arm behind your back and either hold on to a strap or a towel looped around your right bicep or if it's available to you can hold on to the right bicep itself. Roll your shoulders down your back, Soften them away from your ears and inhale reach the crown of your head to the sky. As you exhale softly relax the weight of your right ear toward your right shoulder. Soften the muscles in your neck, Your jaw, And your face. If you'd like to you can close your eyes and give yourself permission to let go of any tension that you're holding there. Imagine that you could send your breath exactly where it's needed. Take a full deep inhale and as you exhale keep the tilt of your head to the right but turn your chin toward your right shoulder as if you're looking toward your right knee. Allow the weight of your head to relax down. Soften your left shoulder away from your ear and melt into this new stretch. Inhale deeply and exhale again. Keep the tilt of your head toward the right but now turn your chin to face up toward the sky. Soften your neck and your jaw. Surrender into that release. Take a deep inhale. Exhale slowly lower your chin toward your chest in the center of your body and release your left arm from behind you. Reach your arms forward in front of you and interlace your fingers and then turn your palms to face forward. Round your back body, Draw your navel to your spine, Draw your shoulder blades apart and curl your chin forward and down. Inhale slowly lift the weight of your torso, Relax your arms down and reach your arms behind you. You're welcome to hold your strap or your towel behind your back or if it's available to you you can interlace your fingers. Bring the opposite thumb in front this time. Roll your shoulders down your back, Squeeze your shoulder blades together, Reach your arms away from your seat and up away from the floor and expand and open your chest as you lift your gaze and reach your chin toward the sky. Take a deep inhale, Exhale slowly draw yourself back to neutral, Release your hands, Remove any props from your mat, Move them over toward this side and then cross your ankles and roll forward onto all fours. Stack your shoulders over your wrists, Stack your hips over your knees and as you inhale reach and expand your right arm and your chest open to the sky. Exhale sweep your right arm under your left to release your shoulder and your cheek to either a prop or the floor. Option to stay just like this or inhale reach your left arm to the sky, Bend your elbow and release the back of your hand to your lower back or if it's available to you you can catch a hold of your inner right thigh. Wherever you are roll your left shoulder open and back and spiral and twist your chest toward the left side of your mat. Lengthen through your neck. Take a full breath in, Exhale slowly unwind your twist, Release your left hand back down to the floor if it's behind you and press against that hand to rise up into tabletop. Inhale sweep your left arm to the sky, Peel open your chest, Exhale sweep your left arm under your right to release your shoulder and your cheek to either a prop or the floor. Option to stay here or reach your right arm to the sky and bend your elbow to place the back of your hand on your lower back. Option to catch a hold of your inner left thigh. Now wherever you are roll your right shoulder back and squeeze your shoulder blades together to peel your heart open toward the right side of your mat. Lengthen the back of your neck, Soften into the release. Take a deep inhale and as you exhale slowly unwind, Release your right hand to the floor if it's not already there, Press against the mat, Rise up into tabletop and then step your right foot forward next to your right thumb and bring your left foot forward next to your left thumb and fold forward over your legs. Option to bend your knees as little or as much as you would like to. Let the weight of your upper body hang heavy toward the floor. Shake your head yes, Shake your head no, Release tension in your neck and then interlace your fingers behind the back of your head and without pushing or pulling simply allow this extra weight to draw your torso further into the release. Let this extra weight really lengthen your neck and offer some traction to your neck. Soften into the gentle release. Imagine you could send your breath wherever you feel that it's needed. Take a deep inhale, Exhale gently release your arms, Bend your knees deeply until you can plant your palms to the floor and slowly and carefully release your seat all the way down to the mat. Stretch your legs forward in front of you, Let them be roughly as wide as your mat and then slowly make your way all the way down to your back. Gently turn your head to look over your left shoulder, Relax the weight of your shoulders away from your ears, Soften your jaw. Inhale, Draw your head back to center and then turn it in the opposite direction. Look over your right shoulder soften both shoulders away from your ears, Relax your jaw. Inhale, Draw your head back to center, Relax the full weight of your head into the floor, Slide your shoulders down your back, Create length for your neck, Melt the weight of your body into the mat and close your eyes. Imagine that you could send your breath directly to the places in your body where you feel tension. Visualize yourself breathing into your neck, Slowly and mindfully releasing tension there. Visualize yourself creating length in your neck, Aligning your bones for optimal support. Allow the weight of your shoulders and your skull to become heavy. Allow your neck to completely relax in this shape. Let gravity support you. Let the earth beneath you support you. Deepen your breath and surrender into this release. This is where I will leave you today, So feel free to stay relaxing and resting in this simple shape for as long as it serves you. Hopefully your neck feels a little bit more relaxed, Hopefully you were able to release just a little bit of tension and continue to do so as you soften into this shape. Thank you for sharing your practice with me. Namaste.