Somatic Movement: Easy Neck & Shoulders

This session explores the power of gentle quiet movement to unravel the tension many of us carry in our neck, shoulders, and upper back. The intent is the movements provide both insight and restoration for mind and body.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Meg Granale,

And welcome to Body-Centered Inquiry,

And welcome to this somatic movement audio,

Easy Neck and Shoulders.

For this session,

We'll be exploring gentle,

Quiet movements to unravel the tension many of us hold in our neck,

Upper back,

And shoulders.

The intention is that these movements provide both insight and restoration for mind and body.

Have a padded or carpeted surface to lie upon,

A rolled up bath towel for head support,

Wear clothing that allows for ease of movement and warmth.

If you wear a restrictive bra,

It's best to remove it or wear a sports bra that allows for movement.

Any kind of tight clothing,

Especially around the rib cage,

Restricts our breathing and ease of movement in the neck,

Upper back,

And shoulders.

You can have sock or bare feet.

When you're ready,

Please come to lie on your back.

You may have your legs long or feet standing with knees pointing toward the ceiling.

And take time to settle in.

Bring your awareness to your breathing as it moves in and out of your body.

Gradually allow the in and out breath to become more even.

Have your eyes closed or in a soft gaze.

When we fix our eyes,

It recruits muscles from the neck to hold the gaze fixed.

Sometimes that's necessary.

Right now,

Inviting ease into the neck includes softening the gaze or having a gentle closing of the eyes.

Make sure that the ground beneath you is dynamic and comes toward you as you rest into it.

And when you're ready,

Gently roll onto your right side.

Adjust your headrest as needed.

Draw up your knees in a comfortable angle to your body.

And rest there.

Notice how the ground mirrors your breathing.

The expanding and contracting of the rib cage.

Where else do you feel that feedback from the ground as you lie there breathing with your head well supported?

Your knees drawn up comfortably.

Now extend your right arm out away from your body and rest the left palm in the right palm.

So both arms are extended but not stiff or locked.

Now begin to slowly glide the fingers and the left palm along the inside border of the right arm.

The hand is soft.

Continue to glide the soft left palm across your chest.

So now the left elbow is in the air somewhere.

And then slide the left palm across your chest.

Slide it back until the arm is long and the left palm is resting once again on the right palm.

Allow your breathing to be easy,

Your gaze to be soft.

And continue to do this movement about seven times.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

Paying attention to how your body on the right side changes contact with the floor as you roll a bit and glide your hand across your chest and then you roll back more completely onto your right side and the left palm returns to the right palm.

So slowly and mindfully allow the neck to be free and easy.

Feeling the contact between the palm of your left hand and your body.

Allow it to be a gentle listening hand and keep it simple.

And as you're doing this,

When do you breathe in and when do you breathe out?

Can you be easy in the face,

The throat,

The jaw?

Sending the left palm along the inside border of the right arm across the chest and slowly glide it back.

Waiting for your breathing,

Your quality of mind,

And your contact with the ground beneath you.

If you'd like to go even more slowly,

You can pause the audio at any point.

And when you feel complete with that,

Continue to rest on your right side if that's comfortable for you.

Listen for the movement of breath.

Listen for how those movements still echo through you.

Be aware of your quality of mind and rest.

If this movement causes any discomfort in your left shoulder,

Make the movement smaller when you return to it.

Go more slowly and listen around the edges of the movement.

Notice how the discomfort registers in your mind.

There's no need to push through or into any pain.

Gentleness in the long run is far more important.

Now while on your right side,

Try a variation on this movement.

If you're able,

If your shoulder allows,

Bring your soft left palm to your forehead.

Allow the palm of your left hand to shape itself to your forehead.

Allow the left hand,

Arm,

And shoulder to turn your face to look in the direction of the ceiling.

Watch any tendency to pull on your head or force yourself to move further than the neck wants to move right now or your shoulder wants to move.

Respect your limits.

When we respect our limits,

We learn something about ourselves.

Allow the head to roll back to look toward the right.

And repeat this movement seven times,

Slowly.

Breathing,

Keeping it as small as you need to,

As simple as you need to.

If you can't do this variation,

Then stay with the first variation of gliding the hand across the arm and chest and back to the right palm.

Make this session your own,

Pause,

Listen.

Keep your gaze soft and your breathing easy.

And stay present to what you're doing.

And assuming you're continuing this movement with the left palm to the forehead.

Just see what that's like for you.

And the ceiling is a direction,

It's not a destination.

So you're just moving in that direction.

The eyes and face do not have to turn and face the ceiling.

Which gives a trajectory to the movement.

It's essential to learn how to self-regulate.

How to listen deep within for the feedback that's always there.

It's essential to discover options and how we respond.

Our relationship with ourself is reflected in every move we make.

And rest.

You can rest on your right side or on your back.

Which feels like a good place to rest for you right now?

Again in that question is what is your relationship to rest?

All of this is about relationship.

Relationship to ourself,

To our mind,

To our body,

To our self-image.

And all of this is cultivated in this kind of work.

It's developing embodied emotional intelligence.

Continue to rest.

Notice your breathing,

Your quality of mind,

And the ground beneath you.

The space around you.

And when you're ready,

Please to roll.

And know it's fine to do these sessions on only one side.

It's better to stay with what's easy.

Learning that occurs slowly and with ease.

Creates ease in our nervous system.

Ease and safety.

Extend your arms out from your shoulders.

Place your right hand on your left hand.

Palm to palm.

Make sure your head support is in a good place for you and draw up your knees comfortably.

Take time to check in with your relationship between your left side and the ground.

How is it to rest into the ground on your left side?

Listen for how your breathing is mirrored back to you from the ground beneath you.

And notice what else moves as you breathe in and as you breathe out.

And once again,

Be attentive to your quality of mind.

Begin here like you did on the other side.

Glide the right palm along the left arm.

Glide it across your chest between the collarbones and breasts.

Notice as your body rolls a bit to the right.

And then glide the right hand back to meet the left hand.

And do this movement seven times.

Breathing,

Keeping your gaze soft,

Your eyes soft,

Your throat,

Tongue,

Mouth soft.

And again,

Be aware of the ground beneath you that's always there to support you.

Take your time here.

Pause the audio as needed.

Breathing,

Gliding,

Allowing the neck to be free.

The face might move a little bit in the direction of the ceiling,

Might rotate in that direction.

Allow what wants to happen to happen.

Breathing for how these movements echo through your whole body,

Through your whole being.

How are the sides different?

And if you need more time,

You can pause the audio.

And when you're ready,

Please take a rest,

On your left side or on your back.

What's present for you right now?

And when you're ready,

Return to lie on your left side.

Rest your head rest.

Have your left arm extended on the floor.

And now explore bringing a gentle right palm to your forehead.

Allow the right palm to shape itself to your forehead and allow the arm and hand to slowly roll your face in the direction of the ceiling.

Again,

It's a direction.

It guides the trajectory of movement,

But it's not a destination.

Respect whatever limits may be present.

Listen through yourself for what wants to happen.

And do this movement of rolling the face in the direction of the ceiling and then back to the left seven times.

Taking your time,

Go slowly.

Make sure you're not pulling on your head or forcing your neck to go somewhere it doesn't want to today.

Keep the eyes soft,

Tongue,

Jaw,

Breathing.

Keep a gentle awareness of the ground beneath you as you roll your head in one direction and then back to where you started.

The smaller and safer you keep the movement,

The greater safety you create in the nervous system.

This is really the heart of building resilience.

Resilience is built in safety.

Unraveling habits and trauma is a very delicate piece of work.

Breathing,

Being aware of your quality of mind.

Causing the audio,

If you want to linger longer in a particular place,

It's up to you.

And when you're ready,

Please take a rest.

Be aware of what's present for you right now.

Your breathing,

Your connection to the ground,

Your quality of mind.

It's always those three things,

Breath,

Movement,

And ground.

And when you're ready,

Return to your right side if you're able.

Take time to listen once again for your connection between your body and the ground beneath you.

Have your arms extended as they were before and resume gliding the left hand along the inside border of the right arm and across your chest.

As you do this,

Could you invite more suppleness into your ribs,

Front,

Side,

And back with your breath,

Your movement,

And the support of the ground beneath you?

Just do this a few times on this side with the idea of inviting more suppleness into the rib cage,

Front,

Side,

And back.

Gaze soft,

Mouth easy,

Throat open.

And then when you've done that,

Gently roll to the left side,

Extend your arms,

And resume the same movements there.

Once again,

Exploring the possibility of more suppleness in your ribs,

In the front,

The sides,

And the back with your breath,

Your movement,

And the support of the ground beneath you.

Just notice what's there for you right now and notice how different the two sides can be.

Just a few times,

Just a few movements.

And when you're ready,

Take a rest on your back,

Legs long or feet standing as you wish,

Arms long by your side if that's comfortable.

Be aware once again of your connection to the ground,

Your breathing,

And wherever you may feel movement as you breathe in and as you breathe out.

And when you're ready,

Roll to one side or another and slowly,

Very slowly come up to sitting,

Gradually up to standing.

Be aware of how your shoulders hang over your rib cage.

Be aware of your quality of mind.

Take a few steps around.

And thank you.

That's the end of this session.

Reviews

Thank you Meg. Apart from the greater somatic awareness, I found the practice very soporific. 🙏

Movement was gentle and relaxing. Your verbal nuggets were treasures!

Very skillful. I felt her presence strongly. Thank you.

Wow! That was so simple yet effective. I feel so good mentally and physically. Thank you.

Very good!! Each step was explained exceptionally well! Easy to follow. Thank you!!

That was extremely relaxing and peaceful. Thank you.

Wonderful voice and another worthwhile experience. Thank you. Could you please explain what you mean by “suppleness “

I’m surprised how much better my neck feels after such slow and gentle movements. I can’t lay on my right side due to problems with that shoulder, so I modified some on that side. Even so, it helped.

Very helpful. Thank you for clear and gentle guidance, great pacing. Adding to my somatic practices. 🙏🏻✨💙✨

It was fantastic! I had the same exercises/movements yesterday evening at my Feldenkrais sessions and doing them again helped me to feel the benefits of each movement. I feel completely relaxed now 😀

Really relaxing Thankyou ❤️

Very relaxing and useful for neck stiffness! Thank you 🙏

This was a new type of meditation for me. The movement helped focus my mind yet was very relaxing. Thank you.

Woke up in middle of night with tight band tension headache. Did these simple well-guided movents. Margaret's voice is soothing and filled with compassion. The pain has subsided. Very grateful.

One of the best practices ever! Thank you for the guidance!

I awoke this morning with so much tension in my neck and shoulders. Thank you for guiding me gently towards release and ease. 🙏🏼❤

Wonderful, I shall return to this session. Thank you

So helpful, as always. It'd be nice (but certainly not necessary) to have the general body position in the title for quick reference to know if it's a supine practice or something more vertical. It's a bit tough to lay down at work, though for thus practice, I just might try sometime! 😊

Thank you (as always!) for sharing this with us here, Meg. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻❤🤲🏻

Thank you 🙏

My hard working right side got some release and your guidance gave me the coursge to * not * push myself, but be gentle. Thank you so very much.