10 Minute Neck Pain Relief Practice

This is a shortened version of the full 16 minute 'Neck Pain Relief' Practice. This practice is supposed to be used when you are short on time or energy. Otherwise, please practice the full version. Your eyes, neck, and nervous system are deeply linked. When you spend long periods focusing on screens, your gaze becomes fixed, signaling your brain to keep the neck muscles tight and protective. Over time, this leads to overworked muscles at the back of the neck and weak deep stabilisers at the front. In this practice, you’ll use gentle eye movements to interrupt that pattern and tell your nervous system it’s safe to relax. As the tension softens, you’ll activate the deep neck flexors with simple chin tuck movements to restore support and alignment. Remember, the body takes time to heal. Expect a 5-10% reduction in pain with each repetition and practice daily to reduce pain, improve posture, and create lasting change.

Transcript

We're going to begin by testing our neck range of motion. Turn your head to the left and assess how far you can turn your head before meeting any resistance, Pain or tension. Note this, Then turn your head to the right. Compare the sides, Notice which side carries more pain, Tension and resistance. Return your head back to centre. At the end of the practice we will retest this movement. We're going to move into an I-sequence. Keeping your entire body still, Move just your eyes to the top of your vision. Deep breaths. Now move your eyes down to the bottom of your vision. Move your eyes to the left and to the right. And we're going to move into the chin tuck movement. Keeping your face parallel with the wall in front of you, Simply shift your entire face backwards, Forming a double chin. Hold it here. Feel the activation of the deep neck flexors. You should feel that activation through the front of your throat. You will also feel a slight stretch through the back of your neck, Right through those tiny suboccipital muscles that attach from the base of your skull to your neck. Get a feeling for this movement. And now relax. We're going to begin moving with our breath. Take a deep inhale. And as you exhale, Tuck your chin, Forming that double chin. Face remains parallel to the wall. Inhale, Relax. Exhale, Tuck. Inhale, Relax. Exhale, Tuck. Inhale, Relax. Close down your eyes and continue breathing and moving, Everything in sync. Relax with every inhale. Inhale and tuck strongly with every exhale. Focus on isolating the sensations through the muscles in your neck. As you tuck, Feel the strength of your deep flexor muscles at the front of the neck. And feel the stretch of the tight muscles at the back of your neck. A movement so small, Yet so powerful. Every time you tuck, You are opening up the spaces between the bones of your neck, Allowing more room for your nerves to exit out and travel down into your shoulders, Arms and fingers. And last one. Exhale, Tuck your chin and hold it in this position. And release the chin tuck. And let your spine settle back into its neutral position. And notice how it's easier to hold your neck and shoulders in good posture. Now keeping your eyes open or closed, Shift your eyes only all the way to the left side. Breathe deeply as you hold this position of your eyes. See if you can look behind you, Exploring the very periphery of your vision. Let yourself sigh or yawn. And now shift your eyes all the way to the right. Hold them here. Deep breaths. Eyes heavy. And bring your eyes back to centre. Now we're going to retest the range of motion of your neck and see if there are any changes. Turn your head to the left. And notice how this feels compared to when you began the practice. And turn your head to the right. And back to centre. Most people will find that the pain, Restriction and tension has reduced dramatically. Thank you so much for practicing with me.