Whether you slept wrong, overdid your workout, or are under major stress, pain and tension often manifest in your neck and upper back. In an ideal world, you’d have your massage therapist at your beck and call to knead out the knots. Most of us aren’t in the position to afford daily massages but we can manage or eliminate tension with yoga.
This week we’re focusing on ways to create space and balance in the upper back, neck, and shoulders. Many of us work in front of a computer and spend leisure time hunched over phones and tablets. This position, if not balanced out with proper stretching, results in improper posture, muscular and spinal imbalances, and pain. A few simple yoga poses can help you maintain a healthy spine and prevent future tightness and issues.
As you’ve likely heard in yoga class, our mind and body are inextricably linked. They work together. Feelings of anger, frustration, and despair––if not processed––will manifest as physical imbalances or pain. We store our feelings in our tissues, which is why in certain postures you might start crying or even laughing. Through mindful breath and movement, we can release the emotions and begin the healing process.
Often, pain in this area of the body can be traced to emotional and mental stress. Pain in the upper back can come from feeling a lack of emotional support from significant people in your life. If you can’t trace the pain to something physical, turn your focus inward and ask yourself what could be causing the pain? Insecurity? Anger? Lack of control at work or at home?
Emotional issues associated with subtle body imbalances can manifest as physical pain. This area of the upper body houses the Vishuddha (Throat) Chakra and Ajna (Third Eye). The Vishudda Chakra is all about honesty, authentic expression, and your relationship with yourself. Are you speaking your truth? If you are repressing your true beliefs and feelings, you could experience tension in your neck and shoulders. The Ajna Chakra is known as “Command Central” where your innate knowledge resides. If you’re not trusting your sense of intuition and your ability to see reality, headaches can result.
No matter the cause of stress and tension in your upper back, neck, and shoulders, we have the solution! Try one of these specially designed classes and start relieving tension today:
20-Minute Shoulder & Upper Body Love - Keith Allen
Neck, Shoulders and Back Therapy - Elise Fabricant
Yin for Your Upper Body - Erin Wimert
Deep Release for the Neck and Shoulders - Dana Hanizeski