Dear Yogi,
Well, the science is in and it ain’t good news. If you have been in my classes over the last year or so, you will know that I’ve been talking about “text neck” and the importance of getting our heads back on top of our necks (rather than sticking out in front). I’ve included all sorts of ways to do this and I’ve also included a lot of shoulder and upper back movements to counter how much time we spend rounded forward on devices or in cars driving.
The human body is unbelievably intelligent. The weight of our heads (about 10 pounds) was designed to sit right on top of the highly mobile cervical spine (your neck). But with so much time now being spent on computers, driving and even more recently, looking at phones, we are jutting our heads forward much of the day. One of the ways the body will compensate over time is by building a mass of tissue in the region of the upper back to try to add balance to so much weight being shifted forward of it’s natural position. Picture a really rounded upper back with dense tissue accumulated on top.
And now scientists have discovered something more that the human body is doing to accommodate this newly exaggerated head forward position. We are growing “horns”! In the last ten years there has been a huge spike in people, particularly young people (age 18-29) with a “horn like growth at the base of the neck”. It’s troubling because we are throwing off our natural design and this has effects on our energy system and even emotional outlook. When our bodies are in compensation-mode, we expend a lot of unnecessary energy. The more rounded forward we are, the weaker we become in some areas, yet we become overly strong and tight in other areas. And when we are out of alignment, we drain and waste energy… We can literally feel down and collapsed. However, when we are aligned, not only do the muscles, tissues and bones work optimally, but our energy flows best as well!
In today’s video I share a 3-step process to align your neck and spine. I learned it from Jill Miller, the creator of Yoga Tune Up. In the video I also show you how to align the head and neck in plank, one of the most common and misaligned poses. It’s a quick and great way to get into good form daily!
with Love and Alignment,
