Get Rid of That Pain in Your Neck!

Gonna try a little experiment today. Normally we either conduct our movement lessons with our clients in person, or we provide them on CD's. Never have we just put the text out there for folks to follow along with as they read it.

This will take some very focused attention on your part. But I promise you, if you do make it all the way through to the end (it will only take 5-7 minutes if done properly), you will notice some very interesting things about yourself.

This going to be a short lesson and it will be done in a chair. It can be used to help you find greater comfort when you are working at your desk or in front of the computer. You might also find that it helps you to be more comfortable driving.  

Try and remember any of the movements that you enjoy so that you can repeat them any time that you are sitting down and feel a little bit sore or stiff.

As we do this lesson please bear in mind the following guidelines:

1. Breathe
Pay attention to your breathing throughout the lesson. Notice if you can do the movements without interrupting the breathing.

2. Rest
Do not hesitate to rest when you feel like it, even if it is prior to the instructions asking you to rest.

3. Don't strain
Avoid using too much effort. It is important to stay within the range of what is easy, comfortable and pleasurable to do.

4. Observe
Pay close attention to yourself as you do the lessons. I will try and draw your attention to changes that might be happening but please try and notice anything that might be happening for you.

5. Make Small Movements, Take it Easy
As you do these movements stay within the range of what is easy and comfortable to do. Don't force. Don't strain. Don't use effort. Just look to see how can you move using a minimum amount of effort.

Relaxed Neck Left Side

1. Sit at the edge of your chair with you legs spread comfortably and your feet flat on the floor.

2. Gently turn your head to the left only as far as it is easy for you to turn. How far round can you see? Remember what you are looking at for later comparison.

Turn back to the middle.

Now turn your head to look to the right without any forcing, make sure that you feel no tension in the neck while you turn. Again be aware of what you can see so that you will be able to notice changes as they occur.

Come back to the middle.

3. Make sure that you are still sitting on the edge of the chair.

Put your left hand on the seat of the chair a little behind you to the left.

Lean on the left hand. 

Lift your right hand and place your chin on top of the back of the right hand as if to lean on the hand. Let you right elbow hang down.

Begin turning your head, together with your right hand and arm, to the left and come back to the middle

Repeat the movement gently and slowly.

Can you feel the spine twisting?
Do you feel movement in the ribs?
Do you feel the pressure increase on one of your feet as you turn?
Is your pelvis moving as you turn?
Is your lower back participating in the movement?

Rest for a moment.

Notice any changes are there differences between your right side and your left side?

Perhaps in the buttocks?

4. Come back to sit at the edge of the chair.

Feet spread knees above your feet.

Leaning as before on your left arm and hand.

Lift your right hand.  Place the back of your right hand under you chin with the elbow hanging down as before.

Again turn your head and your right hand and arm all together to the left as far as it goes easily and stay there twisted to the left.

Then gently and slowly, turn only your head back to the middle.

Then turn the head to the left past the hand and continue turning the head only right and left

Repeat.

Moving your head do you feel the movement anywhere else in the body?

Maybe in the spine back ribs hips ankles?

Come back to the center and rest for a moment.

Do you feel a difference in the way that your left buttock comes in contact with the chair compared to your right buttock?

5. Come back to sit at the edge of the chair.

Feet spread, knees above your feet.

Leaning as before on your left arm and hand.

Lift your right hand and place the back of your right hand under you chin with the elbow hanging down as before.

Again turn your head and your right hand and arm all together to the left as far as it goes easily and stay there twisted to the left

This time move only your eyes back to the middle (to the right), then move your eyes to look to the left. Keep moving your eyes right and left - very gently - otherwise you might get a headache.

Remember to breathe freely and let go of any unnecessary holding that you notice.

Come back to the middle and rest.

Do you feel additional changes in the way that you sit or the way you breathe?

6. Come back to sit at the edge of the chair with your chin on the back of your right hand.

Again turn your head and your right hand and arm all together to the left as far as it feels easy and stay there twisted to the left.

While twisted, begin rocking your pelvis. Once lifting the right buttock a bit off the chair and once lifting you left buttock slowly and easily.

Keep your belly soft as you do this – resist the tendency to pull the stomach in.

Gently repeat several times.

Come back to the middle and rest for a moment.

Do you notice further differences in the way you are sitting?

In your your whole spine? 
Your buttocks? 
Shoulders? 
The contact of your feet with the floor?

7. Sit at the edge of the chair

This time, simply turn your head to look to the left

Is it easier to turn than at the beginning of this lesson?
Can you see further?

Now look to the right and come back to the middle.

Is it more restricted to look to the right?

For a mobile and pain free neck remember to move your pelvis and low back and twist your spine whenever you turn your head the way that you just did.

Do repeat the movements any time that you are seated and feel free to experiment with any variations and similar movements that you can think of.

You may want to try repeating the lesson in the opposite direction - turning to the right instead of the left.


LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING…
Did you do the entire lesson above? If so, what'd you feel? If you didn't, why not?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For more information on movement lessons that will help you learn how to move better, send us an email and we'll send it to you.

*****

Chad Estes
Movement Specialist
cestes@etmconsultants.com

Are you a Ticking Ergonomic Time Bomb?

By the end of the day do you have pain in your neck, upper back, shoulders, elbows, wrists, lower or mid back, hips, knees, or feet?

Do you strain your eyes to the point that by the end of the day they feel like they did back in college after you and your friends smoked a funny cigarette?

Do you generally feel stressed out, or perhaps you feel a low level of anxiety that seems to always be there under the surface?

Do you feel like you want to 'go postal' on someone at the end of your day?

Then you, like many people, are a ticking ergonomic time bomb.

What do you do about it?

How about you try this: (and hey, don’t just read it, follow along and actually do it!)

Come to sit at the edge of your chair, feet spread comfortably with your hands on your knees. (and ladies, if you’ve got high heels on, take them off. We love ‘em and all, but they wreak havoc on your body). Get those feet flat on the floor.

From this position, let your abdominal muscles relax, and push your belly out. Not a big movement, but a nice, small one (don't use a lot of effort). 

Return to the starting position. 

Do this several (8-10) times.  Do it with attention.

Your pelvis should be rocking forward as you do this movement.

Strive to make the movement as refined as possible (i.e. no jerkiness).  Make it smooth like butter.

Now relax.

Pay attention to your breathing. Is it easy, or do you strain to breathe? Just listen.

Come back to sitting at the edge of your chair.

This time pull your belly in. Again, don’t do a forceful movement, but a small, easy one. Your pelvis should be rocking backwards as you pull your belly in and round your spine.

Do this several (8-10) times.

Again, listen to your breathing. Strive to do the above movement without holding your breath.

Now relax again.

The slower you do it, and the more you pay attention to your movement, the more you will get out of it.

Now come back to the edge of your chair.

Let’s put the 2 moves from above together. Push your belly out, then pull your belly in. Your pelvis should be rocking forward and backward as you do this movement. Again, do this nice and easy. 

Repeat 8-10 times.  And while you're doing it, think about the following:

- How far up your spine can you feel this movement?

- Do you get taller when you push your belly out? 

- Are you getting shorter as you pull your belly in?

Pay attention to the way you move.

Paying attention is the only way you’re going to begin to notice what it is that actually causes you pain and discomfort.

This will then allow you to create move beneficial movement patterns that don’t cause you pain.

And the easier it is for you to move, the easier it’s going to be for you to do what you need to do.

… Let it be someone else who ‘goes postal’ because they’re stressed out.


LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING…
What do you do so that you’re not in pain by the end of your day?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Try the exercise above a couple times today and let us know what it does for you.

*****

Chad Estes
Movement Specialist
cestes@etmconsultants.com

Beating Stress

Stress impacts you in a variety of ways. It can:

Make you anxious
Make you angry
Make you argumentative
Make you aggressive
Make you depressed
Cause you to be “uptight”
Make you less productive
Affect your relationships
Affect your quality of sleep
Affect your quality of work
Make you weaker
Affect your breathing
Affect your thought patterns
Affect your movement patterns
Cause chronic over-secretion of stress hormones, such as cortisol
Affect your emotions
Affect your heart’s health
Cause excess bodily tension
Suppress your immune system – you get sicker easier and more often
Impair your brains’ function, especially memory
Decrease your ability to absorb new information or learn new skills

... and a whole host of other repercussions that come along with repeated exposure to stress.

According to the American Institute of Stress, stress is a somatic experience. That is, you experience stress with your whole self, throughout your entire body. It’s not just a “mental” thing.

Stress has a corresponding pattern of muscular action that goes along with it, and this pattern of action is individual to you.

Some feel pain in their necks. Some feel pain in their backs. Others have anxiety attacks.

For that specific reason, there is no one prescriptive answer to reduce stress (i.e. – you need to work out to relieve stress).

On the other hand, however, there is a single answer for how to prevent the fallout from stress.

First and foremost, you need to understand how stress affects you.

In order to do that, you need to be able to feel.

To feel?

That’s right, you need to be able to feel.

Sounds easy, but most people have been exposed to stress for such long periods of time, that they have repressed the feelings and bodily sensations that accompany it.

So, in order to reconnect with your feelings (not just your emotions, but the sensations that come from your body), you need to slow down.

Slow down?

Yes, slow down.

Based around the scientific laws that govern how your brain takes in and processes information, in order to develop and expand your capacity to feel, you need to slow down.

Slowing down allows your brain to take in, and process, larger amounts of information.

You become more in tune with the sensory feedback your body is giving you.

And remember, stress is a full body experience.

So, when you are able to tune in better to your sensory feedback, you are able to sense much earlier when stress is sneaking up on you.

When you feel stress sneaking up on your sooner, you have a better chance of not letting it get a grip on you.

And if you can prevent it from getting a grip on you, you can be more productive.

And a less stressed, more productive “you” makes everyone happy!

LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING…
What do you do to prevent the effects of stress in your life?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For more information on what “slowing down” actually means and how you can implement it in your life, send us an email and we’ll send it to you for free!

*****

Chad Estes
Movement Specialist
cestes@etmconsultants.com