Effective Stretches to Alleviate Neck and Shoulder Pain
If you often find yourself wishing for relief from neck and shoulder pain at the end of your workday, the latest episode of Good Moves offers a therapeutic solution. In this 13-minute session, Chloe De Winter, a Pilates instructor and the founder of Go with Chlo, guides you through a series of gentle stretches and innovative bodyweight-based poses specifically designed to ease tension in your neck and shoulders.
Before diving into the exercises, De Winter emphasizes the importance of viewing this session as a holistic mind and body relaxation experience. Through a sequence of neck rolls, she suggests focusing on your breathing and allowing your mind to wander. Stress and tension often accumulate in the shoulders due to habits like shoulders tensing up or hunching forward, she explains. By encouraging simultaneous relaxation of the mind and body, you can amplify the benefits of the stretches.
After the warm-up, De Winter showcases postures that enable you to utilize your body weight to alleviate tightness in your neck and shoulders. These movements will likely elicit sighs of relief. De Winter points out that engaging your legs and arms in stretching can effectively reduce neck and shoulder pain by leveraging the strength of your entire body. For example, sitting on your knees with one shoulder on the floor and extending your arm can provide leverage to target those tense shoulder muscles. Slow and deliberate execution of these movements can be incredibly satisfying.
The session concludes with child’s pose, allowing you to fully experience the effects of the stretching routine. Ending in child’s pose also enables you to assess the improved sensation in your neck and shoulders after the session. Feeling ready for that metaphorical upper body rolling pin? Grab a mat and start the session.
