The neck is one of the most delicate points of our body, where stress and bad postures accumulate and settle, especially if we stay for a long time in front of a screen (mobile phone, computer, TV, etc.) or if we have a pillow positioned badly when we sleep, or if we clench our teeth. The neck should be treated with special respect and delicacy.
Straighten your head. With a “cupped hand”, grasp the back of your neck and pull. Rotate your head while pulling with your “cupped hand”.
Close your eyes, bring your chin towards your chest and turn your head gently to the right and left in a semicircle. Avoid letting your head go backwards so as not to compress the cervical vertebrae.
Breathe.
Straighten your head and use your fingers to continue massaging with rotational movements. Let’s adjust the pressure according to your needs. While massaging, gently rotate your head.
The first vertebra of our vertebral column, which connects the skull and the spine, is called “atlas”.
Imagine placing your head gently and lightly on the atlas, leave a gap between your skull and spine, as if there was a soft cloud in the middle.
Think about the mythological figure of Atlas who was condemned to carry the world on his shoulders and think about the name of this vertebra.
Oftentimes, with our thoughts we act like Atlas: we carry heavy loads and our head weighs on our neck creating pain or other discomforts. To lighten the head and neck, besides stretching and massage, every once in a while let go of focusing on any thoughts and release any worries, anxiety and secondary thoughts. Let your thoughts flow without attaching your Self to them. Let’s take a few minutes off from your thoughts and worries. Imagine placing your head very gently and lightly on your neck.
Now, how do you feel?
What kind of mood are you in right now?
Do you feel better than before?
Continue your day feeling that your neck is free, with your head pulling you gently towards the sky while your coccyx or tailbone gently pulls you towards the earth.
Create Space in Your Life and in Your Body!
For more information on self-massage, see here
Video cover-photo courtesy of Alex Bertha on Unsplash
Music: Eternal Structures courtesy of Asher Fulero on Youtube
Vertebra picture courtesy of Anatomography on Wikimedia Commons
Atlas picture by Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi_1481–1536 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Atlas picture courtesy of Luis Miguel Bugallo Sanchez on Wikimedia Commons
If you have any doubt or particular physical condition, please contact your doctor before doing the self-massage.