https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-for-neck-pain-exercises?platform=hootsuite

Slept On Your Neck Funny? These 6 Stretches Will Soothe Your Pain By Noon

Before you book that massage or get stuck in unhelpful thought patterns about your neck pain, try one or more of these yoga poses and stretches.

BEE CREEL

NOV 29, 2018

Looking to relieve neck pain? Try these Yoga Medicine exercises to help release tension and tightness in the neck.

Whether you woke up with tension in your neck or you often have low-grade pain because you spend so much time hunched over your phone or laptop (hello, tech neck!), you know that neck strain can be terrible. What’s worse, it can also lead to poor posture, irritability, and even migraine headaches.

If you’re dealing with neck pain, it’s important not to do anything to make it worse. Avoid deep stretches, says Tiffany Cruikshank, an acupuncturist, yoga teacher, and founder of Yoga Medicine®. And if the muscldes in your neck are in spasm, Cruikshank recommends taking an epsom salt bath to help calm the inflammation.

See also 6 Stretches to Do at Work

When you’re ready for some gentle stretching, try this sequence created by Yoga Medicine® therapeutic specialist Diane Malaspina, Ph.D. Grab a foam roller, block, and strap and practice one or all of the following yoga poses designed to ease neck pain—fast.

Yoga for Neck Pain: A Home Practice

Neck Stretches with Strap

Come to a seated position and place a strap or resistance band around the base of your skull. Holding either side of strap and extend your arms forward. Relax your shoulders and make “Egyptian-like” movements, moving your head forward and back 15 times.

See also 4 Yoga Poses for Better Posture, Less Neck Pain

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About the Author

Bridget “Bee” Creel is the editorial producer for Yoga Journal. She works as a yoga teacher in NYC and is the co-founder of the wellness community, Mood Room. 

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 BEE CREEL