Office Neck Yoga: Relieving Neck Tension After a Long Day at Work

Do you tend to tense up your neck or suffer from recurring neck stiffness? When you feel tension in your neck, do you find it hard to know how to relieve it? Learn how to strengthen your neck muscles to prevent this tension and how to relax your neck area without straining it…

The neck is an extremely fragile part of the body: it supports the weight of your head (nearly 5 kilos!) and is one of the first areas where stress builds up. Be aware of your bad habits: when you’re upset, tense, or when it’s cold, you tend to tense up and pull your shoulders up toward your ears until your neck disappears, don’t you? Working at a computer screen puts your neck under constant strain. When you “crane your neck” by sticking out your chin to look at your computer, when you’re constantly looking down at your smartphone, or when you make phone calls with the phone wedged between your ear and shoulder, the entire back of your neck suffers. These repeated poor postures create muscle tension that often spreads to the rest of your back and can even cause migraines.

The worst possible reaction? Clenching your teeth. Have you noticed that you clench your jaw when you’re upset or simply concentrating, or that you grind your teeth at night? The neck area is directly connected to the jaw, so the tension you create there can spread to the neck muscles and even down to the trapezius muscles… Don’t worry—there’s a yoga exercise for all of that!

It’s often the back of your neck that gets tense when you’re looking at your screen or smartphone. Release tension in your neck with a single movement! Sit comfortably with your back straight, and stretch your neck as if you were suspended from the ceiling by an invisible string attached to the top of your head. Inhale, interlace your fingers, and place them at the back of your head (not on your neck).

As you exhale, lower your head and bring your chin toward your chest, keeping the rest of your spine straight. Push your hands away with your head, pressing your head into your hands and pushing it backward toward the ceiling. Be careful not to pull your neck downward, and keep your shoulders low and relaxed. Take three deep breaths, and feel the strengthening in the back of your neck. At the end of the third exhale, release your hands and lift your head.

IMPORTANT: If you have chronic neck pain or a neck condition, perform these exercises gently while coordinating your movements with your breath.

To stretch the back of your neck diagonally this time, simply tilt your head down! Sit comfortably with your back straight, inhale, and lengthen your neck as if you were suspended from the ceiling by an invisible string attached to the top of your head. You can let your hands hang down on either side of the chair.

Exhale, lower your chin toward your chest, and feel the stretch at the back of your neck. Inhale, and—keeping your chin lowered—bring your right ear toward your right shoulder. Take three very deep breaths here, closing your eyes to help you focus. Feel the stretch in the left side of the back of your neck, all the way down to your left shoulder blade.

At the end of the third exhale, inhale and, keeping your head down, bring your chin back to the center. As you exhale, bring your left ear toward your left shoulder, and repeat the exercise to feel the stretch in the right side of the back of your neck this time.

IMPORTANT: If you have chronic neck pain or a neck problem.

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