Heads Up!
The position of our head is often overlooked when viewing the body's alignment. When it comes to the upper body, most people notice slumping shoulders.But what is happening with our heads?
While participating in a movement workshop some years ago, the facilitator announced this is the Age of Anxiety. I have now heard that phrase used in several places. I don't know where it originated, but it rings true.
The medical profession is noting more and more stress related symptoms and diseases. However, I don't think we need the medical profession to make us aware that too much stress produces negative effects.
Stress tends to contract our muscles and breathing.
Most of us can sense that pretty quickly when we pay attention. What we are often unaware of is the position of the head.
Stress turns on the fight or flight response. When we perceive some kind of danger or potential threat, be it real or imaginary, our bodies prepare to flee or attack.
In studies observing animals in the fight or flight mode, something very interesting was noted about head position.
If an animal is startled or potentially threatened, the position of the lower jaw moves forward bringing along the entire head.
This position is advantageous for using the jaw to bite. It also extends the spine in order to allow for a hasty retreat.
This is a pretty dramatic response to a traffic jam or a work deadline. But we still carry many primal tendencies that turn on biologically under the stress we experience today.
Although we no longer need to run from saber toothed tigers, stress is part of our lives. Judging from what clients have shared with me and from my own experience of stress, it is usually about the future.
Many of us literally lean into the future with our shoulders and head.
Even if the future doesn't hold our attention, our thoughts usually do. The expression, "living in my head" has become fairly common.
We are a culture that values our ability to think. We are spending more and more time sitting in front of computers and behind the wheel of a car.
The next time you feel impatient in the car or pressured at the computer, notice if your head has moved forward.
We often slouch over our computers or in the seats of our cars with the head out in front. Placing your head out in front of the shoulders for long periods of time is too much to ask of the neck muscles.
Here are two ways to support your head if you notice it is leading the way.
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* Make sure that your shoulders are aligned directly over your hips.
* Roll each shoulder back and down one at a time. Gently slide your head forward then slide it back to the space between your shoulders.
* Imagine that a string is attached to the crown of the head. Now imagine that string is lightly pulling your head up. Take a deep breath and relax without collapsing forward.
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Feeling more at ease? Don't stop yet!
Holding the head in front of the shoulders creates an imbalance in the neck muscles from front to back. As we lean into what is ahead of us, we overuse the muscles in the front of the neck.
Try this experiment.
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* Turn your head left to right, looking over each shoulder. Notice the range of motion and general sensation.
* Now place your awareness in the back of your head. Take a few moments to let your consciousness explore the back of the skull.
* This time, turn your head left to right by moving the BACK of your head.
What did you notice? Send me an e-mail
I notice less stiffness and greater range of motion.
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Wishing you good health,
Kaiopa Stage
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