 Hi and welcome! This video focuses on stretching out the neck and providing some mobility in the neck and shoulder, shoulder areas that we a lot of times get tied in. So if you're sitting up on a chair that's perfectly fine or if you're more comfortable sitting on the ground that's, that works as well. If you're sitting up on a chair, scratch your bottom all the way back so that your low back actually touches the support of the chair and then have the feet on the ground about hip-width distance. Let the arms just relax on your thighs and let's start by taking some nice big shoulder rolls and deep breaths in. So inhale, bring the shoulders up and on the exhale release them in the back. Two more. Inhale, big shoulder roll, exhale release. One more time. Inhale, big shoulder roll, exhale release down and now let's reverse direction. So roll the shoulders from the back to the front. Inhale up, exhale release. Two more. Inhale, roll the shoulders forward and release. One more time and relax here. Now bring the right ear to the right shoulder noticing the stretch on the left side of the neck. Now you have an option here of placing the right hand on top of that left ear and creating a little bit of extra stretch here by pressing the hand into the head. Pay attention to how that feels on the left side of the neck and just be gentle with yourself. The other option is of actively pulling that left shoulder down towards the ground to increase the stretch or maybe you'll take that left hand and wrap it around until it's wrapped around that right hip which allows you to draw the shoulder towards the ground. So breathe into the neck here. Maybe close your eyes, gently opening up the side of the neck. About three more full breaths here and as things start to loosen up maybe you can provide a little bit more of that shoulder pull towards the ground or a little bit more gentle pressure exerted against the side of the head to let that neck open up. Then slowly and gently walk the head towards the back of your neck with the chin coming towards the armpit on the right side now focusing more on the back of that shoulder. Again maybe pulling the shoulder actively on the left side towards the ground to feel the opening in the back here. Sometimes it can also be nice to gently move the chin up and down about a centimeter or so. Again be nice and gentle with yourself and notice how that feels in the back of the neck here. Maybe you find a sweet spot that you feel needs a little extra attention and you want to hang out there for a moment or two and send some extra breaths towards that area and then we'll gently walk the hand more towards the forehead and temple area lifting the chin towards the sky. Now we feel that stretch more towards the front of the neck. Again gently moving the left shoulder towards the ground and maybe taking the gentle head or chin movements and noticing if you're finding an area that needs a little extra attention today and laying it there and sending some extra breath towards that area. Take about two more breaths here and then gently release bring the hands back to your lap or to your thighs and let the head come straight so that the neck is a nice extension of the spine and the chin is parallel to the ground. Close your eyes for a moment and notice the difference in the sensations of the right and left side of the neck now. It's always nice to tune into our bodies and acknowledge the changes that are happening so that we can become more aware of where we need the extra attention and then start working towards loosening those areas. Now let's go the other way. So left ear to the left trender. Let's start there and then maybe you want to place the left hand on top of that right ear creating a gentle pressure increased stretch here and maybe you want to place the right hand wrap it around towards that left hip. Maybe scooting forward on your chair a tiny bit so you have some room and then gently actively moving that right shoulder towards the ground so that you can have a little bit of an extra opening here. Maybe you want to start that gentle slight movement of the chin up and down and see if you can again discover one of those sweet spots that you want to linger in for a moment or two. Slow, deep breaths. Just close your eyes and imagine or picture that muscle there as you're breathing into it as it starts to let go. Then we'll gently walk the hand towards the back of the neck of the head letting the chin come towards the left armpit. Feeling more of the opening in the back of the shoulder now. Perhaps again moving that right shoulder closer towards the ground. Feeling the opening in the back and maybe taking these slight movements with the chin up and down noticing those areas that need that extra attention and breath. Always be gentle with yourself and see where you're at. You might also notice that one side feels different from the other and that's completely normal. We'll gently move the chin towards the sky now and the hand towards the temple of that right side lifting the chin towards the sky. Feeling more of the stretch in the front of the neck and maybe again taking that gentle movement of the chin. Open up here. Take your time with this. Then gently remove that hand. Set the hands back in your lap. Put the chin parallel to the ground and notice now the right and left sides and how they might feel different. Maybe you've created a sensation that it's a little bit looser. Just sit here and notice for a moment. Then gently open the eyes. Now we'll do another opening of the neck here after the sideways. This sometimes is a little bit of a funny one. Remember to have that nice long spine. Then what we'll do is we'll stick the chin forward making sure that the chin is still parallel towards the ground. Then we'll pull the chin back so that we're almost having a double chin now. This front and back movement helps to remind the neck that it's not supposed to be extended. We can also pull it back into kind of like a turtle does. So gently moving back and forth here. Remember not to really move the shoulders down at all but only bringing mobility to the neck here. Inhale, stick the chin forward, exhale tuck it back in. Now you might hear a few cracks in the neck there. That's generally okay as long as there's no pain associated with that. As always in case there's pain, just stop the exercise and just sit for a moment and breathe. Now the next time we extend the neck forward we'll pull it back like we did before. And then tuck there into that double chin kind of and then just lean the head back. Put the front of the chest relaxed and open. Then gently bring the head back up. Now let's bring the hands here and interlace them in front of us. Turn the palms away from you with straight arms. Inhale the arms overhead. Now keep the elbows straight. The arms might end up here or they might end up here or they might end up by your ears. Everybody is different. So just notice where you're at and then you always have room to move into. The thumbs should be touching and if the upper arms are by the ears then the palms actually face the sky. Be attention here that you're not arching the lower back. So gently engage the lower abdominals. Reach with the arms up, feeling the opening in the upper back and shoulders here. And then gently bring the arms back down. Look down at the interlace of your fingers and now cross the fingers the other way. That's usually the more awkward way with the non-dominant hand on top now. Turn the palms inside out. Inhale the arms overhead again to where you can keep the elbows straight. Thumbs out to touch. Engage the lower abdominals. Reach for the sky. Keep the chin parallel towards the ground. Lengthening the side ribs here at the upper back. Slow, gentle breaths. And then we'll slowly release back down. Inhale the arms to about shoulder height and then bend the elbows. The palms face forward now and the hands are spread nice and wide. So elbows are about shoulder height so look left and right to see where they are. And then bring the forearms back. So see if you can move the hands behind the elbows. See how that feels in the upper back. Keep the low belly getting engaged to protect the low back. Opening up the front of the chest here. It always tends to get a little bit tight when we have a lot of desk work or when we're sitting down a lot. Now inhale here and then on the exhale bring the elbows together in front of you and the forearms. On the chest. Exhale, forearms and elbows coming together. One more time. And then release down. Now we'll turn over. You can either stay seated or stand up but clasp your hands behind your back. If the hands are not touching you can always place a towel or a strap or an item of clothing or washcloth between here. But if the hands touch, interlace the knuckles and pull them towards the ground so that the chest and the front opens nicely. Even to the chest here. I'm going to change my position so you can see the chest. This might be another opportunity to maybe bring the chin to the chest. But again, notice how you feel. Maybe you want to look up. See how that feels in the neck. And then we'll gently release. Bring the arms out and shoulder height again. And then on the exhale give yourself a nice big hug with the right arm under the leg. Reach for opposite shoulders here. Release the shoulders away from the ears and either stay here or bring the hands to touch. Depending on your shoulder flexibility. If the hands are to touch, release the shoulders away from the ears. Lift the elbows to about shoulder height and move the forearms away from you. Take another full breath here. And then on the next exhale, around the back, bring the elbows to your belly button. Really hollow out the back or round the back bringing the chin to the chest. Then the shoulders just relax there. It's the same with the shoulders. If you're holding on for opposite shoulders, you just kind of round the back all the way from the low back to the neck here. Nice big breath here. And then we'll come on up and we'll go the other way. So arms and shoulder height on the inhale. On the exhale this time left arm on the right. Either reach for the opposite shoulders or again bring the hands to touch. Now this might be a little bit different again as we have variations from side to side to see where you are and on or where you're at. If the hands are interlaced, release the shoulders away from the ear. Elbows come to about shoulder height and then the forearms move away from your face. Keep the chin parallel to the ground, breathing into the upper back. Slowly breath again, focusing on the upper back, maybe closing your eyes to really tune in. And then on the next exhale, around forward again bringing the elbows towards the belly button. Rounding the back bringing the chin towards the chest. Here and hold for a couple of breaths. And then slow in and go and come on back up. Let's take a moment here again with the hands in our shoulder on our laps. Maybe close the eyes and notice how you feel right now. With the spine present a little bit more mobile, the neck a little bit more relaxed. Let's take three more nice big breaths together. Inhale through the nose. Exhale through the nose. Time. Inhale. Big exhale. And slow, big exhale. Gently open the eyes. I hope you feel a little bit lucid. Now that you can do this little stretch video anytime during the day, it definitely helps to loosen things up. And I hope you'll enjoy this also soon.