Neck Pain [Yin-Yoga and Myofascial Unwinding]
Pain rarely originates at the site of the sensation, so considering body parts relative to the injury might be more helpful than treating the problem area. When you learn to inhabit enough of the body proportionally, it anchors more comfortably into a posture that works with gravity instead of fighting it. This changes our experience of sensitivity. A depth of feeling becomes more precise, so you sense pain sooner on a subtler level before it develops persistent intensity.
During the pandemic, I woke up to my puppy convulsing as she stopped breathing, and a bolt of electric heat ran down my neck along the spine. That injury gave me the gift of pulsatile tinnitus, where you are forced to listen to your heartbeat accompanied by a high-pitched ring. I previously injured my neck by following a misguided yoga flow and stomaching a ton of pandemic-related stress. After these few incidents, I could no longer relax. The muscles in my head, neck, chest, and upper back all seized. A friend suggested I try craniosacral therapy and during my first session, I fell into a complete resting state after years of sleepless nights. The therapy provided insight as to why my neck and muscles surrounding the rib cage became so tight. Everything finally gave up.
Neck pain can be a clue that something is over or underutilized lower in the kinetic chain. During my initial craniosacral session, the therapist supported my skull and pulled my head toward her which cued me to notice where my body resisted rest. I had to relax my neck and back muscles. Back pain or tension can be tricky though since a few different muscles overlap and can contribute to an issue. I noticed that my lats were cemented in place; after some research, I learned that they are massive core muscles that help with posture and breathing. They cloak the trunk similar to wings, spanning the entire lower and mid back. When they are lengthened and engaged appropriately, you gain access to your abs. If the front body begins to share the weight with the back body, posture opens and the musculature on the rib cage relaxes to find ease. The neck now assists with respiration and can sit back between the shoulder blades as the collarbones spread. This might resolve your back and neck pain.
I began to relax my lats with diaphragmatic breathing while lying on the floor with my arms in a goalpost position. Resting your hands out to a T can also help since bringing them too far overhead can affect the diaphragm and interrupt the practice. This stretch is an abbreviated form of a heart opener from yin yoga. Once you get into the pose, breathe belly first, letting the chest and neck follow as the ribs balloon and breath travels up to the scalenes (neck muscles). I'd suggest staying with a pose until you feel twitching, softening, or unwinding. Fascial unwinding is a gentle motion where a body part begins to loosen and pulsate or unravel as stuck energy in the fascial system dissipates. You can experience melting sensations or restoration of gliding motion. When I got deep releases in my muscles, I also noticed new mental narratives. Rigidity seems to produce one thought, and laxity encourages another thought. John Barnes, the creator of myofascial release, believes that subconscious thought patterns become conscious as the body unwinds and lets go of past traumas. You might be surprised to find images of old events popping up during deep stretches and holds. If they arise without much intensity attached to the memories, that’s as good as DIY healing gets, or any healing.
The following are passive and active yin yoga poses for the lats which also involve the traps, chest, and shoulders. All of these muscles affect how the neck finds a posture. There are also mental-emotional components that often are essential to self-care and the complete resolution of an issue. I will cover this in a future article.
Foam Roller Below Shoulder Blades
Lay back on a foam roller placed right under the shoulder blades. You can relax with your hands behind your head or drape your arms overhead in a "Y" formation. Laying there and breathing will give the fascia time to readjust to a more open posture. Try rolling your torso left to right to find bunched-up tissue and spend extra time on a spot that feels too tense to release. The goal is not to make the adhesion do anything, you want to meet tension with equal pressure and wait to see what happens. If the tissue moves, follow and stay with it. You can keep releasing an area to deeper levels if you care to.
Heart Opener
This pose spreads the clavicle and thoracic area- everything between the head and abdomen. Many of us clench our necks leading up to the skull. This position gives us a chance to see if we can completely let go of the suboccipital area. This is a major nexus for nerves running from the head to the torso.
The main thing to consider in a heart opener is how the back and front bodies are related. Opening the thorax benefits the vagal nerve by relaxing the areas it innervates such as the throat, chest, diaphragm, and abdomen. Becoming receptive in the front body allows the back and cervical neck to melt. We want to be adept at using our entire system when necessary. This passive stretch can be done on a bolster with arms out to the side, or down at your sides. It depends on what feels comfortable; we aim to find ease and then inch toward the edge of discomfort until we find ease again. This process allows us to find safety at new ranges of motion without hurting ourselves. An expanded ROM with increasing safety signifies health.
Heart openers are so easy, even a Dad can do one while lying flat on the floor.
Puppy Pose
This is the last position that helped with neck issues. Whereas the previous heart opener was a passive letting go, this stretch is active. Our lats, traps, shoulders, and chest are engaged. Kneeling on a mat or towel, extend your arms forward while squeezing your shoulder blades. Press the chest down toward the floor. A block under the hands can assist you in this position for extra depth. Depending on the discomfort in your neck, you may want to tuck your chin for this pose instead of flexing your neck backward. Puppy pose released a lot of emotion that I stored in my chest.
The OG Puppy Pose
Unless you are born with a structural issue, I don’t believe people have bad necks or knees or any body part. Different body types might be more prone to certain injuries but most of it is fixable. Neck pain is so common because it bridges the head with the heart. It is quite vulnerable and unprotected, plus it carries so many vital nerves down from the brain. The neck is one of the scariest places to feel an injury, but it usually resolves once you find ways to release parts of the body that play into the pain.
https://teachmeanatomy.info/head/cranial-nerves/vagus-nerve-cn-x/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2021/04/15/what-the-vagus-nerve-is-and-how-to-stimulate-it-for-better-mental-health/?sh=1e6530c96250
https://www.massagetoday.com/articles/1588026401859/Myofascial-Unwinding-Part-I
