Looking Younger – by Releasing Neck Tension
One of my dear friends exercises regularly. I see her often getting up in the morning, putting together a blender-full of a healthy protein and fruit smoothie, and heading out to the gym before she goes to work each day. She’s resumed her “healthy lifestyle,” and she’s getting fitter and trimmer.
Nevertheless, I keep seeing a persistent hunch-over in her shoulders and neck. It’s the emerging dreaded “dowager’s hump”!
Far too many of us are getting this “hunched over” look; partly because so many of our activities – from working at the computer to driving a car – induce this posture. They all bring our arms forward and “hunch” our necks downwards.
If You Can’t Be a Good Example, Then Be a Horrible Lesson
I see my friend, and get a pointed reminder of how I don’t want to look!
Just like her – and possibly just like you – I spend most of my days at the computer. Occasionally, I’m driving about town. These two activities take up the bulk of my time.
Seeing how I don’t want to look is a powerful reminder to include “dowager’s-hump-fighting-strategies” into my life.
But – just like you – I get absorbed in my work, sometimes for hours at a time.
What can we do?
Proactive Steps to Minimize a Dowager’s Hump
As we get older, we can’t simply rely on exercise alone to keep osteoporosis (and the dowager’s hump) at bay. We need to think about a more integrated strategy, including:
- Diet, including dark leafy greens – possibly with vegetable juicing, together with with good calcium/magnesium supplements,
- Targeted exercise, focusing on a complete core-strengthening regime, and
- Specific stretches to open up our neck, upper back, and shoulder/pectoral areas.
Dr. Natalie Cordova, a Chiropractor and posture expert, gives us some ideas on what we can do to strengthen our backs and reduce the likelihood of a dowager’s hump.
Jim Evans also suggests some exercises to help deal with a dowager’s hump.
Releasing Neck and Back Tension Will Help Minimize a Dowager’s Hump
Most of us have desk jobs. Between sitting at our desks, sitting in the car (with our shoulders brought forward as we grasp the wheel), and then sitting at home in the evenings, we are all too often in a posture that tightens our neck and hunches our shoulders forward. Even in our “leisure moments,” we’re reinforcing this posture. (Feel the posture that you’re in while watching TV, doing texts and emails, and other digitally-based activities.)
One of the most notable signs of aging is our posture. Actually, it’s a combination of posture and muscular/joint stiffness. “Limberness” is a sign of youth. Being hunched over, with a tight, drawn in neck, with rounded shoulders is a sign of both stress and aging. And when we get “fixated” in this kind of posture, we start looking like a turtle – one that is very reluctantly sticking its head out of its shell! That’s the “dowager’s hump” stage.
Surprisingly, not many fitness coaches and anti-aging gurus focus on this. But a tight neck, and tight shoulders, are not only absolute give-aways about aging, they also feel awful! It’s hard to feel vigorous, lighthearted, and happy when our posture says that we’re hunching over to avoide the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”!
Perhaps even more surprisingly, the key to unlocking neck and shoulder tension (and releasing a “dowager’s hump”) starts not at our neck, but in our hips, pelvis, and lower back. As we release these areas, we begin to “mobilize” our spine. Once we do that, we can start releasing tension up and down our spines – reaching up into our neck. This is how we create a youthful, vibrant body!
I’ve just come back from a week at a client site. There were task-filled days, often be-bopping from one place to another, with the “to-do list” always on my mind. While I could do some stretch-outs, some yoga, and some walking while at my client’s, it just wasn’t ideal for my early-morning “sun salutation” yoga workout. And now, returning to home base, in the midst of unpacking and taking care of everyone’s physical (and emotional) needs, I’m noticing a tight neck. And also, a tight back, and a very tight lower back and hip area. The secret? A combination of yoga and “belly dance basics” – a series of stretching and releasing exercises that are actually best done in bed, or on a soft and yielding surface. I’ve been combining that with deliberate breathing, opening up my diaphragms. And without even getting to my neck area, I’m already getting some release.
Our yoga practice doesn’t have to be fancy, and we don’t need to do lots of advanced poses. But just getting some “downward dog” and “sun salutations” in helps tremendously to release tension in our hips, lower back, and sacral area. And all of this is necessary before any form of dance can begin.
Very best wishes as you use Oriental dance (belly dance) for personal growth and healing!
Yours in dance –
Alay’nya
Author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey
You are the Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus. Become the Jewel!
Founder and Artistic Director, The Alay’nya Studio
Bellydance a courtesan would envy!
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P.S. Want a couple of good DVDs to help strengthen your core and minimize dowager’s hump tendencies? Check out the two below!
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Gerson Kuhr, aka The Fitness Pharaoh on Unveiling: The Inner Journey
What does the Fitness Pharaoh, producer of the highly-acclaimed Core Training for Belly Dancers, have to say about Unveiling: The Inner Journey?
Gerson writes:
“Masterfully written. This is one of the most inspiring books that I have come across in a long, long time. It is “must reading” for any woman who wants to get in touch with her “inner diva” and realize her full potential as a dancer and human being. It’s empowering for men as well. The resources alone (mentioned throughout the book) are well worth the purchase price.”Read this and more reviews of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.
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Alay’nya, Unveiling: The Inner Journey |
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Copyright (c) 2012; revised 2013, Alay’nya. All rights reserved.