I have been reading the book, My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem.  This book "is a call to action for Americans to recognize that racism is not only about the head, but also about the body.  Menakem introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide and takes readers through a step-by-step healing process based on the latest neuroscience and somatic healing methods." Quote from the back cover of the book.

​I have been taking time with the second part of Menakem's book, which is titled "Remembering Ourselves".  He says, "The place to begin the all-important healing of trauma is with the body.  Your body.  Each of our bodies."  He provides body and breathing practices to get to know, experience and understand the body.  I have been enjoying these practices and have incorporated some of the ways to settle into a movement practice.  The movement sequences shared below bring in novel ways to move the spinal chain and mobilize the joints.  "Sometimes trauma energy can get stuck in the joints," Manakem states.  The momentum and rotations can help to release the energy and reduce the tension along the kinetic chain. 

Neck pain is a big drag!  Neck stiffness is so annoying! How often have you tried stretching and neck strengthening exercises that send you into more pain and stiffness?  I have totally been there!  One of my favorite ways to relax the neck is to start getting movement into the shoulders, shoulder blades and thoracic spine.
3 Movements for a happy & healthy neck (before you begin, check your neck motion: rotate each direction and then bring your chin to your chest.  Notice how far you move and how it feels):

• Sidelying Trunk Rotation and Shoulder Windmill
• Shoulder Blade Movement on Hands and Knees
• Shoulder Stretch

Now recheck your neck motion and notice if it feels different: is it easier, not so stiff, more motion?

This movement sequence was inspired by my exploration with Jill Miller's Yoga Tune Up™/Roll Model and Yamuna Body Rolling.

STEP 1:  Get some stimulus to the lats and the muscles between the shoulder blades.  As the arms have moved forward to type on the keyboard, these muscles are now resting in a lengthened position.  This active shoulder girdle stretch takes the muscles into more of a stretch, just like a sling shot, so they can contract back into resting position.

STEP 2:  Stretch the neck and arm.  Lengthen the tissues in the entire arm and neck by holding onto a door jam and leaning away.  This provides a traction stimulus to the wrist and shoulder, which is a wonderful reprieve after sitting hunched in a ball at the computer.

STEP 3:  Get up out of your chair every 30 minutes.  Walk to the water cooler, stretch your arms to the ceiling, stretch your legs, something simple before sitting down again. 

Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT.  Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignintegrationandmovement.com.

Below is a video sequence to address spinal mobility and upper back tension.  Before you begin, lie on your back with your legs out straight.  Notice the contact of the back of your legs, your low back, lower ribs and shoulder blades to the floor. After you complete the sequence, lie on the floor again and notice the change of your muscles and your connection with the floor.  Enjoy!

Almost a year ago I wrote about the pectoralis minor's referral pattern into the shoulder blade and shared a lovely release using a tennis ball (you can read about that here).  I am back at it again with another post highlighting the pectoralis minor and pectoralis major.  Due to the location of their attachment sites on the skeleton, they can affect the function of the head, neck, shoulder and arm.
Pectoralis Minor attaches to the coracoid process of the scapula  and to the outer surfaces of the third, fourth and fifth ribs. Restriction here can pull the shoulder blade forward (you will see the bottom/inferior portion of your shoulder blade lift away from your body wall), potentially bringing the entire arm with it).
Pectoralis Major is a big fan shaped muscle that is attached to the chest at the sternum (breast bone) and clavicle (collar bone) .  The fan shaped fibers coverge at the arm and attach into the bicipital groove of the humerus.  Restriction in this muscle will pull the arm in front of the body and rotate your arm into internal rotation (with your arms at rest at your sides, look in the mirror: where are your elbow creases facing?  If they are turned toward your body, that is called internal rotation.  In neutral, the arms should rest at the sides of the body with the elbow creases facing forward).

Before you begin with the exercises, do a motion assessment first.  Stand with your elbow creases and palms facing forward.  Lift your arms up and see how far you can lift without arching your back or letting your lower ribs lift away from your body wall.  Complete the movements as show below and then repeat the assessment.  For the first exercise you can use a tennis ball, but I prefer the high grip rubber of the Yoga Tune Up massage balls.