Neck stiffness reply

[Guest guest]

Long deep breathing, when done properly may help with neck stiffness because shallow breathers use neck muscles to lift the clavicles to breathe into the top of their lungs only. Teach her how to breathe.

Also, I am an LMT for 11 years and I swear by a stretch I call the doorway stretch. Have your Mom stand in a doorway with both arms out to the side with both arms bent to 90 degrees, palms facing forward. Place the forearms against the doorframe, palms facing forward. Put one foot forward on floor like you are taking a step. Bend front knee and all body weight comes forward, stretching pectoralis major and minor (on chest and front of shoulders). Hold for at least 5 deep breaths. To see real results, do this stretch for one minute, 3 times per day, every day. Start gently when you have a chronic problem.

I call pectoralis minor "sneaky little pec minor" because of the problems it causes with eveyone's posture. The way we are designed, the skeleton should support the weight of your head. But tension in pec minor makes our shoulders roll forward. This pulls the head forward slightly, and now the trapezius muscles on the sides and back of the neck and reaching down between the shoulder blades have to hold up your heavy head, which is not their job so they become fatigued, tight, sore. If you stretch your pecs regularly, it eventually takes the weight off the muscles on the neck so they can heal. I recommend this strech for all neck and shoulder problems. It works.

I also recommend you find her a massage therapist. she could get even half hour treatments or if the therapist is open she could get frequent 15 minute treatments (once or twice a week) to see real results.

Plus, does she want to heal? What is this neck pain telling her? If she's open to the idea of chakras, she may want to research the 5th chakra. In my experience neck pain like you describe is about fear of or refusal to surrender to God's will. The 5th chakra is about communication, listening, speaking one's truth, creativity and what you are here to communicate that only you can express. Many of us have fear of surrendering to God's will. "What if god's plan for me is something I don't want to do?" may be a feeling a person has. This is ironic, because God's plan for us will be something very cool and fitting for us of course, but if your first woundings as a child led you to believe you were alone and that god is not looking out for you then you can see why that fear would be lurking. Tell mom to Check out Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss or another good chakra book if she wants to explore what her higher Self is trying to tell her via this neck tension/pain. Or if she is not into it, encourage her to do the doorway stretch and get massaged.

Good luck.

Guru Beant Kaur in FL

Bridget Kamke, LMTKundalini Yoga TeacherLicensed Massage TherapistChildren's Book Authorwww.infinipede.com

__________

Always home alone? Get a Emergency Alert System. Click Now.