Just stop what you are doing and take a quick look at what your posture looks like. Is your chin jutting in the forward direction? Do you have rounded shoulders? Is your head hanging in front of your chest right now when you are reading this? If this sounds like your current experience while sitting you are actively experiencing “Tech Neck”.
The human head has a weight of around 5 to 7 kgs when it is sitting perfectly aligned at the top of a neutral spine in a good posture. However the more you tilt your head forward the more it will feel heavy. So if you are spending time looking into the screen of your phone, laptop etc you will feel the weight of your head increases, approximately double with every tilt per inch.
When it's at a sharp 60 degree tilt, your delicate neck muscles will be forced to ensure against the strain of an astonishing 30 kgs of pressure. If your daily routine includes spending 8-10 hours a day on screen, you will have constant physical load and that will make your neck muscles at the front weak and over worked, while the muscles which are at the base of your skull become very tight, short and locked up.
To break free from this constant suffering of strain and restore the right alignment to your cervical spine, here are 4 gentle, yoga backed alignment switches to help you in dissolving the deep tension you are holding.
1. The Forward Jut vs. the Spinal Reset
The Unconscious Habit: You are deeply involved in a project and constantly looking at a spreadsheet or a text thread without a pause. And you don't notice that your head starts to lean forward towards the screen. Your chin sticks out and it traps tension at the very base of your skull.
The Silent Cost: This hyperextension in the upper neck and its delicate vertebrae makes you experience the feeling of crushing, because of this position. More importantly, you need to know that it causes pinching of the sub occipital nerves which are running along the back side of your skull. This is the main reason which triggers the stubborn, throbbing tension headaches which also makes you feel eye strain.
The Mindful Shift: Sit up tall and straight, away from the back of your chair. Put your two fingers gently against the front part of your chin. After that gently glide your throat back in the area without tilting your head down, which will create a dramatic looking double chin. Now stay in this position and take three deep breaths, feeling that the back of your neck is growing really long and after three breaths, release and relax. Do this thing five times and it will help you in resetting your baseline posture.
2. The Muscle Pull vs. the Weighted Melt
The Unconscious Habit: When you feel the stiffness in your neck, instinctively you grab the side of your head and try to yank your ear in the direction of your shoulder.
In here, you are using the raw strength of your arm to forcefully achieve the deep stretch, and hopefully thinking that it will help you snap out from the tightness in that region.
The Silent Cost: When you apply pressure on cold and highly sensitive tissues of your neck beyond their natural limit, it activates the protective muscle spasm. Your nervous system feels danger and it causes the surrounding muscles to lock up even tighter than they were previously.
The Mindful Shift: Drop your right ear in the direction of your right shoulder by using only the natural weight of your head, don't use your hands at all, and keep them out of it. To make the release deeper in a safe way, it’s important to crawl your left fingertips in the direction of the floor that will make the left shoulder as your anchor in this exercise. To activate the deep back corner of your neck, gently rotate your chin down approximately 45 degrees, as if you are looking at the right side of your shirt pocket. Keep this position for 5 deep breaths and then switch the sides. Do this workout 5-6 times each side.
3. The Broken Backbend vs. the Cradled Opener
The Unconscious Habit: To counter the daily sitting forward posture, you decide to stretch by interlocking your fingers behind your head and letting your skull be dropped completely backward, and also letting your elbows flare out wide and open, as your neck collapses.
The Silent Cost: When you arch backward in a loose way without any stabilization, it will cause pinching in the joints of your cervical spine. It will lead to the dumping of your heavy skull onto the unprotected vertebrae, causing a sharp and uncomfortable compression.
The Mindful Shift: Interlock your fingers, place them directly at the base of your skull. After that wrap your elbows in forward direction so that they point straight ahead, framing your face like bookends. Now you start pressing the back of your head into your palms, and at the same press your palms back towards your skull, to generate a good deal of resistance. While keeping this constant resistance, inhale to raise your elbows towards the ceiling, tilting your chest upwards in the direction of the sky, while your hands give total support to the weight of your neck.
4. The 360-Degree Roll vs. the Half-Moon Carve
The Unconscious Habit: You feel tightness in your neck, so you drop your head down and start to do rolls with your head, in big and consistent 360- degree circles, letting your head flop in loose manner across your upper back.
The Silent Cost: When you crank your head completely backward it grinds the facet joints of your neck together. This can cause compressions in the vital blood vessels and nerves, which will lead to that unpleasant grinding sound, clicking or also cause dizziness that happens suddenly.
The Mindful Shift: Drop your chin in the direction of your chest, feeling a long stretch through your upper back in a safe manner. Slowly roll your right over the same side shoulder which is the right shoulder. From this position, make a semi-circle slowly and gently, across the front side of your chest, rolling the chin down and over until your left ear reaches your left shoulder. Make sure to do this front, lower half-moon shape movement and totally avoid the backward drop. Do this smooth and gentle movement five times.
The Daily Tech Neck Prevention Checklist:
If you want to keep your neck totally free from the tension during your working hours, check this quick alignment list every hour:
? Ear Alignment: Are your ears perfectly aligned with your shoulders or are they sitting past your collarbones?
? Gaze Level: Is your screen at the right eye level and you are looking straight in front rather than down?
? Shoulder Check: Are your shoulder blades fully relaxed and resting flat against your back, or are they moving towards your ears?
? Jaw Relaxation: Is your jaw in a relaxed position and not clenched tightly, with a little space in between your upper and lower teeth?.
? Micro-Breaks: Do you take breaks of at least 30 seconds every hour to roll your shoulders and perform a reset for your chin?
A Note on Structural Safety & Medical Caution:
The cervical spine is very delicate and has very important nerve pathways. These gentle neck releases mentioned above must only provide you with a dull warm sensation of muscular tightness release.
If you notice there is sharp, shooting pain, which is going through your whole arm, or localized numbness in your fingers, or sudden bouts of dizziness when you are performing these exercises, you must stop immediately.
If you are dealing with chronic neck issues like cervical disc bulging, severe whiplash, or spondylitis etc., you must be extra careful while doing any kind of exercise. Always remember to consult with a qualified physical therapist or a doctor before you are thinking of starting any neck exercise routine. Your long term posture health is most important and keeps it as top priority, never put pressure on your delicate joints.