Head & Neck Alignment Exercise - “Chicken Dance”
Like 1 Dislike 0 Published on 21 Apr 2018
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Hyper extension of the upper cervical spine leads to atrophy in the muscles in the front of the upper neck, and hyper flexion of the base of the cervical spine leads to tightness across the muscles of the lower front of the neck. Combined, these lead to tightness across the base of the skull, poor head/neck alignment, impaired vision, poor circulation, and headaches, etc.
Working to re-educate and strengthen the muscles across the front of the upper neck, while simultaneously stretching the muscles across the front of the lower neck, and chest can alleviate this issue. It can also improve mobility across the thoracic spine, by loosening fascia into the chest and sternum, and front of the ribcage portion of the spine, while simultaneously decompressing and relieving pressure across the base of the skull and the portion of the spine that connects directly to it, improving vision, circulation, energy flow, etc.
NOTE: if you are working with cervical spine injury, consult a physical therapist or doctor first, before trying this. Also, for people with a more limited range of motion, try wrapping a small towel around the back of your neck, and using it as a hammock cradling the back of your neck, holding one end of the towel in either hand, to support your neck as you try this for the first time. Be safe, be smart, use common sense and intuition; if this exercise doesn’t feel good in your body, don’t do it!
Special thanks to Lifesport Fittness for use of the space, and John Zegar for video production!