FYB Feel Your Best - Yoga Teacher Training, Pilates Teacher Training and Stress Management Teacher Training

Mind, Body & Spirit:

Question and Answers

About Yoga, Pilates & Stress Management

By Debra Mundt, RYT500, CPT
FYB (Feel Your Best)^®

Yoga, Pilates & Stress Management

Teacher Certification Training School

Tension Headaches / Neck & Upper Back Pain and Tightness / Meditation

Q: Please help! I have chronic tension headaches, as well as neck and upper back pain and tightness. I have tried numerous medications, even prescriptions, but nothing seems to help long-term. I feel like the medication is just a “band-aid”, because the pain comes back as soon as it wears off. I’m worried about my health as a result of putting all this medicine into my body. Can Yoga help me? --K.F.

A: The pain cycle you describe is not uncommon…and you are correct, the medication you’ve been taking is simply masking the underlying problem, so it’s not a logical long-term solution to any type of chronic pain. Not to mention the risk of dependency on the medication itself, which is a whole other topic!

So let’s try to break your cycle of pain! From what you describe, it sounds like you need to relax your neck and upper back muscles, which you can learn to do by understanding some simple Yoga breathing techniques. A qualified Yoga teacher can teach you how to correctly use your primary muscles of respiration (the diaphragm and intercostals), rather than overusing the secondary muscles (the Sternocleidomastoid and trapezius, for example, which are located in the neck and upper back).

Here’s an easy test: watch yourself in a mirror as you breathe. If your shoulders and chest rise when you inhale, you are overusing your secondary muscles of respiration, and it’s no wonder you have upper body tension!

As well as learning some effective breathing techniques, there is something else you can do when you have a tension headache, and/or neck and shoulder tension. Donna Farhi suggests doing the “Shoulder Clock” to release all the muscles in the upper body. Stand about 6 to 10 inches away from a wall, with your right shoulder closest to the wall (your shoulders are perpendicular to the wall), and your feet
hip-width for stability. Imagine that there is a large clock on the wall beside you, and extend your right arm up to the 12:00 mark. Take several breaths here, then slide your hand back to 1:00 (keeping the shoulders as perpendicular as possible, without letting the left shoulder draw in toward the wall). Take several breaths, and slide your hand back to 2:00. Again, breathe, and then slide your hand to 3:00. At 3:00, your arm should be parallel to the floor; hold for a few breaths, then bend the knees, draw the torso slightly forward, and turn your chest away from the wall. Slowly slide your hand all the way down the wall (from 4:00 to 6:00), and release. At this point, if you look in a mirror, chances are that your right arm will appear longer than your left arm…this is an indication that you have released tension all around the shoulder and upper back. Repeat on the other side.

Did You Know?

There seems to be a lot of talk these days about the benefits of meditation. And there are certainly some images that might be conjured up when you hear the word “meditation”, right? Well, meditation doesn’t have to be “formal” (you can meditate for any length of time, from 2 minutes to an hour or more!), you don’t have to sit on the floor in a “pretzel posture” (you can sit on a chair, lie on your bed, or meditate in
any position that feels comfortable!), and you don’t have to chant “om”, burn incense, cloak yourself in a white blanket, or anything else that may not feel comfortable to you!

My favorite technique, to introduce beginners to meditation, is called Mindfulness Meditation. Find a comfortable position (preferably with eyes closed, if that’s comfortable), and allow yourself to simply notice your thoughts (without judging them…just bringing awareness to them). Recognize any experiences you have, and silently acknowledge them (e.g., “Now I am aware that my legs feel heavy”, or
“Now I am aware that I hear birds chirping outside”, or “Now I am aware that I am thinking of what to make for dinner”). Let each experience drift off, like a cloud in a blue sky, until you acknowledge the next one. You will probably begin to notice over time that the “pauses” between experiences become longer and longer, and you will move from “doing” to simply “being”. This is meditation! If you would like to
deepen your meditation experiences, and learn other techniques, I encourage you to seek the help of either a qualified meditation instructor or a qualified Yoga instructor.

Do you (or does someone close to you) have a medical condition, or have an injury that you think Yoga, Pilates or Stress Management might be helpful in treating? Perhaps, you have general or specific Yoga, Pilates or Stress Management related questions. I’d love to hear from you! Please send your question to Info@FeelYourBest.com. I regret that I will not be able to personally answer each question submitted, due to time and space constraints.

Debra Mundt, RYT500, CPT, is the founder of FYB (Feel Your Best)^® Yoga, Pilates & Horizons (Stress Management). She is also Director of the FYB Teacher Certification Training School. Debra and the School Faculty members may be reached at 262-241-8796, or by e-mailing Info@FeelYourBest.com.