Relieve neck tension by being Mindful!!

If you haven’t noticed it has turned COLD this past week or so here in Iowa.  I don’t know about you, but it usually takes me a little while to adjust to the colder temperatures and all of the layering up you end up doing in the winter season.  One of my clients mentioned this week that she noticed her neck muscles being tighter this week and thought maybe it had to do with the cold weather as she hadn’t gotten her scarves out yet.  As soon as she said that I had a big aha moment for myself.  I am completely guilty of not dressing warm enough and then doing things like scrunching my shoulders up and trying to use my body position to keep me warmer!

So since then I have just been trying to make an effort to be more aware and more mindful of my shoulder scrunching, especially when I go out into the cold or when I’m driving in a chilly car.  It’s amazing how many times I catch myself scrunching, although it’s getting much better now that I’m aware of it!

I’ve also been trying to add some gentle stretches ad movements into my workouts and into my daily routine the relax and stretch those tight neck and upper trapezius muscles.  Check them out in the video below!