Yoga for neck pain, If you are looking for yoga poses that can help relieve neck pain, then this article is perfect for you! With yoga, there are a variety of poses that can work to stretch and relax your neck. These yoga poses will also strengthen the muscles in your back and shoulders, which often get tight from sitting at a desk all day. Implementing yoga for neck pain into your routine will not only help with neck pain but also improve overall health.
Can yoga cure neck pain?
Yoga for neck pain can alleviate the pain of a stiff neck. It can also prevent it from becoming worse and perhaps even make you more supple in the future. Yoga for neck pain may be able to reduce neck strain caused by work, driving, gardening, or other activities that involve looking down. Studies show that yoga helps increase blood flow to the muscles and joints of the spine and improves overall strength and flexibility.
Neck pain can often be traced to the stress and strain that many of us put on our necks every day. Yoga for neck pain can help change your way of life so that you put less stress on your neck muscles. It can also help increase blood flow to the delicate tissues in your neck, reducing inflammation and improving healing.
Aside from yoga’s therapeutic benefits, it is a pleasant exercise to engage in during leisure time. Yoga is good for all levels of health, fitness, and physical condition including pregnant women who may benefit from yoga’s calming effect in addition to its physical benefits.
Which yoga is best for neck pain?
You can try any type of yoga for neck pain to relieve neck pain. Even without the right alignment, yoga asanas do make a difference to most people. As long as you’re doing something (relaxation, meditation, breathing exercises), your body and mind are going to be affected in some way.
But if you have been diagnosed with cervical spondylosis or stenosis, it might be best to seek professional guidance when starting out with yoga for neck pain problems. This is because gentle stretching and bending movements that can aggravate your symptoms may also be part of these poses. Your instructor should understand how much movement will help or hurt you, so he/she can modify the instructions accordingly.
Asanas on relieving neck pain there are a few yoga for neck pain asanas that can provide relief from neck pain. Some of the most common ones include:
- Wide-arm shoulder stretch (pratyeka hasta padangusthasana)
- Reclining hero (supta virasana)
- Cow-face (gomukhasana)
- Cat-cow (marjariasana)
- Corpse pose (savasana)
- Seated easy pose (siddhasana)
Wide-arm shoulder stretch (pratyeka hasta padangusthasana):
This pose is done when you are lying on your back. Both arms are spread wide open while holding the ground behind you with your hands at chest level. Allowing the head to drop backward gets rid of tension in the neck and shoulders; helps relieve stiffness in the upper back due to poor posture; and also improves shoulder mobility.
However, this pose isn’t good for people with cervical spondylosis or stenosis because it causes excessive rotation of your head and neck backward. Even if not performed regularly, this asana provides relief from stiff shoulder and neck muscles.
Reclining hero (supta virasana):
This asana is done when you are lying on your back with legs bent at the knees, while arms hang down by the sides of the body. The back becomes flat and straight. This relaxation pose can help prevent blood pressure problems, insomnia, high cholesterol levels, constipation, and obesity.
It also helps in calming the mind; relieves fatigue; increases concentration and flexibility in people; improves vitality to get back to normal life after surgery or any medical intervention associated with a sedentary lifestyle; helps relieve stress-related complaints like headaches or migraines; improves digestion and cleans out impurities from body tissues. However, this pose isn’t good for people with cervical spondylosis or stenosis because it leads to excessive rotation of the neck and back when you lower your head sideways.
Cow-face (gomukhasana):
This is a seated asana done by bringing both knees up to chest level, while arms remain on the ground supporting hips. It opens up the thoracic region and shoulders; helps remove stiffness in tight hamstrings; stretches out groin muscles, and makes the spine more flexible. Cow-face can be performed only till you feel comfortable without pain or strain on your body. However, this pose isn’t recommended for people with cervical spondylosis, who face difficulty bending their necks backward, while performing this asana.
Cat-cow (marjariasana):
This asana is done while lying on your stomach. It stretches the body to enhance back muscles and increase their flexibility for a better posture; improves breathing; massages organs in the abdominal cavity due to the pressure of the whole body against the floor; and also helps maintain good health even in people who have spinal problems that restrict any movement. However, this pose isn’t recommended for people with cervical spondylosis or stenosis because it puts excessive pressure on the spine and causes further pain instead of relief.
Corpse pose (savasana):
This is perhaps the most important asana among all restorative yoga poses. It’s done when you are lying on your back with legs and arms straight, while eyes closed. Savasana helps in relaxing the body. Relieving stress and anxiety; easing tension in muscles and joints; enhancing blood circulation by improving oxygen supply to vital organs; calming nerves that exhibit abnormal activity due to stress or anxiety; increasing the flexibility of your spine to alleviate stiffness.
promotes emotional balance by relaxing the mind and clearing it from any negative thoughts thus leading to enhanced productivity at the workplace or home environment. However, this pose isn’t recommended for people who have cervical spondylosis or stenosis because it causes pain in the neck due to the unnatural position of the head and spine.
Seated easy pose (siddhasana):
This asana helps in promoting better digestion by providing
- pressure on an important nerve running from abdomen to spinal cord;
- increases blood flow to the brain when you raise your feet high up so that the heart is pressed against a major artery carrying oxygen-rich blood;
- helps relieve fatigue by improving respiration rate while relaxing neck, back, joints, and muscles; improves body posture.
However, this pose isn’t recommended for people with cervical spondylosis or stenosis because it places stress on spinal discs. You should also refrain from performing this asana if you have any breathing-related problems like asthma or any other respiratory problem.
Is yoga or Pilates better for neck pain?
Pilates and yoga for neck pain may bring relief to different parts of the neck, but it could be that both are beneficial, according to a new study. In the review published in Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, researchers looked at 12 randomized control trials involving nearly 900 participants with neck pain. The studies involved interventions lasting from eight weeks to three months. Both yoga for neck pain and Pilates were found to have positive results for treating non-specific non-radicular neck pain – which refers to pain that is not caused by nerve root compression.
The study authors noted that more research is needed on how these programs affect specific groups of people with chronic neck pain, such as pregnant women, patients who underwent spinal surgery, and those with spinal degeneration or spondylosis.
