My former client Ida coined this term. She was the the person who made me aware of the positive side effects of the head lifts, we practiced to help her aching lower back.
Who would have thought... No more turtle necks, unless it's really cold outside.
And yes, the neck and the lower back are intimately connected, a pain in the back is always a pain in the neck.
Let's take a look at this exercise.
Lay down on a mat/ floor/ rug . Knees bent, feet flat. Assess your head alignment. Are you comfortable?
Is your chin pointing upwards, leaving your head tilted backwards? Then you need to add some support under your head to make sure it's as close to neutral as it gets.
Straighten your legs. If that's stressful for your lower back, ass more pillow under your head. Your lower back should be only slightly lifted off the ground.
Squeeze your butt.
Slowly lift your head and look at your toes, tightening the muscles under your chin.
Hold for 4 sec. (or as long as you can)
Slowly lower your head.
Repeat 4x
What if you can't even lift your head?
e-centric head lifts/ head lowers
Place a towel on your pillow and length wise on the floor, so you can place your head and ribcage on the towel and grab the two corners of the short end.
With the help of your arms, lift your head, look at your toes.
Lessen the work of your arms and lower the head slowly.
Repeat 4x
Practice every day until you can lower the head fully by the power of your neck muscles and you don't need your arms anymore. May take a week or two...
Start lifting the head now.
You're on your way to a better neck.
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