Relieve Your Neck Pain with Yoga

Everyone gets a little stiff neck once in a while, and yoga can wipe away the pain with a few concentrated exercises. First, though, you must be certain the pain isn't related to something more serious than a simple stiff neck. Instead of yoga, see a doctor if any one of the following is true:

- You neck pain has persisted for more than three days, or it keeps coming back.

- Your neck pain is accompanied by dizziness or nausea.

- The pain seems to radiate down into your arms or legs.

- The pain began with a fall or accident.

If your stiff neck does NOT meet any of the above conditions, these simple yoga exercises can help increase your neck's flexibility and strengthen the neck muscles. By exercising you speed blood and needed nutrients to the area, easing the neck pain gradually. Try these:

Neck Stretches

Sitting cross-legged, tall and straight, and inhale eyes forward. Exhale, moving chin to chest. Repeat this breath five times, the fifth time holding chin to chest breathing three times through the nose. Inhale, raising the head to center again. This time drop your right ear to your right shoulder during the exhale. Repeat this breath five times, the fifth time holding ear to shoulder for three breaths. Repeat this sequence with the left ear to left shoulder.

Half-Circle Rolls

Drop your chin to your chest. Slowly roll it up to your right shoulder, down to center, up to the left shoulder and down to center. Repeat this three to five times. Never roll the head in a full circle, as this can cause damage.

Shoulder Hunches

Hunch your shoulders up as high as you can, then relax them completely. Repeat five to six times. Next roll your shoulders in forward circles five to six times, then backward circles five to six times. Notice how relaxed your shoulders feel. Try this quick relaxation exercise any time you feel tension building.

Chest Expander

Stand with your feet together and your fingers interlaced behind your back. Inhale while raising your hands behind your back, squeezing your shoulder blades together and tucking your tailbone under to keep from over-arching your back. Hold this position for three to four breaths, then lower your arms slowly during the next exhale.

Arm Lifts

Hold your arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the ground with palms facing each other but not touching. Inhale while bringing them up next to your head. Exhale while you bring them down again. Repeat this four to eight times.

Press It

Place either palm on the back of your head. Simultaneously press the head and hand against each other for a count of ten. Move the palm to the forehead and repeat the pressing for another count of ten. Now place the right palm against the right side of your head and press head and hand together for a count of ten. Repeat with the left palm and left side of the head.

These yoga exercises are designed to relieve physical stress and related pain. The best pain relief is pain prevention, so be sure to watch your posture and set your workspace to avoid slouching.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Yoga

Christian Yoga Dvds

You Can Have More Energy!

Lack of energy and being tired are facts of life for all too many of us.

Most of us aren't now involved in much manual work, but we still need rest and relaxation to let us recharge our mental and emotional batteries. Otherwise, we won't be able to perform effectively, let alone have enough energy to work towards our ideal lives.

What can we do to ensure that we have not only plenty of energy to do the things we must do, but have enough left over to do the things we want to do?

There's actually quite a lot of things we can do that will help.

Direction and Purpose Give Us Energy

Having goals and feeling driven to work towards things that are important to you can be one of the best ways to feel energised.

Not having enough to do or lacking any real purpose can be more tiring than having too much to do. It's hard to feel energised or enthusiastic if you're bored or lacking direction.

When you are inspired by things that matter to you, your motivation will be strong and you'll usually have plenty of energy to take the actions that will move you closer to your goals.

If your reasons are important and compelling enough to you, you'll work tirelessly and often be able to perform near miracles.

What would it take to get you this enthusiastic?

Find the answer to this question and you'll certainly have much more energy than you would if you lacked anything to motivate and excite you.

Get Enough Sleep

Even if you have strong levels of commitment and motivation that inspire you to work hard, you can burn out if you keep this up for too long without allowing yourself time to rebuild your strength.

Getting enough sleep is essential. We all need a certain amount of sleep to rejuvenate ourselves and replace the energy we've used each day. For most of us, this varies between six and nine hours per night, although some people can get by on considerably less, and others need a lot more.

We also need time at the end of the working day to just relax and unwind and clear our mind before sleep. If not, it can cause problems sleeping which will cause even more tiredness and stress.

It may sound obvious, but allowing yourself time to unwind and getting as much sleep as you need each night will do more for your energy levels that almost anything else. Sometimes this can be easier said than done, but it really should be a top priority for all of us if we want to be at our best.

Take a Break

Regular breaks from work are another must. Weekends, vacations and holidays when we do no work at all can make a huge difference and go a long way to ensuring we are at our most productive and energetic when we are working.

Take time out to relax and rest. Take at least 1 or 2 full days off each week when you do none of your normal work. During this time just relax in whatever way you like, with friends or family.

Taking any time off can be difficult, particularly if you're running or you've just started your own business, but this will make you much more productive and ultimately you'll achieve much more than you would by working solidly without breaks.

Play a sport, go to a movie, or even veg out in front of the TV. Taking up a new hobby or rediscovering an old one can be an excellent way to relax and relieve stress. Even doing things around the house or gardening is good. Apparently some people even like doing housework to relax!

What Works For You?

It can be difficult to keep our minds off work problems when we are away from the office. It can take discipline, but it really is essential to be able clear your mind and stop worrying for your time off to be most beneficial.

Do whatever you like doing that lets you unwind and relax and keep your mind off work. Different things work for different people so it's important to determine what works best for you. Watching TV or reading a book will do it for some people, meditation or yoga work for others. Some people will need to do something that may not seem relaxing at all, like kickboxing or hang gliding.

Whatever it takes, just do it! Make yourself take time out and get away from the pressures of work. You'll feel better, be more productive and enjoy better physical and mental health and wellbeing.

About The Author Garry Zancanaro is the creator of http://www.SuperSuccessLibrary.com a collection of outstanding and life changing Success and Personal Development Resources, and the founder of http://www.SelfImprovementDirectory.com where you can claim a FREE copy of THINK AND GROW RICH.

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