Four exercises, about five minutes. For shoulders that keep creeping back up to your ears.
You are lengthening a muscle that has a job. The neck decides how much of what the body feels reaches the face, and how much of what the head thinks reaches the body. Stretch it and it goes back to the job.
You roll your shoulders. You do the stretch someone showed you. It is better for an hour, and by the afternoon they are up around your ears again.
The neck sits between your head and everything else, which makes it the place where a decision gets made: how much of what the body feels is allowed up into the face, and how much of what the head thinks is allowed down into the body. Holding there is how you keep the two from talking.
That is why stretching alone keeps failing. You are lengthening a muscle that has a job, and it goes back to the job.
The sequence below works the neck but does not only work the neck. Some of it happens well away from your shoulders, and that is deliberate.
Do them in this order and go slowly. If something feels like too much, stop and breathe. That is part of the practice, not fine print.
Perception
“everything is here”
Position yourself comfortably. Keep the spine upright with minimal effort. Breathe naturally. Release perceived tensions through gentle mental intention, allowing self-regulation to arise organically.
Working around it
“you have the power to reach what you desire”
In lying grounding, raise your arms toward the ceiling and make a 'grasping' movement with your hands. Squeeze your fingers and don't let go. Advance in the movement, extending your arms even higher as if reaching for something far away, using the fullest extent of your reach. Maintain the grasping motion with your hands. You can also shake your arms freely (see image b) to release energy from this region. Rest whenever you need to. Then repeat the movement a few more times. How does your strength feel?
Straight at it
“I can release the excess I carry”
Explore the trapezius region and the base of the neck by massaging and pressing with the open palm of your hand. Whenever you apply pressure, release the breath; when you ease the touch, inhale. Notice the space that opens during this process. Work one side at a time, for as long as you wish.
Centring
“in the pause, I listen to my heart”
In lying grounding, bring your hands to your heart. Allow your shoulders and mouth to relax, breathe deeply at your own rhythm, and with eyes closed, make contact with yourself. Let the air release more forcefully whenever you feel unpleasant sensations, and continue through the exercise until you find a deeper, calmer 'tide.' The arms and breath are what do the 'rowing.' So breathe without rushing, with consistency and awareness throughout the process. Always remember to use the support of the floor to your advantage — let your weight drop downward, embracing the support. At the end, notice your centration and you will be closer to yourself.
The cervical segment, third of Reich's seven rings, where what the body feels and what the head thinks are kept apart.
Body Anchor’s method is inspired by four foundational thinkers in body-based psychotherapy. Their work is the lineage every sequence on this site sits in.
You are lengthening a muscle that has a job. The neck decides how much of what the body feels reaches the face, and how much of what the head thinks reaches the body. Stretch it and it goes back to the job.
No. Some of it happens well away from your shoulders, and that is deliberate.
The app asks what you feel and where you feel it, then builds the protocol for that exact pair. 218 exercises, three to ten minutes.
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