Fix posture and neck pain
Simple moves for how to fix posture and ease neck pain. Coach Eli shows a quick slouch correction, and one exercise has you lie face down with toes touching. A yoga block under the forehead is another one-minute idea, plus a physiotherapist's note on sleep position and the spine. 7 picks from the Bez Tytułu newsletter, in reading order.
The picks
Fix posture by raising arms and breathing
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #85
Fix posture by raising your arms, squeezing your glutes and breathing, not by slouching in the shown posture.
Coach Eli shows a short posture exercise and says that the slumped pose shown in the clip makes posture worse. The exercise: raise the arms, squeeze the glutes, rotate the fists back as far as possible, raise and lower the arms, breathe for 20 seconds, then relax.
Key points- Raise arms, squeeze your butt, and rotate fists as far back as you can
- Raise and lower, breathe for 20 seconds, then relax
- The speaker warns that the posture shown in the video makes things worse
A face-down hip position eases neck pain
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #196
A face-down hip position held for six minutes can relieve head, neck and shoulder pain, according to the speaker.
A corrective exercise specialist recommends lying face down with big toes touching and knees dropped to the sides, arms out on stacked books or blocks, and forehead on the ground. Gently pull the shoulder blades back and down, then hold for about six minutes while breathing and relaxing the hips. The speaker presents this as a first step that calms the nervous system before strengthening work.
Key points- Lie face down with big toes touching heels and knees dropped to the sides
- Place arms out to the sides, forehead on the floor, and pull shoulder blades back and down
- The speaker says this calms the nervous system before strengthening work
A yoga block for spine tension
Short · instagram.com · Issue #243
The creator suggests lying on a yoga block placed under specific spots of the spine for one minute a day to ease tension.
The instructor suggests using a yoga block for one minute a day to release tension in the spine. Placed under the forehead it targets tech neck, under the shoulder blades a rounded upper back, and under the tailbone an achy lower back.
Key points- Under the forehead for tech neck
- Under the shoulder blades for a rounded upper back
- Under the tailbone for an achy lower back
A neck routine that ends in a yawn
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #74
Turning your head and eyes until a yawn or sigh, the speaker says, resets the nervous system and eases neck and head pain.
The speaker demonstrates a neck routine said to reset the vagus nerve and ease headaches, migraines and neck, shoulder or back pain. Turn the head as far as possible each way, clasp the hands behind the head, keep the face forward, and move the eyes to one side until an involuntary yawn or sigh. The head then turns farther, and the speaker says the routine has cleared their own headaches.
Key points- Clasp hands behind your head and move only your eyes to one side until you yawn
- Repeat the other side, then turn the head again, which now turns farther
- Claims this relieves headaches, migraines, and neck, shoulder and back pain
6 Exercises That Fix 97% of Your Problems
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #193
A Health in Focus video presenting exercises for strengthening the body for everyday life, including single-leg hip thrusts, resistance band rows, suspension belt squats and side planks with leg lifts. The description lists ten moves, and the video is free to watch.
Sleep Position and Spine Health
Watch · youtube.com · 22 min · Issue #115
A physiotherapist's YouTube description by Dr. Marcin Wytrazek, published June 2023, on how sleep position affects people with certain conditions. Conditions named include sciatica, disc herniation, degenerative spine disease, shoulder impingement and peritrochanteric bursitis. The video stresses that sleep position is only one of many factors in spinal health.
Twelve hours of daily sitting linked to dementia
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #138
A professor says 12 hours of sitting a day is linked to about a 60% higher dementia risk than nine hours.
Citing a USC professor of human evolutionary biology, exercise physiology and neuroscience, the speaker says sitting 10 hours a day is linked to about a 10 percent higher dementia risk than nine, and 12 hours to about 60 percent higher. Healthy aging is tied to diet, physical activity and social connection, and heavy drinking and poor sleep are linked to decline.
Key points- Sitting 10 hours a day is linked to about 10% higher risk than nine
- Healthy aging is linked to diet, physical activity and social connections
- Only 25% of US adults meet the 150-minute weekly activity guideline