Yoga poses to relieve knots in neck/back?

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Nysportsred
Nysportsred Posts: 222 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can anyone suggest any yoga poses (by name) that I can add to my pre and post workout stretches to that will relieve knots in the neck and back? I have heard the cobra works for the lower back, but am unsure of any others.

Due to my job I unfortunately have to spend a lot of time looking down which affects the neck and the back. Our desk are a bit low and so it creates many situations of hunching over to do paperwork. Complaints on this have gone unanswered so it's unlikely to change any time soon.
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  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    Can't help with the yoga poses, but foam rolling the problem areas would probably help quite a bit
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    It might be hard for your work to provide you with new desk, but what about lower chairs? If they are too cheap to do that you could bring in a stability ball to make your point. (I don't suggest you spend the entire day on these, but they are a nice change.)

    Also stand up often and do counter stretches especially the shoulder and neck stretches here: http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=the_deskdefying_workout_plan

    See also http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/yoga-desk-job_n_3707818.html

    For yoga to add to your stretches, I add many of those found in Rodney Yee's AM Yoga for Beginners to my warm-ups.

    I had lower back pain for decades. My manager gave me his Herman Miller chair after he fell out of it the second time (he was leaning too far back; not the chair's fault) and I will never use a cheap office chair again. Yoga helped my back, but this chair was equally important.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    Google Wall Angels. I found them to be really helpful for neck and shoulder knots from years of bad computer posture and you can do them anywhere. When you start you might not be able to gets your hands to the wall but in time you will. I did three sets a day for a long time.
    f9-3.PNG?1297368599
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    yoga poses dont help me much because i can't get a deep enough stretch , So i use the TRX to get a deep stretch in my back and neck when i feel knotted and it works great. once you can open up the muscle fibers and get the blood into them, they will feel much better.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
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    Standing or sitting at your desk, clasp your hands behind your back and pull your shoulderblades toward each other, trying to pull your elbows together. Stretches the front of the shoulders.

    Laying on the ground face down (can't do this one at work, LOL) cross your arms underneath you as far up as you can manage, and lay down on them. Stretches the back of the shoulders.

    Rest your hand on top of your head and gently pull it to the side. Keep the opposite shoulder pulled down. Stretches the side of the neck and traps.

    Twists in the chair feel good to me. Just leave your butt planted and look as far to each side as you can, letting your shoulders twist along with your gaze.


    Counterintuitve, maybe, but my shoulders have become more relaxed as they have become stronger, so I would also recommend strengthening along with your stretching. Maybe the stronger your shoulders and neck are, the less work they do holding up your head?
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
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    Also, on this:
    Nysportsred wrote: »
    Due to my job I unfortunately have to spend a lot of time looking down which affects the neck and the back. Our desk are a bit low and so it creates many situations of hunching over to do paperwork. Complaints on this have gone unanswered so it's unlikely to change any time soon.

    Can you lower your chair, maybe, instead of raising the desk?
  • maureented
    maureented Posts: 59 Member
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    Up dog, down dog, happy baby, cat/cow, thread the needle, just to name a few.
  • ramblerchik
    ramblerchik Posts: 7 Member
    edited March 2016
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    There are several videos on YouTube and on Amazon Prime. I have chronic lower back pain and I find them helpful. Good luck!
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 222 Member
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    robininfl wrote: »
    Also, on this:
    Nysportsred wrote: »
    Due to my job I unfortunately have to spend a lot of time looking down which affects the neck and the back. Our desk are a bit low and so it creates many situations of hunching over to do paperwork. Complaints on this have gone unanswered so it's unlikely to change any time soon.

    Can you lower your chair, maybe, instead of raising the desk?


    Chairs as low as i can put it. Im next to a visitor sign in window so i have to be visible constantly.
  • ClubSilencio
    ClubSilencio Posts: 2,983 Member
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    Would be a good idea to find someone who specializes in trigger point therapy. Money well spent.

    The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook is an awesome book. You can get something like a TheraCane and work out the kinks on your own. But the book must be read and understood first as you need to avoid the arteries.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    Rowing on a rowing machine works for me, and so do upper back strength exercises like rear delt flyes, rows, and lat pulldowns. Yoga is only so-so for my particular knots.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    257_Lag wrote: »
    Google Wall Angels. I found them to be really helpful for neck and shoulder knots from years of bad computer posture and you can do them anywhere. When you start you might not be able to gets your hands to the wall but in time you will. I did three sets a day for a long time.
    f9-3.PNG?1297368599

    Huh. I see most people cannot get their hands flat to the wall but I have no problem with this. Must be the yoga.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfcvMXuT8ac
  • sarahkanzalone
    sarahkanzalone Posts: 192 Member
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    I have similar issues with work and have found that a foam roller is a life saver. It's quick and I can do it at home anytime. I fractured my T11 and T12 as a kid and just a little rolling on the roller has helped pain levels so much

    They are also cheap to get on Amazon, and they have them at my gym might want to check and see if yours does
  • sistrsprkl
    sistrsprkl Posts: 1,013 Member
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    love these:
    https://www.yogatuneup.com/ytu-therapy-balls-wtote
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
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    Get a foam roller and check YouTube for your specific concerns. I can't recommend foam rollers enough.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
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    Nysportsred wrote: »
    Can anyone suggest any yoga poses (by name) that I can add to my pre and post workout stretches to that will relieve knots in the neck and back? I have heard the cobra works for the lower back, but am unsure of any others.

    Due to my job I unfortunately have to spend a lot of time looking down which affects the neck and the back. Our desk are a bit low and so it creates many situations of hunching over to do paperwork. Complaints on this have gone unanswered so it's unlikely to change any time soon.

    Raise part(s) of your desk with bundles of copy paper. Long term office worker here, and this works great for lifting your monitor up.
  • mjbrowne
    mjbrowne Posts: 172 Member
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    Thread the needle is WONDERFUL!! I also 2nd the TheraCane suggestion. Best $30-$40 I ever spent!
  • MichelleLea122
    MichelleLea122 Posts: 332 Member
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    When my neck and shoulders get really tight, I like to take a tennis ball and dig into the areas. It's pretty painful, but the next day I really do feel a difference.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    sun salutations with twists can help
    slowly reaching your ear to your opposite shoulder can create a nice stretch
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Its a bit like spot-reducing; you can't really use yoga to zone in on one particular knot or condition to bring relief because a knot in one place could be a transferred pain because of a misalignment somewhere else down the line, even as far down as the heels or the way the feet line up when you stand or sit.

    The best yoga approach would be to follow a complete classical sequence starting with warming and preparing movements, through strengthening, alignment and increasing movement range and finishing with the all-important complete relaxation via shivasana.

    Taking this approach will iron out the local pain through visiting the whole body taking a holistic approach.

    edit: having said all that, any amount of any approach will only do so much when the desk-chair-working zones are still all wrong. This needs addressing first.

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