Today, I was reciting the alphabet to my one year old son
and he was moving his head to what I was saying. Usually he shakes his head “no”
or throws his head back but today he was moving his head in all directions. So,
his head movements to the alphabet made me think of doing these head movements
for neck exercises to do to release neck tension.

I usually give the alphabet exercise for people with ankle
or leg discomfort but only now I think of giving these as neck exercises. Just
like in the ankle, doing the alphabet neck exercises will maintain neck flexibility
and neck range of motion. These alphabet neck exercises will help loosen up any
neck stiffness and reduce neck muscle tightness.

The alphabet neck exercises can be done anywhere, any time
and in any position whether sitting, standing or lying down. These neck
exercises can be great for when you need a break from being at the computer too
long or even stuck in traffic. Or these can be great to get kids to work on
their neck flexibility as well with you. Let’s start!

Alphabet Neck Exercises:

• Using the tip of your nose as a pen – print capital letters
  of the alphabet
• Now repeat doing lower case
• Then draw the alphabet in cursive
• Repeat three times each

These alphabet neck exercises should be slow, smooth and
controlled motions. There should be no pain or discomfort in any neck
direction. Be sure to breathe throughout the whole time. Avoid clenching your
jaw with these head movements. Enjoy doing these alphabet neck exercises and
let me know how you feel after trying them out.

Technorati Tags: head movements, neck exercises, neck flexibility, neck muscle, neck range of motion, neck tension

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I was talking to my husband tonight while eating dinner and
he joking mentioned about writing “baby neck exercises.” I looked at our son
and said “I know you’re joking but that sounds like a good topic tonight.” Our
son came out with his head up and now always likes to throw his head back. Over
a year later, our son inadvertently does neck exercises every time he looks up
at us.

We first started working on his neck muscles after he was
born. We would put him on the Boppy pillow and get him to raise his head up. I
also had him work on the head up or neck extension neck exercises while he was
on his stomach on the bed. These were easy head up neck exercises for our son.
We just kept increasing the amount of time to have him build his endurance.

One way you can work on a baby’s neck muscles is to practice
how high the baby can raise the head up. You can start off the head up neck
exercises with barely off the bed/floor (like the picture); then increase to an inch off the
floor; then a couple inches off the floor. You can try to increase the neck
range of motion and endurance with any upper body support for the baby.

Another way to help get the baby to raise the head up and do
neck exercises is to gently stroke the back. You want to stroke with your palm
starting from the neck and all down the back. This will help facilitate the
baby’s neck and back muscles to work on neck and back extension. This is a
simple trick to do for head up neck exercises.

Babies are not too young to have benefits of strong neck
muscles by doing head up neck exercises. These neck exercises could help the
baby be sure to lift the head while sleeping and avoid the sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS) as much as possible. Other baby neck exercises will be
described at a later time. Enjoy looking up!

Technorati Tags: head, head up, neck exercises, neck extension, neck muscles, neck range of motion

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Early today, I was doing some neck exercises and remembered another quick and simple one to do. The figure 8 neck exercises will loosen up your neck muscles and joints. I have a twist to this neck exercise and that is to do the infinity symbol as well. These are great break neck exercises to do and will help relieve neck tension.
These figure 8 neck exercises will work on the first two neck or cervical spine joints. This can become a neck workout by combining these figure 8 neck exercises with chin tucks and jaw exercises. These movements will help strengthen your neck as well as keep your neck flexible.
These figure 8 and infinity neck exercises can be done in any position whether sitting, standing or lying down. In general, you want to have good posture to keep your neck aligned properly and to avoid any other tension. You will want to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Let’s begin!
Figure 8 Neck Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Perform a chin tuck by bringing your chin back towards your shoulder blades
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you were pinching them together
• Relax your jaw
• Use the tip of your nose to draw the figure 8
• Breathe out
• Reverse the figure 8 direction
• Now draw the infinity symbol with the tip of your nose
• Reverse the infinity symbol
• Do each direction 10 times each
• Repeat for 3 sets

These figure 8 and infinity neck exercises will help keep your neck muscles from stiffening up after a long day. Do these and other neck exercises from this blog to maintain flexibility and less neck tension. Try these new neck exercises and let me know how your day goes!

Technorati Tags: cervical spine, chin tuck, neck exercise, neck exercises, neck muscles, neck tension, neck workout, posture, shoulder blades

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What is a proper neck exercises routine? There’s no one way
for the right neck exercises routine. These neck exercises on the blog help
different areas of concern in the neck. What’s right for a stiff neck will vary
for someone who has neck pain. Please use these neck exercises on the blog as a
guide and to help relieve any neck discomfort you may have.

In general, a good routine will start off with a warm up of
doing range of motion neck exercises, stretch exercises for flexibility and end
with strengthening exercises for neck. A good way to start off would to let the
hot water from the shower warm your neck by bringing more blood flow to your
neck muscles. When your neck muscles are warm, they become more flexible and
give you greater neck range of motion.

The more neck range of motion you have, the more relaxed
your neck muscles are in the morning. When you have less neck tension, your
posture and jaw are relaxed. The benefits of neck exercises will improve your
posture as well as breathing mechanics. You will breathe bigger and easier than
when tensed.

When doing stretch exercises, these neck exercises will also
give you range of motion. These neck exercises will help you get a little more
range at the end of your motion. This will lengthen your muscles and give you
motion.

Once you perform these stretches, you want to strengthen
your neck muscles at the new range you have acquired. This will may sure that
you are able to use the full range with stability and less discomfort. After
strengthening, you want to cool down again by doing range of motion neck
exercises.

If you become sore, putting ice or a cold pack will relieve
your neck discomfort. All neck exercises should be done in a slow, smooth and
controlled motion within your tolerance. There should be no pushing beyond your
discomfort level or you actually can hurt yourself.

Try some neck exercises and let me know which ones you do
and how well they work. One thing to keep in mind, is that these neck exercises
are meant to be part of your daily routine to help your health overall. So
enjoy and don’t forget to do some neck exercises once you are done reading this
post!

Technorati Tags: exercises for neck, neck exercises, neck muscles, neck tension, range of motion, stiff neck, strengthening exercises, stretch exercises

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