Neck exercises are great but another benefit to relieve neck tension is to do stretch exercises. Stretch exercises try to make the muscle that is targeted to be longer. By being longer, there is more flexibility in that particular muscle. When neck muscles are tight, they tend to be bunched up and put stress or tension in the area. There are many stretch exercises for the neck and will be discussed in detail in different postings. 

The muscle of focus will be on the trapezius muscle. There are three parts to the trapezius muscle: upper, middle and lower trapezius. The stretch exercises for the upper trapezius will be explained. The upper trapezius muscle is connected from the base of the head to the shoulder. This neck muscle tends to hold tension or stress and when too tight can cause headaches, neck pain and numbness and tingling. 

To perform the upper trapezius neck stretch: start by sitting up straight with your shoulders relaxed and looking straight ahead. Your head should be in good posture or neutral position. If you have your chin sticking out, bring your chin in towards the back of your neck to start off with. Bring down your chin at an angle towards your right chest and tilt your head towards your right shoulder. 

You still should be looking straight ahead and feel a stretch on the left side of your neck. To add more of a stretch in the neck, bring your hand to the left side of your head and gently pull towards the right shoulder. Hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat three times. Switch sides to feel the stretch on the right side of the neck.

There should be no pain with these stretch exercises for the neck. All movements should be done slow with smooth movements. Any feeling of sharp shooting pain, numbness or tingling feeling, stop the neck exercise and have a health care profession help you.  To progress this upper trapezius stretch, bring the opposite arm behind your back. These stretch exercises are great to do while on breaks from a long day work. These neck stretches will help to keep the neck muscles looser and reduce neck tension.