Neck Pain

Jenny was a woman in her sixties who was finding it difficult to drive. Reversing hurt her neck and she found that prolonged driving made her neck ache for hours afterward. She related her story sitting on a chair in my studio, with her head, neck and shoulders held tightly in place. She had had neck pain on and off for years. It was now her regular companion.

I asked her to turn her head from side to side. As she turned to the right she pushed her right shoulder forward and winced. She did the same thing going to the left.

I asked her to move her head to the right once again. As she did it I placed my hand on her shoulder and gently guided it back to the right. She turned much further than usual without pain. She expressed surprise and I explained how unnecessary muscular tension restricts our movement.

I placed my hands on her shoulders and relaxed myself. I asked her to pay attention to what she felt and that I was able to sense the balance of muscular tension in her body through my hands. I paid attention to the way she was breathing and she began to listen more closely. She also began to relax. Her shoulders, neck, chest, her belly and even her hips and legs began to let go. She said she felt wonderful. I asked her to turn her head to the left and once again gently guided her left shoulder back. It was pain free. This time, instead of the movement stopping at the base of her neck, her whole spine rotated sequentially from the head down.

She stood up and walked. She paid attention to the feeling within her body in a new way. She said that she felt taller and that it felt as if she was floating. “How did I do it ? “ she asked. I explained that all I did was to make her more aware of herself. Once she became aware of all this unnecessary tension there was nothing to do but let it go.

The problem with unnecessary tension is that it frequently pulls us in the opposite direction to where we want to go. This is what was happening with her shoulders when she was turning her head. Through learning to move harmoniously and rest effectively she was able to become aware of this habitual tension and let it go. She had about ten sessions and reduced the amount of muscular tension she used in everything she did. She found she could now spend more time in the garden without feeling stiff and driving was no longer a problem. Her husband said she was a lot happier. She was no longer the grumpy woman with a continually sore neck but a happy friend who lived life to the full.