| It may be difficult to work on neck and shoulder issues | | | | changing the person's attitude toward the part of the |
| (whiplash) until the rest of the body is relaxed. First, | | | | body in pain. Invite the person you are working with |
| work with supine lengthwise and crosswise chest | | | | (the student) to observe not only what the pain feels |
| openers. Then supported and active bridge poses are | | | | like, but how they feel about the pain, in this case |
| active back bending poses. Weight bearing Down and | | | | whiplash. The intention is for your student to feel the |
| Up Dog poses are best introduced before upright and | | | | emotions connected with the part of the body that |
| arm elevation activities. Standing poses are good | | | | hurts. This important step connects emotional pain with |
| ways to introduce arm elevation helping with whiplash. | | | | physical pain, and enables your student to recognize |
| The most common postural error is when the head is | | | | the continuity between his or her body, mind, and |
| pushed forward. This leads to a tensing and shortening | | | | feelings. |
| of the neck musculature, circulatory problems in the | | | | There are many attitudes associated with chronic pain: |
| head, neck, shoulder and arms, and an overtaxing of | | | | suffering, anger, despair, depression, loss, and |
| the ligaments and discs. | | | | helplessness, to name a few. And with whiplash, this of |
| Some cases with whiplash have chronic pain, and | | | | course adds to the stress because of the negative |
| breathing tends to be shallow and you frequently hold | | | | self-directed energy required to deny parts of |
| your breath. With restricted breathing you're not | | | | ourselves. |
| exhaling fully and can't remove from the lungs stale air | | | | A forward head can eventually damage neck and |
| and the residual build up of toxins. With chronic pain the | | | | upper back structures, as they bend and rub at angles |
| muscles are cold and contracted from poor circulation, | | | | they were not built for. Chronically holding neck |
| so even less oxygen comes in and fewer toxins are | | | | muscles in an overstretched position weakens them. |
| removed. When you breathe fully and deeply, the lungs | | | | The forward head creates shortened, contracted |
| work more, the diaphragm moves, the inter-costal, | | | | muscles in front, and a stretched, weakened back. |
| back, and abdominal muscles work. This generates | | | | Cervical (neck) discs are pressured posteriorly. This |
| heat into the core of the body and helps the whiplash. | | | | creates a cycle of forward positioning that herniates |
| Another positive result of conscious breathing is its | | | | discs and makes sore aching muscles, and the |
| calming effect on the emotions, reducing fear and | | | | tightness and habits that keep you tilting forward. The |
| anxiety in the nervous system. You feel safer | | | | result is that the average person has upper body pain |
| emotionally as well as more at ease and relaxed | | | | from the poor positioning and at the same time, the |
| physically. Conscious breathing also helps diminish | | | | chronic poor positioning makes them too tight to stand |
| tension before it accumulates around the areas where | | | | up straight. A yoga programme can help you with |
| chronic pain exists (whiplash). | | | | whiplash. |
| The next step in releasing chronic pain involves | | | | |