21st Century lives.  21st Century urban lives.  Lives full of stress.  Precarious stress, sneaky stress.  Stress we attempt to shake off, like invisible shackles, every now and again.  In our western world, this stress seems to predominantly be held in the upper back and neck.  It creeps in as we hold our posture at a desk or over a computer screen... or just as a reaction to the difficulties of the day, we hunch our shoulders in & close in our upper back.  We tense muscles - for hours - that we don't even "use." They are held in unconscious extension without being truly exercised or stretched.

A combination of regular massage therapy, aerobic exercise, and deep stretching (ie yoga), always seems to be the recommendation I arrive at for most of my clients.  Especially the stretching.  This seems to be the most difficult task for people to follow in their daily regimen.  Like when we were kids and stretching before any fun, sports activity was more chore & bore than anything else, most clients choose to forgo it.  Even athletes!!  I am perpetually amazed at this.

In my own life, if I don't do at least 3 yoga classes a week with additional regular stretching in between, I can literally feel my body seize-up, rigid and at low performance level.  Being a massage therapist & using my body as I do, it is imperative that this not happen.  The most important stretches that I perform for myself & that I most recommend for clients are heart openers.  Not only are these easy to do (they can be done in "yin" fashion, with little resistance), but they are most helpful for the upper back & its corollary - the front & back of the neck.

The "yin" restorative variation I mention is the laziest and simplest.  Just take a yoga block - long ways horizontal and at lowest height - & place it right between your shoulder blades (& across from your heart) as you lie your body down on it.  Take another block & arrange it the opposite, highest height & vertical.  Place this so as to support your head, right along the occipital ridge and back of neck.  Open legs out while having both feet touch as you come to a relaxing position.  Now... hang out.  Just hang out here.  Take some slowwwww, deep breathes... and hang for as long as your busy day allows.

This will help with re-educating your upper body away from its usual hunching of the shoulders and rounding of the upper back.  It will also relieve stress & tension headaches.  A win-win-win all around.