Newbie question

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi

I am new to Yoga - I started several weeks ago, and have been practising since about 4 -5 times a week.

So far I enjoy it very much, but my stiff, aching neck doesn’t allow me to do a lot of postures properly.

(I don’t know really what is the reason for the stiff neck, bad spinal allignment, almost no abs :-(, or something else…)

So, my question, should I just be patient, and continue exclusively with yoga, and the problem will sort it by itself?

Or if this hasn’t regulated itself by now, probably it won’t, and I should start to do some additional exercises to complement my yoga practice, like pilates, swimming etc?

#2

welcome to the forum!

I would suggest just neck bending (left, right, frw, back) every morning. I had very bad neck issues and this simple thing have cured my neck forever!

What poses you can not do “properly” because of the tight neck?

#3

[QUOTE=CityMonk;65412]welcome to the forum!

I would suggest just neck bending (left, right, frw, back) every morning. I had very bad neck issues and this simple thing have cured my neck forever!

What poses you can not do “properly” because of the tight neck?[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the welcome.

Almost all poses that involve somehow movement of the neck. Eg. when I have to turn my head in warrior II, or when looking up in the triangle pose, or even a simple cat stretch hurts…

Thank you for the advice regarding neck stretches. I’ve been trying to do them for a while, as far as I can bend the neck, but hadn’t much success yet.

#4

Hi Trivia–
Several weeks of a yoga practice is probably not enough time to evaluate whether you need more than yoga or not. By now it may be more like several months, and you can ask yourself whether or not there has been some slow improvements.

Have you been practicing on your own or with a teacher? Some of the neck mobility issues will be addressed by proper alignment, so if you have not been studying with a teacher who is well trained in alignment, I recommend finding one.

Finally, look into structural integration also known as Rolfing. This type of body work frees your connective tissue to allow proper alignment of your bones. Some people have heard that it is painful and are therefore leery of it, but if you find a good practitioner, they should be able to do the work on you without pain. I had the series of 10 done last year and was very impressed by how much mobility and ease appeared for me after the last few sessions.

Good luck!