Feeling the Stretch: How to Loosen Your Neck and Traps in Just 2 Minutes

Do you ever feel like your neck and traps are tight? I know I do. As someone who sits at a computer all day, my neck and shoulders are often strained. Recently, I came across a simple 2 minute stretch routine that has been a total game changer.

"If you have a tight neck and tight traps, then you're not alone. A ton of people have a really tight neck and really tight traps." I could certainly relate to this! "And oftentimes that happens because we carry so much tension in our neck and our traps." It's so true. Between work stress, computer posture, and general anxiety, it's no wonder our necks and traps get tight.

I've got a quick and easy solution. "Today, I'm gonna show you a two minute follow along routine that you can do every single day to loosen up the muscles that run down the side of your neck and loosen the traps that keep your shoulders shrugged up like this."

Here are the step-by-step instructions:

"To start this movement, it's best to do it from a chair. You're gonna take your hand, and you're gonna point your fingers towards the ground and grab the bottom of the chair. By anchoring your hand like this, you'll keep your shoulder down as you stretch your neck to the side, which is gonna deepen the stretch."

"From there, take your hand, place it on the side of your head like this and slowly lean your body to the side and apply just a little bit of pressure with his hand. I don't want you pushing down on your head or yanking your neck like this. Okay? Just a gentle stretch and the entire time, imagine length in the spine."

"Now once you find this position, let's start. You're gonna hold this position, breathing nice and relaxed. And then as you start to breathe, build a little bit of tension in your neck. And what I mean is this, you're going to push your head against your hand like this. So push build a little bit of tension, little bit of tension. Take a big breath in. And then as you exhale, release the tension and try to lean your body to the side and deepen the stretch."

When you do this deep, and slowly come out of it, You feel the stretch all the way down your shoulders, all the way through the neck, all the way through the traps.

The icing on the cake is that this stretch takes minimal time. "All you have to do is do this stretch every day for the next few weeks. It only takes two minutes, one minute each side". You can easily fit it into my daily routine.

If you struggle with neck and trap tightness like I do, I highly recommend giving this 2 minute stretch a try. "You're gonna loosen up your neck muscles, loosen up your traps, and you're gonna make your upper back and your neck feels so much better." I'm a believer! What do you have to lose besides tension?