Stress, Posture and Massage – we are how we stand

90% of the people who walk in my door have the same problem – their shoulders and neck feel tight. Whether this is from stress, posture, or some other issue, massage helps release those muscles in your upper body, relieving headaches, encouraging sleep, and promoting a sense of well being.

But is there anything we can do in our daily life to prevent this from happening? Of course! Most of this week’s blog is about stress and tension relief from the shoulders up.

First let’s take a little self test. Grab a couple towels or small pillows, and find a friend to help. Then locate a wall or door which has free space around it – no furniture or pictures nearby. Take off your shoes and put them aside. Then lean back into the wall, aligning your ankles, bottom, and head up so they are all touching the surface. Do you feel like you’re going to fall over, or that you’re out of alignment? Roll your arms back and down so the entire back of the arm (shoulder to elbow to hand) is touching the wall, then release your body into a resting position.

As you relax ask your friend to place the towels or pillows behind one of your shoulders until the space between your shoulders and the wall is filled. They can roll the towels if needed. Then step away from the wall while your friend in still holding the towels against the wall. Notice how thick those towels are?

Now repeat this with your other shoulder. Notice any difference? Did you need more towels under one shoulder than the other? What does this tell you about how your shoulders ‘sit.’

We live in a world where our activities encourage our shoulders to roll forward. Sitting at a computer, desk, cash register causes this, along with carrying heavy pack backs and purses. Living in our cars also keeps our shoulders in a less than optimal position. Women often have one shoulder more out of alignment than the other due to carrying children. Even one of my daily pleasures, reading in bed, puts my body in an abnormal position – neck extended forward, arms rotated into my chest.

No longer are we ‘hunters and gatherers,’ spending most of our day outside doing physical labor. We’re not looking into the woods for danger or food. We’re not even looking into the horizon. Our focus is often a few feet in front of us – a computer screen, a TV, a phone, the dash board in a car.

I also think that people often have this issue because they’re physically protecting their heart.

Anatomy wise several things are happening at once. All muscles have their counterpart or antagonist – some muscles make a fist (protagonists), while others perform the opposite motion and open up your hand (antagonists). But when a muscle or groups of muscles are kept in the same position for a long period of time they stay contracted. It feels ‘normal’ for them to be this position, and so when they’re ‘at rest’ they return to what’s normal. The opposing muscles, the antagonists, are then stretched out, creating tension or tightness in these areas.

So when people come to me with problems in their shoulders it usually (but not always) signals to me that their pecs, biceps, scalenes, and other muscles on the front side of the shoulders, neck, and arms are tight. And their back muscles are stretched out like a rubber band that can’t be pulled any further.

If you’ve had a massage with me you may have noticed that I tried to get your shoulders to move back by releasing your shoulder blade through movement, pressure, and massage. But I also spend time getting those ‘front’ muscles to relax, stretching out areas of contraction around your collar bone and upper arms.

What can we do to fix this problem? Here are some simple suggestions.

• Adjust your chair, including the one in your car, to the proper position. Your arms should rest at your side with no tension in them. This means that you may need to move the steering wheel closer to you or raise your chair up higher. If you can’t adjust it any more, try sitting on a small pillow, adding several if needed.
• Lower your computer monitor. Are you looking ‘up’ into your screen? Well, you’re compressing the muscles and nerves in your neck! Your eyes should be looking slightly down into your screen, not so your head is resting on your chest, but enough that it releases tension and lets it be in a relaxed position.
• Get up and stretch every couple of hours. I recently read that exercise physiologists are now recommending that we stretch twice as long as we exercise – for every 1hr we’re working out we should stretch 2! Well, when you’re holding that same position for a long time you’re actually doing passage resistance exercise. Gravity is trying to return your arms, shoulders, and neck to their optimal position while we’re ‘resisting’ by keeping the muscles tense. There are several simple stretches, like rolling and shrugging the shoulders, which are easy to do anywhere.
• Activate the antagonist. This may sound counter intuitive, but anything you can do to strengthen those muscles in your backside is going to help your shoulders. One simple exercise involves grabbing a light weight (a large soup can or half gallon of milk works), grab it with both hands and raise it over your head, then lower the can behind your head, being careful not to drop it on your head.
• Stand tall. Visualize a steel rod, beam of light, or other straight object connecting the top of your head to your tail bone. Think of how a dancer stands, shoulders back, head up, eyes forward. Or notice how anyone who’s been in the military stands, straight as an arrow. Walk like you’re carrying a book on your head, not the weight of the world on your shoulders.
• Massage massage massage!

One yoga instructor I know tells her students to ‘walk with your belly button first.’ This forces your attention to your center, your core, and helps you keep balanced in all areas of your life.

I’ve got a great diagram about how you should set up your office or work station, and several suggestions for easy stretches you can do anywhere. Just ask and I’ll email or give you a copy of each if you’d like. I also particularly like the books ‘Stretching,’ and ‘Stretching in the Office,’ both by Bob Anderson.

Enjoy and relax!