Look around and check out the upper body posture of most people. The slumped, rounded shoulders with the head jutting forward of the neck and chest. Therefore lungs are compressed, mid back extensors/rhomboids on length, pecs short and tight. etc
From a Chiropractic site,
“A common problem today is forward head posture (FHP)…or anterior weight bearing of the skull. Some of this can be hereditary…but mostly it’s acquired…meaning it’s an adaptation to external circumstances…like sitting at a desk for 20 years in school. And sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day at work. Or even wearing a knapsack…which causes the neck and head to move forward to counter balance.”
A number of images can be used to firstly alert someone to the habitual posture they live in, and secondly, teach them a freer way to be, and breathe. 
- Imagine you are being lengthened from the top of your skull to the ceiling, opening up all the space between each neck bone. Hold onto the clients hair as you say this.
- Bring the shoulder blades together like you are holding a feather between them.
- Palpate the lateral tips of the spine of the scapula and cue the client to bringing them back and wide, like wing tips.
- Widen the collarbones, reaching them away from each other as you take off in flight.
1. This article suggests ways to improve standing, sleeping and seated posture. Written by a Physiotherapist.
2. From the neck pain relief kit,
Head Retraction Exercises –
Head retractions are very significant because most of us start to develop forward head carriage over time. This is the exercise to combat the dreaded forward head posture and get rid of the neck pain you may have from a misaligned neck. To perform these exercises, imagine if your head is on a track. You simply want to slide your head back. Essentially the head is forward and we went to move it backwards. Gently shift your head and neck back, hold for approximately 10 seconds, then relax and repeat again. Do this exercise for 10-20 repetitions.
To STRETCH this area include,
Pec stretches, Lateral flexion neck (upper traps) and lateral flexion plus rotation (lev scap) stretch.
A final word, from experience I say to you go with caution when working with clients necks, you don’t know what’s happening with those deep anterior and posterior muscles from just watching a client so slow, controlled, minimal effort is your mantra.
