Chin-to-Chest Stretch

Execution

1. Keep your shoulders relaxed and down, without shrugging them up as you place your hands behind your head.
2. Slowly use the weight of your hands to gently draw your head down, chin toward your chest.
3. Stop when you feel a stretch along the back of the neck, not to the point of pain.
4. Hold for 20-30 seconds, breathing evenly, then slowly raise your head back to neutral.
5. Take your hands away and stop right away if you feel numbness, pins and needles or pain traveling into the shoulder and arm, or if you get dizzy during the hold; see a doctor about those signs before you try it again.

Quick cues

• Shoulders relaxed, not shrugged.
• Hands assist lightly, no yanking.
• Stretch to tolerable, not to pain.
• Hold the full 20-30 seconds.

Common faults

• Fault: Yanking the head down suddenly and forcefully with the hands

  Fix: Use only the light weight of the hands and ease into the stretch a little more with each breath.

• Fault: Shrugging the shoulders up while holding

  Fix: Actively pull the shoulders down away from the ears before and during the hold.

• Fault: Only holding for a few seconds before letting go

  Fix: Ease the pull back slightly and hold the full 20-30 seconds at a tolerable stretch.