Shoulders and neck stretch with circles

This stretch is designed to release the tension that can build up in your neck and shoulders after sitting with poor posture for too long. The shoulder circles relax your shoulders and get you sitting up tall again, while the neck stretch lengthens and relaxes the muscles in your neck. This stretch is a great if you’re prone to rounded shoulders.
To do this exercise, follow these steps:

1. Sit tall in your chair with your feet flat on the floor, your abdominals lifted, and your hands at your sides.
2. Slowly rotate your shoulders forward, up, back, and down as if you were drawing a circle with your shoulders (see Figure a). Breathe deeply as you repeat this motion four to six times.
3. At the end of the last repetition, hold your shoulders down and back.
4. Tilt your head to the left, moving your left ear toward your left shoulder. Make sure you keep your right shoulder down (see Figure b).
5. Slowly roll your head toward your chest, drawing a half circle with your chin. Continue the motion until you tilt your head all the way across toward the right shoulder. Bring your head back to the upright position and relax.
6. Repeat on the other side.

A few do’s and don’ts for this exercise:

• Do keep your posture tall and abdominals lifted.
• Do keep your shoulder blades down as you perform the shoulder circles.
• Don’t raise one shoulder while you’re performing the neck stretch. Make sure to keep both of your shoulders level at all times.