Neck Extension (Dropping Your Head Back) is Nothing to Fear?
“Don’t let your head fall all the way back” — sound familiar?
This cue comes up a fair bit in yoga classes during poses like cobra, upward facing dog, and standing backbends in which the student can allow their head to fully drop back (cervical extension).
Yet, is it really dangerous to extend your neck to its natural limit? And why?
I recently spoke to Yoga Journal about this very topic, and I’m honored to be quoted in their latest article on neck extension: 5 Tips to Safely Practice Neck Extension / These Tips Will Help Keep Your Neck Feeling Safe in Yoga.
Read it here
The article’s title might give the wrong impression.
The short answer: you do not need to be spooked by your body’s own natural range of motion, in the neck or elsewhere. (Forcing your body, or spending extra long time in that position…that’s a different subject).
But, as always, it depends.
Of course there are a few rare conditions in which dropping your head back is not advised.
And more broadly, if dropping your head back feels icky to you, don’t do it. (More specific, useful tips are shared in the Yoga Journal article).
Most of us do not need to worry about keeping the neck “safe”: biology has already done that for us.
There are many similar, and largely unfounded, fear mongering cues in fitness and in yoga. The persistence of fear-based cues that have not been questioned anatomically or physiologically is strange.
If you teach yoga, you can contribute to a more biologically based approach to passing on the wisdom of yoga by examining some of the overly-cautious cues that might have ended up in your teaching vocabulary. And taking our anatomy courses!
Yoga Anatomy Academy aims to be a grounded voice to help you trust your body and to build your capacity. And to teach in a way that honors our bodies and doesn’t make us more fearful of moving.
Your body is adaptable.
Your spine is strong. (Including in your neck).
And yes — sometimes, letting your head fall back is just fine.
Learned something? Check out our live classes, workshops and webinars, as well as our on demand class library. And read our other great blog posts here.
Do you experience pain in your neck or elsewhere? Why not see a physical therapist (“physiotherapist” outside the U.S.)? You can consult with me via video from anywhere in the world: https://wellilo.janeapp.com or book in person at my Washington, DC clinic.