Nowadays, many people need to maintain a posture for a long time due to work, or spend extended periods playing with their phones, both of which can cause some harm to the cervical spine. Therefore, many people now suffer from cervical spine diseases to some degree. Once you have cervical spondylosis, it will bring many health problems. So, developing good habits in life and regularly exercising your cervical spine can alleviate the damage to your spine.
1. Diamond Fish Pose: Kneel on the floor, place your hands on your thighs, inhale. Exhale and slowly lean back so that your head gradually touches the ground, with your hands folded in front of your chest. Effect: It stretches the muscles of the spine, neck, and back.
2. Fish Pose: Lie flat on your back, arch your body when inhaling, with your head and hips supporting your body, forming a hole in your back; curl and cross your knees, bring your palms together above your head or intertwine your arms and hold your elbows. Exhale and slowly relax your body, lying flat again. Effect: This pose focuses and extends the cervical spine, is helpful for lumbar spine health, and can eliminate neck wrinkles. Beginners can straighten their legs, which greatly reduces the difficulty and makes the exercise target clearer.
3. Cat Stretch Pose: Kneel on the floor and support your body with your hands. Inhale, stretch your spine downward, lift your head, and extend your neck upward, while lifting your hips. Exhale, round your chest, arch your back, lower your head and neck, tighten your abdominal muscles, and try to arch your entire back upward. Effect: It makes the spine and surrounding muscle groups more elastic, relaxes the neck and shoulders, and coordinates the work of back muscles.
4. Wolf Stretch Pose: Support your body with your hands and toes, stretch your legs as much as possible. When inhaling, tilt your head backward to fully stretch the front of your neck, with your arms perpendicular to the ground. When exhaling, slowly relax your head and return it to its normal position. Effect: This pose fully stretches the 26 vertebrae of the spinal cord, stimulates the connection between the brain and spinal cord, and is very helpful for nourishing the brain.
5. Ostrich Pose: Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, bend forward, place your hands under your feet, and let your palms connect with the soles. When inhaling, lift your head; when exhaling, slowly relax. Effect: This pose can relieve cervical spine fatigue and can be done in combination with the Downward-Facing Dog Pose.
6. Cow Face Pose: Sit on the floor with your legs crossed, knees in a straight line up and down, feet placed beside the hips of the opposite side. Interlock your hands behind your back and keep your back straight. If you find it difficult, you can hold a towel with both hands, which has the same effect. Effect: It corrects the cervical spine and spine, expands the chest, relaxes the shoulder joints, and stretches the latissimus dorsi.
7. Turtle Pose: The two movements of breathing resemble a turtle sticking its head out of its shell. Open your knees, sit upright, curl your calves up to the roots of your thighs; lean forward, open your palms, and lead your cervical spine and lift your chin when inhaling. When exhaling, bring your chin close to your chest, focusing the movement on your neck. Effect: The Turtle Pose mainly exercises the flexibility of the cervical spine and is also helpful for shaping the neckline and eliminating a double chin.
8. Downward-Facing Dog Pose: Straighten and spread your legs apart as much as possible, bend your upper body forward, support yourself with your hands, and keep your back stretched. When inhaling, vertically extend your hands and lift your head. When exhaling, use the top of your head, elbows, and feet as gravity support points to keep your lower back stretched. If you find it too difficult, you can slightly bend your legs to reduce pressure on the ligaments. Effect: It stretches the lower back.
