Have tight traps? Have a knot in the back of your shoulders? Here are a few suggestions to take care of yourself.
1. Check for tightness throughout the day: check periodically – are you relaxed? Are you shrugging your shoulders? ideally your shoulders should be in line with your collarbone – not higher up, or pushed forward. Think “fall” – let your shoulders ‘fall’. You might start to realize you have them in a shrugged position too often.
2. Do Shoulder Shrugs – this will release tension in the traps. Exaggerate the shrug by pulling your shoulders all the way to your ears – hold for 3 seconds – then let them relax. After doing this 5-6 times, then Roll your shoulders forward and backwards in circles 6 times in each direction
3. Stretch!!
Positioning: You can do this sitting or standing. Always have your hand on the shoulder you want to stretch to prevent it from moving up. The other hand should be on top of your head with your fingers pointing towards the back. Your neck should always remain inline with your back and the only body part that is moving is your head
Forward stretch: Gently pull your head forward with your chin toward your neck as if you were nodding. Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds.
Side stretch: Gently pull your head to the side so your ear approaches the opposite shoulder. Switch sides. Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds.
Diagonal stretch: Gently pull your head diagonally forward so your chin approaches the opposite shoulder. Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds.
Repeat these stretches on the other side. Start with the forward stretch, but this time, your hand should be on the opposite shoulder. Go through these stretches 2 to 3 times in one sitting and repeat throughout the day.
4. Last but not least: get a professional massage! nothing can beat this 🙂
if not, grab a tennis ball and find a wall – use the ball on your traps and back of shoulder, sounds funny but try to relax as much as possible when doing this. Push on the spot you feel it the most, a slight push, hold it for 60-90sec until you feel it release!
Make sure to drink water after doing this!
