In our modern society we are so often stressed and do so many activities with our arms out in front of us like typing on a keyboard, driving etc. that the alignment of our head, shoulder and torso tend to work its way forward into that classic hunched forward head posture. To align a good posture of your head it is not only important to address the smaller muscles of the neck but also to address the larger muscles that pull incorrectly on the cervical spine and upper midback. The “Floor Angel” is a great exercise to address a slumped upper midback posture:
Floor Angel Description
Lie on your back with a bolster or a stack of pillows (2-4) in-between your shoulder blades and let your arms open up to your sides with your palms facing up so that your body forms a T-shape. Relax into this position over a few breaths while focusing on the lower back, pelvis and shoulders lowering towards the floor. This position will stretch your thoracic spine and chest to undo some of all that forward hunching that we tend to do throughout the day. With the back of your wrists on the floor see how far you can slide your arms up towards your head without the wrist leaving the floor as if you were making a “snow angel”. You can even try to go all the way to above your head even if the arms may have to come off the floor for the last bit.
Dosage
Work your way up to 60 sec and repeat 3 times per day for best result.