Back to Basics: Head Hang

Beth Jones Author

To start our Back to Basics year, we’re focusing on the neck. We’ll be looking at a few exercises over the next month to not only relieve tension in the neck, but also work on better alignment. The combination of these two things can really help with a number of complaints that we have elsewhere in the body.

The importance of the neck

If you’ve ever watched the movie “Jerry McGuire”, you know that the head weighs around 8 pounds. That’s huge amount of weight that perched basically like a softball on a golf tee. Our neck is one of the most mobile joints in the body. It contributes to all of our senses, performs many of the movements of the body, such as flexion, extension, and rotation. If you’ve ever woken up with a stiff neck after sleeping wrong, you’ll understand how much you miss the movements of the neck when they aren’t available.

However, our modern lifestyle is putting more stress on the neck than ever. Hours spent in front of a computer or other screen, driving the kids endless places, and the endless stressors of life. It’s not surprising that we’re feeling increasing pain in our bodies - the muscles of the neck integrate with just about every muscle system in the body. If we look at the facial lines of the body, we can see that there is a direct connection to the neck in six of the nine lines. If we look at the posterior line of the body, we see the connection begins at the skull and runs all the way down to the bottoms of the feet. While the neck muscles don’t span this entire distance, the do directly influence the muscles that are a part of this chain.

It’s with these muscles chains in mind that I introduce the first of our “Back to Basics” exercises. This one comes from my Restorative Exercise training with Katy Bowman, and is simply called a “head hang”. It’s pretty simple - we’re going to drop our chin to our chest and simply let the muscles of the back of the neck release. So simple, but so effective.

I do want to challenge you to be mindful as your dropping your head into flexion. See if you can picture that softball on a golf tee, where the top of your neck is the tee and your head is the ball. See if you can “roll” your head forward - almost lifting the back of the skull up towards the ceiling before moving your chin towards your chest. The movement should be slower and intentional, instead of a quick drop. If you’re doing it correctly, you should be able to feel the pull on the back of your neck as you move into that stretch. Check out the video below for a guided tutorial.

VIDEO: RE-Boot: Head Hang & Head Ramp

That’s basically it. Since the neck muscles do not only flex the next in a direct up and down motion, be sure to try this release in a few different ways. We call it “rainbowing” the stretch. Rotate your chin to towards your shoulder and try the head hand as if you were smelling your armpit (gross, I know, but the visual works). Then, try the hang in the many slightly different angles between the shoulder and straight ahead. You don’t have to hit each different variety every time you do it, but try a few different positions each time.

You can fit the head hang easily into your day. It’s a great exercise to do as a break during work, while waiting for a stop lift (lift your eyes to see the light for an added benefit), or in the mornings as you get up. Start by holding the stretch for about 30 seconds, and then work up to a minute. You can do this exercise as much as you’d like to over the course of the day, but try to get it in once. If you’re reaching to give your neck and shoulders a bit of self-massage, that’s a great time to add this in as well.

Give this a shot and let me know if it helps relieve some of that daily tension for you. If you'd like to track your monthly movement, make sure to join our community, the Everyday Athlete Playground to download your free tracking sheet, and get more support on these simple movement and habits to build a good foundation for the upcoming year.

Categories: : heal, restorative exercise

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