- Waking up with a stiff neck is the worst.

Hello, I'm Cassy, and in today's Quick Fit class, I'll be showing you moves you can use anytime you wake up with a stiff neck or simply want to improve your range of motion and relieve tension.

Join me now for some of the best exercises for a stiff neck.

[upbeat music] You don't need any special equipment, but if you do have an exercise band or towel handy, you can use that to create a bit of resistance in one of the moves later on, or you can simply use your hands if you don't have a band.

We'll sit up tall and bring your shoulders back.

Squeeze those shoulder blades together as if you're holding a pencil between them, okay?

Squeeze, lift that chest, breathe it in.

[inhales] And then we'll extend your arms down by your sides and do some small circles, pulling those arms behind you.

Now, as you sit here, don't slouch and don't lean on the back of your chair.

In fact, pull in your stomach, stick out your chest to exaggerate the stretch while you pull the arms back.

Good, breathe it in [inhales] and exhale, stretching those tight muscles that go from your chest to in front of your shoulder that contribute to pulling you forward.

So we need to stretch those.

Okay, now with your left arm, let it just hang straight down at your side, I'd like you to rotate the arm forward and look towards the shoulder.

Then you rotate the arm away.

So think of your palm and move it away from you and also look away.

Okay, rotate the arm again, towards you.

Look at the shoulder.

Nice, big breath in, we'll switch sides.

[inhales] Rotate the arm away and look away.

[exhales] Good, let's do that on the other side.

So extend that arm down and we'll rotate the arm towards you.

And look at the same side.

Rotate the arm away, then look away.

Breathe it in, [inhales] switch positions.

[exhales] And one more the other way.

Good, hold it here.

Final breath in and exhale.

[exhales] Good job.

Now let's draw some letter U's with your chin.

So down and up.

And down and across and up.

Go as slow as you need to.

Okay, you don't have to match my pace.

Everybody's got, you know, the neck is tricky and everyone's got different stiffness spots.

So go slow.

We want this to feel good.

[inhales] Exhale and up.

Good, now let's continue just making a big arch.

So we're doing the opposite now.

We're starting low.

Lift the chin, across, and down.

Good, again, lift and down.

[exhales] One more each way.

Lift [inhales] and exhale.

[exhales] Final one, lift and down.

All right, so now let's mirror me.

If you extend your right arm out to the side, we're going to stretch this muscle down the front, okay?

Let's look the same way as that arm.

Now lift the chin.

Good, so these are these big muscles down the front of your neck.

Take some of that pressure off.

Breathe it in.

[inhales] Do it again.

Lift, reach down with that arm, and release.

Let's do the other side.

So it'll be this big muscle right here.

So look towards your same side as the arm you've got extended and you're extending, reaching down.

And lift.

[exhales] Take some of that pressure off, breathe it in, and lift.

Now, if your neck feels like it's gonna cramp up or spasm, you can always put your fingers up behind your head just to support that weight of your head a little bit.

Nice job.

Okay, now let's work on the muscles that are just in the back of the neck, okay?

So let's tuck your right arm behind you, and you'll look down the opposite way towards your other armpit.

So you're dropping your chin.

Stretching the neck muscles that's down the back and attaching to your scapula.

These muscles back here.

Good, take some of the pressure off, [inhales] breathe in and exhale.

[exhales] Let gravity pull that head down.

All right, take your time, switch sides.

Tuck the other arm behind; you'll look away and exhale.

Let the chin drop.

When it starts to get stiff, you'll pause.

Don't force anything.

Lift, breathe in, and exhale.

[exhales] Good job.

All right, slowly untangle yourself.

And now for the traps, this is straight down the side here, the top of the shoulder.

Let's extend that right arm out.

And then you'll drop your ear towards your left shoulder.

So try to go straight over to the side.

This is one of the harder ones.

So just do a little bit of a movement.

Okay, don't force it.

Breathe it in [inhales] and exhale.

See if you get a little more movement.

Try to relax the shoulder.

Okay, and we're reaching kind of out to the side and down with the extended arm.

There you go.

Now you might feel it a little bit more as you actively stretch that right arm out.

Okay, come up slowly.

[inhales] Extend your left arm, palm forward.

And you're actively reaching out and to the side, and a gentle drop sideways.

When it starts to feel tight, you'll stop.

Breath it in [inhales] and exhale.

[exhales] Reaching with that arm and enjoying your stretch.

All right, well done.

Let's grab the band now and we'll do some chin tucks.

Okay, so without the band, we would just put our fingers here and push the chin directly back.

But I'd like you to add a little bit of resistance.

So let's put the band up behind your head.

Add a little bit of resistance.

And now tuck that chin into your neck, creating a nice double chin.

All right, take some of that pressure off and do it again.

Tuck that chin.

Good, I like having a little bit of resistance.

You can do this lying in bed.

You can do it if you're traveling in your vehicle, just pressing the back of your head into your headrest or even into your fingers.

All right, let's reach up to your forehead and I'd like you to press your forehead against the heel of your hand.

And the hand is resisting.

Use about 60% of your neck strength.

And release; let's go the other way.

[inhales] Other hand and press.

Press.

Three, two, one.

Good job.

Okay, now let's reach just above your ear.

And press the side of your head into your hand.

Three, two, one.

Now watch this.

Release, breathe it in, exhale.

[exhales] You might get a little more movement than what we got even earlier.

And other side.

Put the hand above your ear and press it over, about 70% of your strength of your neck for about three more seconds.

Release.

[inhales] Big breath in and see if you get a little more movement.

Well done.

Okay, let's sit up nice and tall.

Roll your shoulders back and squeeze that pencil.

Now don't lift the chin, okay?

We're trying to just extend the neck as if there was something right above your head that you're trying to reach.

Tall through your spine, tall through your neck.

Okay, good.

And tuck the chin and lengthen the neck.

And that's it.

If you work at a computer or a desk all day, this routine is a must to prevent neck and upper back strain from the forward head position.

Just log back on to pbswisconsin.org/quickfit for a quick stretch partway through your day.

And share it with a friend that could also use some self-care.

And remember, life is movement.

- Announcer: Funding for Quick Fit with Cassy is provided by Greg and Carol Griffin, founders of ElderSpan Management, Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.