I have created, it's is an adaption of Yin Yoga, what I have come to call Yin-Bed Yoga as a highly effective way to increase neck, shoulder and upper back flexibility and reduce the accumulated discomfort that comes from tension in those areas. Especially accumulated physical and mental work tension and discomfort. It is an ideal gentle and very time efficient way to do body work when you wake in the morning, without having to get out of bed, or even open your eyes, or in the night when you wake and can't get back to sleep.
The first thing to understand is that it, like osteopathy, is not a technique but the application of a set of biological principles. Though from the outside no one could tell the difference. The difference comes from the experience from within and the breadth of possible application.
What we call stretching should really have been called positional release. The key aspect of Yin-bed yoga / positional release is relaxation. Deep relaxation requires time until time dissolves into eternity. Eternity not being a great period of time but perceptually stepping out of time.
The simplest place to start, where I always still start, is at the top with neck rotation.
Anatomy: There is a theoretical 35º rotation between the 1st and 2nd vertebra in the top of the neck. If you turn your head, standing or sitting, very slowly to one side, you will feel this motion and as you continue the rest of the neck joins in. Understanding the underlying anatomy is a massive help to all body work.
Principle: The body relaxes best when best supported. This is why Yin-Bed yoga is done lying down. I most often do it if I wake in the night rather than getting up. It also has a way to cutting in to any mental noise and gives the mind something quiet/silent to do.
1 - Neck rotation: Lying on your back turn your head to left or right, I usually do the side that is most relaxed. This is a less is more process. If you engage pain, the pain will trigger reflex protective contraction. Making the process a bit pointless.
Common Error: May of my patients only engage with bodywork when they are in pain and or suffering. This is always too late to get what you really want. It is like going on stage to play music and not having done the practice time ahead of time. The aim is to do the work when life is OK so you can use it when you really need it!
Back to Neck Rotation . . . I use my hand on the same side I am turning to to stabilise my head and neck to allow by neck to relax more. I take a finger light contact of fingers 2&3 on my forehead and finger 3 on the bridge of my nose. This allows the 23 bone in your head to be involved in the rotation and not just the neck. If your arm (shoulder blade, shoulder joint, elbow, forearm wrist) is not able to be relaxed in this position – use a pillow under your arm for support. The body is trying to soften so the more support the better.
Time: It usually takes between 3.5 and 5 mins for the body/nervous system to relax and change the joint tension you have engaged. When I started I used an iPod with a timer on it set on 5 mins. I also used to listen to an audio book.
Principle: A golden rule of body work is – if the mind is amused it does not care what the body does. Use this to your advantage.
It should become apparent that this is a form of body meditation. Therefore it can be great to start with 5-10 mins of mediation first. Thought today I go straight into it. But my day job is essentially a form of mediation.
Principle: When you go deeply into the relaxation with the neck turned gently into a first level of tension your body thinks that this is the new you. That this the new tension ongoing . . . It therefore adjusts the postural tension of the joints and tissues involved. It relaxes. It's very cool. I was first introduced to these long held releases by a NZ Olympic weight lifting coach.
Now turn your head to the other side. You should already find that if you turn back into the side you just released that the tension is already much less. Go back to the opposite side and repeat the process.
Rest period: Yin yoga suggest that you come back to the middle and rest in relaxation for a coupe of minutes before you move on to the next area. You can use this time to feel down you body beyond the diaphragm down to the pelvis and on down the legs to the feet. The more often you do this mindful body scanning the better you will get at it and the more natural it becomes to do during the various areas of the body you help release.
This means that each body area takes 9-12 minutes. This is why it is so good if you wake in the night because killing time, in a constructive way, that will help you go back to sleep is what you want. Remembering this is happening with the lights off and eyes closed.
2 - Neck side bending: Now that you have a set of principles and not just a technique you can do the same with neck side bending. The key to this area is to recognise that you will have very little range of motion. This does not matter. Just work with what you have. It will increase a bit over time. Mine has increased a lot over time. Again I have my hand on the side I am bending towards with a light finger touch on the top of the head. You are opening up the other side of the neck and the junction between the head and the neck. This helps increase blood flow to the brain. Remember this is not stretching in the old sense. It is a positional release mediated by the central nervous system. Relax and trust the process.
2 mins rest period
3 - Upper back: I shift my whole trunk a little to put a banana curve in my upper back. One shoulder up and the other down. Go back into the body meditation and do the same as before. Each new area comes with more relaxation. So it just gets easier.
2 mins rest period
4 - Arm across the chest. This one, should you get this far, is just to bring the arm across the chest until you can feel the tension in to the thoracic spine behind you. Let the arm rest across you chest. Repeat as before.
2 mins rest period
Working with these four areas should help release tension above the diaphragm. You can work with breathing through all these areas as makes sense though it is not strictly necessary. Over time make the whole process yours as you understand the principles.
This will be enough to be going on with. My advice is read through this a few time to get the hang of it and then make some basic notes for yourself to work form. You can then work from these notes.
You can increase / decrease the side bending ones with moving your legs or arms a little. Feel the effect. It does not take moving the legs much to focus the tension. Learn to feel down to your feet when you work in the upper body. The best change is always whole body change just like the cranial osteopathy.
Remember – Less is more! Learn to work with the innate biological intelligence inherent in the design and function of your body and nervous system. But never find yourself fighting pain. Once you understand it you can invent new ways to apply these basic principles to the rest of the body.
It is a great way to go back to sleep in the middle of the night.