PLUS: Tips on how to do your own body assessment, how to do stretching for maximum benefits, and yoga poses for healthy hips.
Why you should read this:
- Did you know that a problem in your shoulder could be connected to issues in your neck?
- Weak muscle tone will result in joint issues?
- Spinal issues could be linked to weak core?
- The importance of stretching for good joint health
- Stretching tips and yoga poses for hip joint health
Let’s start at the beginning…
To prevent injury in joints, we need to:
- Build up muscle tone to support the joints and bone structure
- Trace back the reason we are experiencing problems in certain areas. Understand that the muscles, and joints are connected. For instance, a weak hip may result in knee problems and shoulder issues could be traced back to neck stiffness, etc.
How do we detect any issues? Try a self-assessment in this order:
- Check the left and right sides of the body — are they level? Is there symmetry? If so, was it caused by an injury, from extended periods of poor lifestyle and habits? From a natural condition?
- Start with the face: if there is a slight deviation on the face, one common cause could be previous episodes of stroke.
- Next proceed to the neck — is the neck short or elongated? Are both sides of the neck equal? If not, the left and right side of the lungs may not be balanced as a consequence.
- Move to the Shoulders — notice any deviations: heart and lung issues. Why is there any deviation on the left and right shoulders?
- Proceed to the hip — Front bending test
- Finally check the overall alignment: is the upper and lower part of the body balanced?
Common issues and what to do about them
- Neck pain/ facial muscle issues — nerves are not supplying adequate information to the face
- Neck stiffness. If left unattended, this can further result in shoulder stiffness
- Heart problems: If there is an imbalance in the shoulders (eg: one shoulder is higher than the other, the cardiac cavity may be affected.
- Disturbed sleep. A tight neck stresses the vagus nerve. Will not be able to sleep deeply as a result.
- Frozen shoulders. Since the nerves in the neck are connected with the shoulders, shoulder stiffness may also result. For people with frozen shoulders: instead of stretching the shoulder — stretch the neck to remove some of the shoulder issues. Our neck is an important part of our central nervous system (More on that later)
Tips on Stretching
Why is stretching so important?
In addition to releasing muscle tension, for good joint health, it is important to stretch the muscles regularly. Muscle tightness over the long term may further aggravate any joint issues and cause poor joint functioning.
How to stretch:
When we are stretching a muscle, it is better that we are not exerting any pressure on the muscles.
Example: For hamstring stretches, it is better done lying down rather than in a seated position, where you are actually sitting on the muscles, which may result in lower back pain.
Hip joint — a key that shouldn’t be overlooked: This is an important joint for stabilising the body, and thus keeping hip joint healthy is particularly important for an overall being well-supported. The strongest ligament lies in the hip joint, which helps with rotation. A lot of movements involving the lower body also involves hip hinging; such as squats, dead-lifts etc. And thus it is crucial to keep this joint healthy.
Good yoga poses to stretch and open the hip:
- “Figure 4”
- Lizard Pose
- Pigeon Pose
- Other hip opening sequences
Upcoming articles:
I hope you found this useful; I will be publishing more articles that discuss the diet suitable for each dosha, as well as how Doshas are connected to energy channels, nadis, and also about Chakras.
About me:
On My Khe Beach @ Da Nang, Vietnam
Helen is a Yoga Therapist and Ayurvedic Therapist based in Hong Kong and at the time of publication of this article, she is completing her advanced Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda Training at Anahata Yoga in Hong Kong.
Ways to get in touch:
- Follow her on Social Media!
Instagram: @yoga.with.helen.e
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@yoga.with.helen.e?si=DyGSeEQThZA9r9r-
- Send her an email: [email protected]
- Subscribe to her posts!
If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to my posts with the link here!
Final note…
Did you know? If you want to read more stories and want to try earning an income from your stories, there is a Medium Partner Program which costs $5/month or $50/year. Consider joining the club and meet other hardworking writers today, it will be fun, rewarding and who knows how much you can earn 
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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The post The Real Problem Behind Your Shoulder and Back Issues and How Yoga Can Help appeared first on The Good Men Project.
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