Fit With Wendy Personal Training 

Neck Pain, whether acute or chronic, can be very debilitating, annoying, and painful.

I have experienced chronic neck pain myself, and I recently learned a very simple way to reduce my neck pain WITHOUT the use of; medicine, cold packs, heat packs, massage, chiropractic.

I learned how I can fix my neck pain with Yoga and most importantly ----->>>>>> Deep Breathing.

I was introduced to Diaphragmatic Breathing by David Rubenstein of the Rubenstein Center For Pain Free Living. David taught me that shallow chest breathing increases neck tightness and results in increased pain and discomfort. 

I was unaware that my breathing was shallow, and being that I'm a fitness competitor, athlete, dancer, and model, I'm accustomed to holding my abdominals in tight all the time and flexing my stomach. This can lead to chronic neck pain, which is then linked to a host of related disorders, including headache, jaw soreness, and pain radiating into the shoulders, upper back and arms.

It might seem really basic, I mean we all need to breathe..... but it can be complicated...

Sometimes when our breathing becomes short (chest breathing), we need to be re-trained on how to breathe from the diaphragm... (as we did when we were babies!)

In this article you will learn about proper deep breathing, from the diaphragm.

To get relief from your neck and shoulder pain today, Download this Free document now.

I know it will help you! Just click the photo below and then look for the document titled: 

Yoga Can Help Neck Pain

Ever seen one of those white cylinder shaped foamy roll thingies in the gym?  You see people rolling on it, and you probably wonder why they are doing it and if you should be doing it too? Well, in my opinion, foam rollers are pretty much the greatest thing on earth. I consider my foam roller my best friend. And yes, you should be foam rolling too!

But first, Why should you use a Foam Roller?

Our bodies contain Fascia...

So what is Fascia?

A fascia is a structure of connective, fibrous tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other. Various kinds of fascia consists of distinct layers, depending on their functions and their anatomical location: a superficial fascia, a deep fascia, and a subserous (or visceral) fascia and extends uninterrupted from the head to the tip of the toes.

Did you read that last part?

Fascia extends uninterupted from the head to the tip of the toes!  Our bodies are covered in Fascia!

This soft fascial tissue can become restricted due to psychogenic disease, overuse, trauma, infectious agents, or inactivity, often resulting in pain, muscle tension, and corresponding diminished blood flow. Although fascia and its corresponding muscle are the main targets of myofascial release, other tissue may be affected as well, including other connective tissue.

Foam rolling will help you decrease inflammation in the body, decrease muscle pain, decrease joint pain, and increase flexibility, range of motion and free movement of the body.

Where to buy a foam roller?

Target, amazon.com, 24-hour fitness, or your local sporting goods store. 

Here is a video of how to release tight IT Bands with SMR using a foam roller: