I suffer from pain in my low back as well as pain in the upper back (shoulder blade), so I purchased the book and began Stretchsitting when working at the computer. However, I find that my neck becomes tired from this position, even after following the neck straightening procedure described in the book. This is because my back is angled backwards while stretchsitting. If my back was perfectly straight, the force of gravity on my neck points straight down through my torso, so my neck muscles aren't stressed. But because my back is angled, the force is angled as well and so my neck muscles are having to work hard to prevent my neck from falling backwards. Is this normal? Will I get used to it, or should I change my posture/do some neck exercises?
Neck gets tired while Stretchsitting
November 26, 2016 - 7:19pm | 6 posts
#1
Neck gets tired while Stretchsitting
3 years 7 months ago
04/03/2015 - 6:23am
Dear Surya,
Ideally your back should be more vertical, less angled back when Stretchsitting. You may need to add a small towel or cushion behind your Stretchsit cushion to allow you to be more upright. Also, make sure your bottom is well back in your chair. It would be OK to be angled back if your head were supported, but for computer work, you should be upright.
Cecily Frederick, Gokhale Method Teacher
7 years 11 months ago
11/26/2016 - 7:10pm
Dear Cecily,
The book has images of Esther demonstrating the stretchsitting position in which her back appears to be angled. I have attached an image from page 53, which summarizes the steps for stretchsitting. It appears to me that in (e), the neck is unstressed because the back is straight, whereas in the final position (g), the back is angled about 15 degrees, but Esther's neck is straight, so her muscles are doing some work to keep the neck straight. Is (g) the position I should use when doing computer work, or is it preferable to be more upright?
My concern is that if I sit upright, my pillow is not taking as much of my weight, so my lower back is having to do that. My pain is in the very low back (around the tailbone), and it is triggered when I put weight on it.
As for your second point, I don't have a cushion yet so I am using a pillow to support my back. I have attached an image of myself sitting at the computer. Am I Stretchsitting correctly?
3 years 7 months ago
04/03/2015 - 6:23am
Hi Surya,
If you look at the picture of Esther and her chair, you'll see that there is no pillow blocking her bottom.
Ideally, there is a gap of some kind for the bottom to go back, without any obstruction from the chair or the pillow. You do not want to be sitting on your tailbone, and if you are this is perhaps because your pelvis is too tucked (retroverted).
Perhaps you can fasten your pillow with a strap higher up on your desk chair so there is room for your bottom.
Regards,
Cecily
7 years 10 months ago
12/26/2016 - 11:16pm
I am learning the GM by reading the book and watching youtube. So, I don't fee qualified to comment on the method per-se. It seems to me that your computer is positioned very low forcing your head to fall forward. Perhaps finding a way to position your computer higher and using an external keyboard might help.
Martha, a fan of GM
2 hours 13 min ago
10/29/2013 - 4:01pm
Hello Martha,
It is hard to tell for sure, since the screen is not in the picture, but following the angle of Surya's gaze, it seems to me that his screen is at a relatively good hight. What we are looking for in stretch sitting is for the head to be as much over the body as possible and the back of the neck lengthened, not the front, so that the chin ends up dropping down a little bit. If anything, judging from the picture, Surya could think about elongating the back of his neck a little bit more. And it is best to arrange oneself in the best stretchsitting position possible and then organize the environment accordingly: the keybord, the screen etc.
Best,
Aurelia Vaicekauskas
Teacher, Gokhale Method