How's that for a clickbait title, right?
Fine. It's fine. No worries. Turns out I mean it.
This Tuesday night a student named Mary approached me to tell me that she has a history of suffering migraines after taking the 26 & 2 class. They were so bad, she said, that she often dreaded coming to practice. But she loved the yoga and kept returning, despite a near constant concern that the next day she might have to deal with an intense headache as a result. This was obviously upsetting to her, but she smiled when she told me, "I've taken your class three times now, and the headaches are gone."
Just the night before a student named Frank came up to me after class to tell me that his practice had become so much more steady and manageable since taking my class. He could breathe more and focus better in the hot room, which improved his whole experience of the practice.
I get this feedback all the time. I heard similar responses twice just last night.
I would love to tell you these students were responding to something unique and special, some hidden secret that only I knew and only I could communicate. But that's simply not the case. The truth is the most basic command I use has turned out to be the most transformative.
So here it is. If you want to reach students immediately, speak to their felt experience in the room, and empower them overnight, just tell them this one thing:
Relax your neck.
That terrible sound in the background is my dog annihilating a rubber toy. You're welcome.
Relax your neck. That's it. You wouldn't think such a basic command could immediately change students' practices, but for me the proof is in the pudding. Over and over people come to me to say thank you for telling them to simply stop clenching the neck.
If you look around a hot room at any time, you'll see why this is an important reminder for our students. In nearly every pose, except perhaps the front side compressions, someone in the room will be clenching the neck tightly. Honestly, in my experience, those who do not automatically clench and bind the back of the neck are the exception, not the rule.
See, neck tension is a component of struggle. When we're trying really hard (or trying to convince ourselves that we're trying really hard. I'm looking at you, USA Culture of Stress) we clench the back of the neck in a bracing position. You can watch this response in your own body, just think of something really scary or difficult and your neck will immediately freeze up. Usually, the back of the skull gets pulled down and the shoulders come up in a kind of "frightened turtle" position.
26 & 2 is challenging. It puts us up against our limits on some days. The heat can be a source of stress, and the series calls for strong muscular action from the very first motion. So what do we do, if it's our very first class ever? We get nervous and we clench the neck. And no one ever corrects it, and over time it becomes part of the practice. We make the clench in the neck a deeply ingrained habit, and unless we're told to let go of it, we don't.
This turns into a real problem for even the most experienced students, because neck tension is connected to low back tension. And because our practice becomes an act of struggle instead of an act of freedom. We develop the habit of "I just have to get through this," instead of "I wonder what strangely amazing thing my body can do today?" We also restrict the breath, power up the fight or flight response, and exhaust ourselves when we bind the neck.
Look to your students. Watch their bodies. You will see it, and once you've seen it you'll discover it's everywhere. Put someone in Awkward and watch their chin lift and their neck crunch in the back. Same in Eagle. SSHTK. Standing Bow, Balancing Stick, SLS, Triangle... it goes on and on and on.
Unfortunately, there isn't much in traditional dialogue that discusses neck tension. But that doesn't mean you can't help your students. Just tell them to relax the neck, then step back and watch. Watch their whole bodies rearrange as they begin to breathe more freely. Watch them become less nervous. Watch as migraines stop, anxiety diminishes, core strength begins to develop, and the practice gains a new power to help your students move forward towards balanced, healthy lives.
Other ways of saying it: Unlock your neck, release neck tension, get your shoulders out of your ears, don't pinch your skull into the back of your neck, keep your neck long and relaxed, clear your neck tension, relax the jaw, don't crunch your neck, check to see if your neck is binding. (Side note: A student from the Southern states recently told me it's not the best idea to say, "check your neck" in class if you're ever teaching below the Mason-Dixon. I didn't ask.