foreword -- acknowledgments -- introduction: healing "pain in the neck"- and shoulders, upper back, jaw, & head, too -- chapter 1 -- the science of neck pain & how yoga can help -- chapter 2 -- the inside story: anatomy, posture, & pain -- chapter 3 -- the emotional connection: the role of stress & the energetic body in neck & shoulder pain -- chapter 4 -- putting your head on straight: posture guidelines for daily life -- chapter 5 -- healing yoga practice to prevent & relieve neck & shoulder pain -- 1. Centering: Lie on your back with your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor, and your arms resting at your sides. Relax your shoulders and your neck. (If your chin "pokes up," place a folded towel or blanket under your head so that if you were viewed -- 2. Breath Awareness: Watch the movement of breath in and out of your body and observe all the sensations associated with your breathing. Perhaps you'll notice the coolness of the air as it enters your nostrils and feel the warmth as it exits. You might fe -- 3. Body Scan: Check in with yourself and see what's going on for you today -- notice how you feel physically and also how you feel mentally and emotionally. With your mind's eye, take an inward journey through your body and mind, scanning your whole interio -- 4. Exhaling Tension: Bring your attention to the back of your body and notice all the places where you're touching the earth, such as your back and buttocks, the back of your head, the backs of your arms, and the soles of your feet. Feel this connection w -- 5. Deep Abdominal Breath: Place your hands on your lower belly, resting your palms above your pubic bone but below your navel. On your next inhalation, invite the air all the way down to the lowest portion of your lungs, and notice how, when you fill your.

6. Neck Release: Lying on your back with your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor, and your arms at your sides, bring your awareness to your head. Allow your head to become heavy and relaxed so that its weight drops to the earth, inviting your neck an -- 7. Neck Stretch: Center your head by lining your chin up with the little notch in the middle of your collarbones. Take a big breath in, and on the exhalation, turn your head to the right as far as it will comfortably go so that your chin moves in the dire -- 8. Upper Back and Shoulder Stretch: Rest your arms by your sides and tune in to your breath. On an inhalation, extend your arms up and overhead so that the backs of your hands come to the floor behind you, or as close to the floor as they will comfortably -- 9. Single-Knee-to-Chest Pose with Ankle Circles: Lying with your knees bent, your feet on the floor, and arms at your sides, take a nice deep breath in. On an exhalation, hug your right knee into your chest, holding your leg behind your right thigh. (If t -- 10. Leg Stretch: Continue to hug your right leg and, on an inhalation, extend your right foot up toward the sky, straightening your leg as much as you comfortably can. Then exhale and bend your knee so that your foot comes back down by your buttocks. On y -- 11. Both-Knees-to-Chest Pose: With both feet on the ground and both knees bent, take a deep, full breath in. On an exhalation, hug both knees in toward your chest, holding behind your thighs or above your shins with your hands, or catching the legs with a -- 12. Cat Pose and Dog Tilt: Bring your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Be sure your knees are comfortable -- you may want to place a folded towel or blanket under them for extra padding. Fan your fingers out wide.

13. Spinal Balance: Begin on all fours, with a flat back, in table pose. Take a nice, deep breath in and feel your rib cage expand around the entire circumference of your torso. On an exhalation, bring your right knee forward, and on an inhalation, extend -- 14. Child's Pose: Bring your buttocks back toward your heels and let your head move toward the earth. If you like, stack your palms or fists on the floor and rest your forehead on your hands, or if your forehead comfortably reaches the floor, rest your ar -- 15. Mountain Pose: Come to a standing position, with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your toes and spread them out so that, if possible, no toe touches another toe. Then set your toes down on the earth, letting them spread long and wide on your mat. Feel -- 16. Standing Salutation: Standing in mountain pose, turn your palms out, and on an inhalation, extend your arms out to the sides and up overhead until your palms touch, lifting your heart toward the sky and gazing up at your thumbs. Be sure to keep your n -- 17. Mountain Pose Variation-Arm Up/Head Turn: Standing in mountain pose, take a deep breath and exhale completely. On your next inhalation, extend your right arm forward and up, and turn your head to the left, keeping your shoulders squared off toward the -- 18. Tree Pose: Begin in mountain pose, feeling your body weight evenly distributed on both legs and the crown of your head extending up toward the sky. (If you want some extra support, practice this balancing posture near a wall or sturdy chair that you c -- 19. Puppy Dog: Practice this pose next to a wall, chair, or countertop, such as a desk or kitchen counter. Place your palms on the chair back, wall, or countertop, and walk your feet back until your arms are fully extended in front of you. Then hinge forw.

20. Gentle Twist: Standing in mountain pose, with the crown of your head extending up toward the sky and your feet planted firmly on the ground, turn your body gently to the right so that, if possible, you can see behind you over your right shoulder. Then -- 21. Seated Mountain Pose: Sit tall in your chair, with your feet planted firmly on the ground and your sit bones (see chapter 4, "Sitting Pretty") dropping down into the seat of the chair. From this place of grounding, extend the crown of your head up tow -- 22. Shoulder Shrugs: Inhale your shoulders up toward your ears, and then exhale and drop them down. Inhale and squeeze them up -- exhale and release them down. Repeat several times, making sure to keep your arms as relaxed as possible so that they go along -- 23. Shoulder Clock: Lift your shoulders up as high as they'll comfortably go-we'll call this "twelve o'clock,"-take them back to "nine o'clock," release them down to "six o'clock," and then bring them forward to "three o'clock." Keep your breath slow and -- 24. Hug Arms: On an inhalation, extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height -- on an exhalation, relax your shoulders down away from your ears, continuing to reach your arms out so that the fingers of your right hand extend to the right and the fin -- 25. Angel Wings: Extend your arms forward -- then bend your elbows and place your fingertips on your shoulders. On an inhalation, open your elbows out to the sides and draw your shoulder blades together in the back of your body, as if you had a nut on your -- 26. Angel-Wing Circles: With your fingers resting lightly on your shoulders, imagine that your elbows are felt-tipped markers, and draw large ovals in the air with them. Keep the breath slow and easy as you circle in one direction for three to five breath.

27. Seated Back Bend: Sitting tall in seated mountain pose (posture 21), place your palms on your thighs and tuck your elbows in toward your sides. Imagine that you have a headlight shining out from the center of your chest at your breastbone. On an inhal -- 28. Head Turn: Inhale and lengthen the crown of your head toward the sky -- exhale and turn your head as far to the right as possible, keeping your shoulders squared forward. Be sure to allow your eyes to be part of this turn, looking out the corners of you -- 29. Ear to Shoulder: Sitting tall in seated mountain pose, with your hands on your thighs, inhale as you lengthen the crown of your head toward the sky -- then exhale and release your right ear down toward your right shoulder, trying not to lift the shoulde -- 30. Bobblehead: Sitting tall in mountain pose, imagine that you're a bobblehead doll, where the body is stable and the head bobbles around on a spring atop the neck. Keeping your spine long, begin to bobble your head gently, relaxing any tension in your n -- 31. Wrist, Arm, and Side Stretch: Clasp your hands together and inhale -- then on an exhalation, extend your arms up and turn your palms away from you. (If this is not comfortable, do this with your palms facing toward you.) On an inhalation, lengthen throu -- 32. Cow's-Face Arms: Hold a yoga strap (or an old necktie or bathrobe belt) in your right hand and extend your right arm up overhead. Bend your right elbow so that it points up toward the sky and your right palm faces your upper back, with the strap resti -- 33. Lion's Face: Take a deep, full breath in -- then on an exhalation, open your mouth as wide as it will comfortably go, extending your tongue out as far as possible and opening your eyes as wide as you comfortably can while flinging your fingers out in fr.

34. Crocodile Pose: Come onto your belly on the floor, bend your elbows, and stack your hands to make a little pillow for your head, turning your neck so that your cheek or your ear rests on the back of your hands. If it's uncomfortable to turn your head.