Hi, I have a student who tells me she has always pain in the neck with exercises like the hundred, or exercises where the shoulders are off the mat. I remember her to focus on the power house but she is always tensioned. What else can I tell her? I'll appreciate if someone could help me with this.

Hi Lucia, neck tension is not uncommon for people to experience with exercises like The Hundred and others where the chest/head /shoulders are off the mat. Learning to breathe properly is key and this , along with proper timing and use of the abdominals will greatly assist your clients. Check out class number #1736 tutorial taught by Ruth Alpert, she is wonderful and has many tips to assist 'how to' moments for students and teachers alike.

Hi Lucia, I love Amy's suggestion about the Class 1736. Proper breathing and execution of the exercises is, as you know, critical for injury prevention and for working with students who have pain. I did want to add that I've found a lot of success by placing a thin memory foam pillow underneath the neck and head of students with neck pain. I make sure the entire head (including the part that usually touches the mat) is off the floor and stabilized. The one caveat is that you have to be careful not to get memory foam that is so thick it misaligns the neck with the spine. Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you Amy and Anastasia for your sugestions. I will look at this tutorial you mentioned me and also I will consider to use a pillow for my student's neck.