Neck Pull

Equipment:

Mat

Prop:

Foot Strap

Difficulty (1-5):

3

Repetitions:

5-8

Main Body Position:

Sitting

Spine Position:

Flexion

Part of Series?

No

Start Position 🏁

  • Lie on back
  • Feet hip-width apart and flexed
  • Hold onto outer, upper legs

Cues 💡

  • Begin to lift head, neck and shoulders
  • Roll up by lifting one vertebra at a time off mat
  • Flex spine as deeply as possible while forehead comes toward legs
  • Sit up tall by stacking spine one vertebra at a time
  • Interlock fingers behind head
  • Gently push head back into hands
  • Maintain lengthened spine as beginning to hinge torso back
  • When it become too challenging to keep the spine straight, rotate pelvis as the spine flexes
  • Release fingers and again hold onto outer, upper legs
  • One vertebra at a time lowers back onto mat
  • When rolling up, only use arms to help if absolutely necessary. In an ideal world, the arms don’t assist.
  • Maintain relaxed, unshrugged shoulders

Breathing 🫁

  • Inhale (nose) to lift head, neck and shoulders off mat
  • Exhale (mouth) at most challenging point for abdominals. Continue exhaling until fully rolled up and spine flexed forward.
  • Inhale (nose) to stack vertebrae and begin to hinge back with a straight spine
  • Exhale (mouth) at most challenging point for abdominals. Continue exhaling until fully rolled down.

Modifications 🔧

  • Bend knees, feet either flat on the mat or heels on the mat, feet flexed
  • If there is a an anchored foot strap, to make the exercise more challenging, put feet underneath and keep fingers interlocked behind head throughout the duration of exercise. Firmly flex top of feet into foot strap and also press outer feet into foot strap throughout.