Simple Exercises Can Relieve Neck and Shoulder Pain.

You're sitting there quietly, reading a book, when someone sneaks up behind you and says "BOO!!!" You're startled, of course. In fact, scientists would say that you had a "startle response": your neck muscles tightened, your shoulders lifted, and you breathed (gasped, really) from high in your chest.
With modern life being what it is from the time the alarm goes off in the morning to the reports of murder and mayhem on the late-night news—many people get stuck in the startle response, says Hope Gillerman, a certified instructor of the Alexander Technique (a type of posture and movement re-education) in New York City.

"The tightening of the neck and shoulders in the startle response is the most basic way that we misuse ourselves every day," Gillerman says. "And because the startle response causes us to chronically breathe high in the chest, the neck and shoulder muscles tighten further to assist in the upward movement of the rib cage rather than being relaxed and allowing the breath to move into the abdomen."

And the problem doesn't stop there. Because your breathing is shallow, those tight, painful neck and shoulder muscles are deprived of oxygen, which causes even more tension and pain. No wonder neck and shoulder pain is a complaint that's almost as common as, well, necks and shoulders.
There's no reason, however, for you to stay stuck in startle mode, Gillerman says. Here are some simple steps to relieve the tension and pain.

BREATHING: Learning to Exhale
"The best way to use breathing to reduce pain in your neck and shoulders in fact, anywhere in your body is to focus on completing the exhalation rather than assisting the inhalation," Gillerman says.
By exhaling completely, you reduce residual carbon dioxide in your lungs, leaving mom for more pain-relieving, stress-reducing oxygen. Also, you don't create more tension in your neck and shoulders as you forcefully try to inhale more deeply.

"Extending the exhale is natural," says Gillerman. "It's exactly what we do when we speak." In fact, a simple way to complete the exhale is by speaking very quietly and counting to 10 over and over until you have no more air left, then letting air come back in through either your mouth or your nose.
Be careful not to stressfully push the air out as your exhale is nearing completion, says Gillerman. Just count until the exhale is naturally finished, without squeezing or forcing air out of your lungs. Repeat five times in a row, she recommends. You can do this exercise as frequently as you like, "especially anytime your neck and shoulders feel tight," she says.

RELEASE AND AFFIRMATION: Learning to Let Go
Breathing with a full exhalation helps release the painful tension in your neck and shoulder muscles, but it's only the first step, says Gillerman. The second is to discover the exact location of the tension. "You can't let go of tense muscles unless you feel the tension," she says.
Place one palm on the back of your neck. Tighten your neck muscles by jutting your chin forward. Hold for 2 seconds, then return your head and chin to their normal position while focusing on the muscles you've just tightened, and lift the back of your head off your shoulders.

"Put your attention on the tight area (.neck muscles) and then say to yourself, 'I allow my neck to be soft and free The muscles there will immediately become less tense," says Gillerman.
Repeat this process each morning and at night before you go to bed.

RELAXATION:
You'd think that lying flat on your back would be a great way to relax your tense neck and shoulders. Not so, says Gillerman.
"When you lie flat on your back, your neck arches, your chin lifts, and your forehead drops back, which is a constricting position for the neck and shoulder muscles," she says.
Instead, lie on a well-carpeted floor, a rug, or an exercise mat, and put between 1 and 3 inches of support under your head (your skull, not your neck). That's about the thickness of one or two paperback books.
"This places the chin and the forehead in line—in other words, the chin is not higher than the forehead, which relaxes the neck and shoulders/' Gillerman says.

Bend your knees by resting your calves on the seat of a chair or a couch, or just put a couple of pillows under each knee. Then bend your elbows and place your hands on your ribs. (Lying with your hands by your sides rolls your shoulders forward, making it harder to let go of shoulder tension, says Gillerman.) As a variation, if you have a lot of tension between your shoulder blades, lie with your arms crossed over your chest.