Carriage of the Head

woman with sore neckDoes it feel like you’ve got a bowling ball instead of a Nerf ball for a head?  Do you wonder about your posture? Is your neck stiff? Do you have Text Neck?

The way we carry our head affects many things. If we carry our head forward, it can lead to chronic pain, numbness, headaches, tingling in the arms and heads and even affect our breathing. It can affect how other people see us and say something about how we feel about ourselves. 

Ideally, we want to carry our heads directly over our hips and feet, with a mobile and relaxed back ready to adjust when needed. That way, our bones can carry the weight, rather than the small muscles of the neck and the back.

And, try this video lesson at your desk to improve the comfort of your neck, by finding easy support from your back.

sonomacountycotatifeldenkraissusanhammondSusan Hammond is a lifelong healing professional. As a certified Feldenkrais® practitioner, she has helped people find ease in their movement and relief from their back pain. She has helped hundreds of people move, walk and sit more comfortably. She is also certified as a Japanese massage therapist (Amma), and has ten years of medical assisting and management in clinics and medical offices. Her varied background draws from over 25 years of aikido training at Two Rock Aikido Dojo, where she currently teaches and trains and holds the rank of Sandan, 3rd degree black belt. She assists Lance Giroux of Allied Ronin in professional Leadership Training programs in the US and China, has assisted at the School of Embodied Leadership with the Strozzi Institute and developed and has lead self defense classes for women and girls.

Using her background in healing and leadership, she is passionate about helping people move with ease and comfort. She guides people to improve their sitting and walking, feel more relaxed, flexible and strong in their bodies and in interactions with others. Her current efforts focus clients on eliminating back pain, increasing flexibility and coordination, and finding efficient, fluid movement.

She lives in Sonoma County with her husband and her 15 year old daughter. She has parented 3 stepchildren who are now adults and has an adorable 3 year old grandson. She maintains a private practice in Sonoma County, California, teaching Awareness Through Movement® group classes in Sebastopol and Cotati and seeing individuals for private Functional Integration® sessions at her office in Sebastopol.