Traffic in Atlanta is one thing we all tolerate to the best of our abilities. Why not make the most of your time while at a standstill?
My favorite is to use the headrest, situated to the middle of your head. Press your head back and in to the headrest, slightly tucking your chin under as you press and hold for a count of 5. This gives a nice stretch to the suboccipital muscles at the base of your skull and it activates the deep flexor muscles in the front of the neck. This will also release some tension in the back of your neck and maybe even in your shoulders. Next you can turn your head as far as comfortable and press your head back and in to the headrest. Be sure to do both sides equally.
Need some shoulder therapy? Try pressing your shoulder back, one at a time, holding for a count of 5, just as you’ve been doing. Be sure to do both sides equally. Now you’re working the muscles between the shoulder blades, squeeze those shoulder blades together behind you and make sure the back of your head is touching the headrest. Don’t allow your head and neck to creep forward. You can also work on those external rotator muscles of the shoulder by squeezing your elbows towards your rib cage, elbows bent at 90 degrees, now open your arm out away from your body, attempting to touch the back of your wrist to either the door or towards the passenger seat. Let’s not forget shoulder shrugs and shoulder rolls as well.
Again, make sure you are safe while in your car. These are quick and easy to do at a red light. While the car is moving, see if you can keep your head touching the headrest. We have this bad habit of thrusting our neck forward as if we could actually see things better from that position.