Ten Minutes

Earlier this week I had a chiropractor appointment, and I told the doctor I was having some annoying neck pains.  He said it was probably from sitting in front of a computer too long, and gave me a simple stretch for my neck and shoulders.

He showed me how to roll up a large bath towel until it was about the diameter of a pool noodle, then lay the towel on the floor (for demonstration purposes he substituted the examination table) and position myself on top of it face up.  The towel was lengthwise along my spine starting from the base of my neck about where the collar of a shirt would be.  My neck was slightly stretched back with my head resting on the table above the towel, and when I arranged my arms above my head in a "football goal" position my shoulders fell open.

Although I only did the stretch for a few seconds in the office it felt really good.  I asked if I could have a prescription to lay on top of the towel in the family room floor all night; the chiropractor laughed and assured me that ten minutes would be sufficient to release the tension in my neck and shoulders and help reshape my spine back into its natural position.

Tonight after dinner I cut the grass and came inside hot and sweaty.  I turned the ceiling fan in the family room as high as it would go, then laid down on the rolled up towel right underneath it.  Coincidentally, ten minutes was enough to cool down and stretch out my back!