3037  sore shoulders and neck

Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 09:14:30 -0500
From: jackie ling wong <jackie.wong@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: sore shoulders and neck

greetings!

i have a chronic neck and shoulders problem due to attrophied muscles from
multiple operations on my neck. leading seems to exacerbate the problem.
i'm in physical therapy now but was wondering if anyone has a suggestion
about exercises i could do or if they have experienced similar neck/shoulder
problems and made a lead adjustment that helped.

i do have to ask some followers not to press their head into mine ( it
strains my neck muscles because i have to either resist the pressure or let
my head pull back) and i try not to dance too often with followers that lean
heavily on my arms.

my remedy as a follower when i'm in pain is to drop my right arm and ask my
leader to hold my hand against his chest. (in close embrace)

thanks
jackie
www.tangopulse.net

Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 22:03:42 -0500
From: Michael <tangomaniac@CAVTEL.NET>
Subject: Re: sore shoulders and neck

Jackie:

It sounds like the follower is trying to force contact of the faces instead of it naturally happening. I used to force contact with the =
woman's right cheek when I couldn't reach it. My neck jutted forward of my axis. I call this "turtle dancing." A couple should never adjust =
their frames to compensate for height differences. If I can't reach a woman's cheek, there's no contact. If a woman can't naturally reach the =
back of the man's neck, her left arm might only reach his shoulder. The alignment (center-to-center) is most important.

Is your partner holding you too tightly, causing your muscles to stiffen, leading to pain? A leader with a stiff lead transfers his =
tension to the woman who absorbs it like a sponge. A follower with a stiff frame transfers her tension to the leader. I cannot lead a woman =
who can't be lead because she is so tense.

I suggest Alexander technique training to ensure that your head is directly above your spine. I practice standing against a wall and =
turning my head to the left with my shoulders still flush against the wall. This creates some flexibility in the neck.

Michael
Washington, DC
Finally decided how to spend my January week's vacation. 3 days in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and 5 nights in New York. (I know it's cold there but I =
wanted someplace close to Washington.)

----- Original Message -----
From: jackie ling wong
Subject: [TANGO-L] sore shoulders and neck


i have a chronic neck and shoulders problem due to atrophied muscles from multiple operations on my neck. leading seems to exacerbate the =
problem. I'm in physical therapy now but was wondering if anyone has a suggestion about exercises i could do or if they have experienced =
similar neck/shoulder problems and made a lead adjustment that helped.

i do have to ask some followers not to press their head into mine ( it strains my neck muscles because i have to either resist the pressure or =
let my head pull back) and i try not to dance too often with followers that lean heavily on my arms.

my remedy as a follower when I'm in pain is to drop my right arm and ask my leader to hold my hand against his chest. (in close embrace)

thanks
Jackie
www.tangopulse.net