Traction & Elastic Release

It is important to introduce more space and flow of energy through the neck region before working to increase mobility and alignment of individual vertebrae. By encouraging a passive traction of the neck, many things occur:

• Restrictive patterns in the soft tissues begin to let go and unwind.
• Joint spaces open up in the vertebrae as fascia, muscles and tendons/ligaments release compression and reorient.
• It increases neck and spinal mobility.
• The bones naturally move into better alignment due to the increase of space and tissue pliability.
• The flow of life force becomes more free through the bridge of the neck and up into the cranium, bringing more energy and motion into the cervical vertebrae, cranial bones and tissues of the neck and brain.

It takes patience and practice to perceive the various sensations necessary to do this work effectively. The cervical region is complex and requires a particular sensitivity and skill to treat, but it's worth your attention to develop your capacity to give effective treatment to this region of the body.

Traction of the Neck

You may want to go to pp. 90-91 in the book Shiatsu Shin Tai for more photographs and detailed directions.

1. Set-up: Begin by gently holding the receiver's head in your hands. Make sure to be in a relaxed position so that your wrists and fingers are soft and able to 'listen.'
2. Traction: At first just think the stretch, exerting at the most about 5 grams of force. Keep your attention on a sensation of softening through the neck. The head may feel like it slides away from the body, with a feeling of elongation extending through the neck.
3. Movement: A subtle pattern of movement may occur that varies with each person. The head may shift softly to one side or the other at various angles as if it is unwinding. Allow this to happen and simply follow the movement. Be sure not to initiate any of the motion. Allow the head to stop and start moving when it wants.
4. Recoil: Usually during this process you will feel the neck wanting to contract and the head wanting to pull back into the body. This is the fascia trying to go back to its old patterns of restriction. Resist this recoiling motion, but be careful not to pull it harder back in the direction of the traction.
5. Release: The recoil may last for several seconds to several minutes. Finally it will stop and the tissues will relax. This helps to create a new tissue pattern that is more free. Usually at the moment that the recoil lets go, there is also a release of the breathing wave through the body for one or most breaths.

You may get the feeling that it is beneficial to traction through more than one cycle of softening, unwinding, recoil and release.

While you are holding the head, allow yourself to feel or imagine into the neck. You may be able to sense the opening taking place in the joints. You may also sense a level of the neck that is resisting the movement and opening. This might be an area that requires further treatment, using a more specific approach as shown in the following techniques.

Elastic Release

The quality of elasticity indicates the strength of energy flowing through an area. When life force has diminished due to injury, repeated stress or trauma, tissues and joints become more rigid, leading to stiffness or atrophy. By encouraging a sensation of elasticity into the body, you can increase the flow of life force deep into muscles, tendons and ligaments.

1. While continuing to hold the head in the same manner, encourage the whole neck region to be more elastic by gently stretching it away from the body.
2. Then release the slight force of the stretch and feel the force of contraction pull the head back towards the body.
3. Play with this end range of motion, encouraging a sensation of elasticity to come into the joints and soft tissues of the neck as you softly stretch it away from the body and then feel the forces pull it back.

Notice a sensation of more elasticity through the region as you apply this gentle stretch and release. Put some attention on the effects this has on the neck and whole body as life force flows more deeply into various layers of the cervical area.