Top 3 Neck Exercises & Stretches for Beginners

The key to preventing neck injuries is in developing strength and flexibility in your neck.  Although there are many exercises you can perform to improve your neck muscles. The following three very simple stretches and exercises are for beginners.  As with all neck exercise always begin in the neutral position.  Neutral position is when the body is aligned and relaxed. Also, as with any exercises you should always do these and any exercises under the guidance of your doctor.  Neck exercises should be performed in a slow and controlled manner.

1. Chin Tuck
The chin tuck is the most popular and easiest exercise you can do to help correct your posture, prevent getting a rounded back and an unnatural forward head position; both of 
which are more likely to occur as you age.  You can perform the chin tuck either from a standing, sitting or lying down position as long as you begin in the neutral position.  

From a neutral position, begin with your head facing forward and gently push your chin back to form somewhat of a double chin and hold for a few seconds. Repeat.  Be sure not to raise or lower the head.  You should be looking straight ahead.  It may be helpful to perform this in front of a mirror or start with your back straight against a door or wall.

2. Shoulder Blade Squeeze 
There are several different methods for the shoulder blade squeeze and you will want to find one that is best for you.  This exercise will help strengthen your neck and improve your posture.  Begin sitting in a neutral position with your chin slightly tucked in.  Place your hands on the tops of your thighs.  Slowly pull shoulders back and squeeze your shoulder blades together.  Hold for a few seconds. Repeat.

3. Head Rotation
This exercise will help strengthen and stretch the neck rotators and relieve stiffness in your neck.  It is very important to begin this exercise either standing or sitting in the neutral position with the head and neck in proper axial alignment.  Once in the proper position slowly turn your head to one, hold for a few seconds then turn back to the center and repeat on the opposite side.  Always remember to keep your body in proper alignment throughout the entire exercise movement.  

Contour Products offers a variety of neck pillows and related products.

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Cyber Monday Savings at Contour

Happy Cyber Monday shopping to all of our online customers!

Shop today and take your pick of savings:

Choose FREE Shipping with $50 purchase - Enter coupon GIVE at checkout OR
Take $10 off $100 orders with coupon MONDAY

You can only use one, and both expire tomorrow.

Enter the coupon in your shopping cart before you start the checkout process

Plus you'll save even more on most of our products!   Great gifts include pillows, leg pillows, seat cushions, our Mattress genie and Back Support products.

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Early Black Friday Coupon

 

Shop Black Friday weekend at Contour Living and your shipping is on us!  Free Shipping applies to any product or combination of products totally $50 or more.  Enter coupon GIVE in your shopping cart, just before you start the checkout process.

Check out our new Kabooti donut/coccyx cushion, our unique folding bed wedge, leg pillows and many more great gift ideas.

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Give the Gift of Comfort, Health and Wellness for the 2012 Holidays

We are all hoping for an improved economic outlook for the coming New Year 2013.  We look forward to returning to work, getting on a good heath plan and lessening the stress and worry over our economy. As a result of job losses and lack of good medical insurance, overall health conditions have been a big issue over the past year.  Give the Gift of Comfort, Health and Wellness for the Holidays!  

Our biggest holiday shopping season has begun and everyone is looking for an affordable, quality gift for their loved ones.  Stand out this holiday season with well thought out, practical gifts for your family and friends.   A gift which will improve their aches and pains and allow them to get a better nights rest and feel good about the coming New Year.   There is no better gift than a gift that helps someone feel better!

A superior seat cushion which can provide all-day comfort is one great choice.  Our Kabooti Donut Cushion has a stylish cover making this donut discreet masking itself as a tradition seat cushion. Get the much needed relief from coccyx tailbone pain without the embarrassment – give the Kabooti for their booty! 

Sleep, read and eat in bed comfortably all with the flip of your pillow! Perfect gift for your college student’s dorm room is our Contour Flip Pillow which is 10 Pillows in One!  

An easy and affordable way to reduce pressure and pain in your lower back while you sleep can be achieved with our Contour Leg Pillow available in both 100% memory foam and traditional support foam.  Give the give of comfort for the lower back, hips and knees.
Know someone who has trouble getting up out of bed?  Our Mattress Genie Adjustable Bed Wedge works like an adjustable bed.  Raise and lower your mattress via remove control.
Help someone adjust to using their CPAP machine by giving them our deluxe CPAPmax Bed Pillow.  This specially designed CPAP pillow improves the fit and comfort of all CPAP masks!
For more great gift giving ideas visit Contour Living.com and give the gift that says you care.  Happy Holidays from Contour Products!

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Helping Your Elderly Parent Be Comfortable at Home

According to a 2009 survey by the AARP, more than 42 million Americans provide family care giving for an adult who needs help with daily activities.

Not everyone has the option or wants to place their parent or loved one in a nursing home; leaving the majority of the burden of home care up to the family member living closest to the parent.  When a nursing home or assisted living community is not one of your options you may need to consider planning daily visits, working out a visitation schedule with your siblings, hiring a home health aide or have the parent move into your home.

Both you and your loved one will benefit from making them as comfortable as possible while in the home.  Daily activities such as getting out of bed or up from a seated position, finding a comfortable sleeping position, personal care and grooming habits, walking, balance and mobility all may become increasing difficult to perform as you age. Often these activities are a result of a physical limitation due to a bad back, faulty knees or recovery from shoulder, knee or hip replacement. There is a wide selection of equipment and products on the market today which help the elderly live at home in comfort and safety.

Before you go broke purchasing a bunch of products which may go unused, here are some suggestions which should save you both time and money when considering which products will be best when providing in-home caring for your elderly parent or loved one. Observe which activities are most difficult for them to perform in their home.  They may have difficulty getting in and out of bed. An adjustable bed might be nice but they tend to be very costly.  An alternative may be a Mattress Genie which uses a remote to raise and lower the upper mattress.  They may wander around the house because sitting is painful but, you may never know unless you sit down and talk with your loved one about their difficulties.  A new cushion for their favorite chair may be the solution that makes them comfortable sitting.  Once they are comfortable sitting they may begin a new hobby, start doing crossword puzzles, knitting, watching television or other activities which may help relive their stress and stimulate their brain.

Getting a good nights rest has many health benefits for everyone and can be difficult to obtain as you get older.  Weather you have to get up several times during the night to use the bathroom or adjust your CPAP machine while you sleep, when you do not sleep well it is likely that you will be moody and miserable the next day.  Since caring for your loved one at home is difficult for the both of you a positive attitude plays a major role in the success of your endeavors.  Sometimes having that perfect pillow to sleep on at night can make all the difference in how happy you are the next day!

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Help Me Get Off My Recliner!

No, I am not talking about couch potatoes or lazy people!  According to Kathryne Pirtle, writer for The Weston A Price Foundation, In the United States, sixty million people have acid reflux, or one in five people. Last year, hospitals recorded four hundred seventy thousand hospitalizations and almost two million emergency room visits from acid reflux.   As a result, there are many men and women who end up sleeping all night in their recliners because they have so much trouble lying down, sleeping in their own bed.  Stacking pillows in a huge pile under your head just do not seem to do the trick!  However, over time the recliner will loose its appeal and you will end up not sleeping well anywhere.  The solution is simple, invest in a good bed wedge that will allow you to sleep all night in your own bed and help alleviate some of your symptoms caused by GERD, acid reflux or sleeping disorders.

A wedge is a pillow shaped like a ramp which allows your body to rest in a gentle, natural reclining position.  The most common size bed wedge is 7 inches which is approximately a 20 degree incline starting at your head and ending at your waist.  Often, when you stack pillows to raise your head in bed you end up bending your abdomen in a way they may restrict the digestive tract which in turn, may worsen your reflux or other problems.

If you are recovering from surgery or are required to spend most of your time in bed then a taller wedge of either 10 or 12 inches may be a better choice.  In this case, a neck pillow will be useful to support your head which will allow you to be able to watch television, eat or read in bed comfortably and doze off to sleep when you get tired.

Your GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), acid reflux, belching, heartburn, sleep apnea and other breathing or digestive disorders often prevent you from getting a good nights sleep since they seem to worsen at night.  There are a number of other factors which will also increase the likelihood of a GERD flare-up including weight gain, smoking, certain foods, alcohol consumption, pregnancy and age.   Allowing gravity to help move everything toward your feet by sleeping on a bed wedge may help you get your best nights sleep ever!

Reference:
http://www.westonaprice.org/digestive-disorders/acid-reflux-a-red-flag

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