Forward head

[Questioner]

I have an additional question in regards to the forward head. Since I asked the question a student has come to my class who does have a slightly forward head, but in her case it seems that each time she takes her head back she develops a headache. It doesn’t matter if she’s lying on her back doing, say cobra, or is upright in a pose like camel. I keep reminding people to keep the neck as an extension of the spine and not to crunch the neck back, but even a slight backward movement for this person seems to bring on the headache. Any insights as to what may be going on and how the help her with this situation?

Thanks you. S

[Mukunda]

On your student do you encourage them to elongate the spine before and through all backbending. Often just that simple image of decompressing will make a difference. Beyond that i would ask about whether she gets chiropractic adjustments or has a history of neck injury. If so then i would recommend the neck strengthening exercises cited in my book page 180.