Movement Snacks: How to make your body feel better in camel pose


Hey Reader,

One of the backbends that I love teaching is camel pose. It's a fairly simple backbend and one that is relatively easy to add into a flow (unlike bow pose or wheel). To be clear, simple doesn't mean easy. But it is a more accessible backbend, one that is easier to modify than most of the other main backbends and still feel really good while you're doing it.

This is handy, because like most backbends, it can sometimes be tricky to do camel pose without feeling discomfort or pain in your low back or your neck.

This makes sense since camel is a pose that focuses on spinal mobility and strength.

And while this does mean that pain and discomfort might happen, it does not mean that you should accept pain as part of the pose. There are some really smart ways to approach camel so that you don't feel any pinching or tightness in your back.

This leads me to my Movement Snack this week.


Movement Snack this week:

Let's look at neck pain in particular today. I created a really quick video for my "Movement Minis" series on YouTube, with 2 simple ways you can create more support for your neck as you go into camel pose.

It's just 4 minutes long. Take a quick look here:

video preview

If these tips were helpful and you want to keep working on camel pose this month, GOOD NEWS:

Camel pose is the pose of the month in MOVE with Naomi, my online yoga and movement studio.

I have 2 options for you, if you'd like to get moving with me in June:

The first is to join MOVE as a member. There are 2 levels of membership and both offer live class options --
❶ If you join MOVE, you can do live classes with me M-TH every week and once a month on Saturday.
❷ If you join MOVE15, you can do live classes with me T/TH every week and once a month on Saturday.

Alternatively, you can do weekly drop-ins to my Wednesday flow class. It's a sliding scale payment starting at $5. In order to get access to these classes, you need to sign up for reminder emails every Tuesday. That's the link above.

Let's get bendy and strong together this month!


Question of the week:

Help me choose what to film next for my YouTube channel! You can click on this link here and vote directly on my channel.

You input matters a lot to me and I would love to hear from you. If what you see on the poll doesn't speak to you, please feel free to email me directly with suggestions for videos!


I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you on the mat soon, too!

Warmly,

Naomi

Want to stay in touch during the week? Here are a 2 easy ways:

Follow me on Bluesky, where I share daily movement practices as acts of resistance, connection, and strength.

Follow me on substack, where I write about the intersection of movement, motherhood, and the culture that we are all moving through. Or better yet, subscribe so you have immediate access to regular essays, including my most recent substack which is a personal essay about the moms I "idolized" as a new mom and what motherhood ideals have impacted my motherhood. And what has shifted now that I am 12 years in. You can read it here.

As always, if you'd like to support my writing, you can do that by simply reading and liking my pieces on substack. Even better, comment on them and share them with those who might love them, too. And of course the best way to support my work is with a paid subscription, which allows me to continue to do the writing I love.

One more quick writing note: I recently published an article about why perimenopause supplements are diet culture garbage. You can find it over on Fit Bottomed Girls, which is my favorite online platform for a healthy, anti-diet approach to movement and fitness.

Naomi Gottlieb-Miller

Naomi combines playful, powerful movement practices with the science of habit change to make it easier for busy moms to get moving every day. She frequently writes about the intersection of mom life, feminism, diet culture, and the unrealistic standards we hold ourselves to as women. Naomi is passionate about helping moms move more freely in their bodies and feel more at home in their skin.

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