Why Neck Flexion is Dangerous

Categories: Blog Jul 10, 2016

We live in interesting times. The world has never been more connected than it is today - thanks to technology and the speed of the Internet. We have almost created one big nervous system through the Internet; connecting the world through data lines and signal transmissions at the speed of thought. If something happens in Italy, the whole world knows instantly. If something happens in Dallas, someone in Australia is aware. We are turning the earth into a virtual brain through the web. It's quite amazing when you think about it. Again, we have never been more connected in all the history of the world. And yet, at times it seems like we could not be more disconnected from humanity.

The world is stuck in flexion. Whether it is through technology, books, computers, low self-esteem, or fear many people live with their heads held down in flexion. People walk unable to look up from their phones, people sit at home and work in front of their screens, people walk down the street looking at the ground or legs of others. Where the head goes, the body will follow. I am now starting to believe the thoughts will follow the head as well. If the head is down, the thoughts spiral down into darkness as well.

The world's heads are down. The world's bodies and minds are following. It is as if everyone is dropping their head to protect their own neck. We avoid eye contact. We enthrall ourselves in our mobile devices to avoid being social so we can be "social". Social media might as well be called "thoughtless boldness media." It has become all too easy to fixate our eyes on a screen, hunch our bodies over a keyboard, and peck out bold declarations of compassionless, hate filled, fear fueled rhetoric that we would NEVER look at another in the eye and be able to say.

When we keep our heads down, we may as well stick our heads in the sand. We can't see anything, we can't move well, we can't think well, we can't love well. Flexion is self preservation. It is fight or flight. It is fear. When people are scared, they shrink into flexion as a form of protection. When people are scared, they can't think well, they can't make good decisions, and they run low on compassion. When you are always preserving yourself, you will never see your neighbor. You cannot look another person in the eyes until you lift your head.

We must learn to hold our heads up. In all areas of our lives. To hold the head up is to be bold and yet vulnerable. It allows you to look someone in the eyes and it allows someone else to look you in the eyes. It allows you to connect.

When you hold your head up, you expose your neck. Chances are you breathe deeper. Chances are your nervous system is operating in a parasympathetic state, known as the "rest and digest" state. Though another name for the parasympathetic state could be the "Love thy neighbor" state. When we keep our heads up, when we don't live in fear, we can operate out of compassion - that's science folks. Shallow breathing, poor posture, fear and stress decrease our vagal tone and throw us into a sympathetic, "fight or flight" state. It's a "self" state, a state where we can be small minded, short sighted and callus towards others around us.

Honestly, for the sake of humanity, we need to all learn how to hold our heads up so we can not only see the horizon, but so we can see each other; so we can lift our thoughts towards one another; so we can have empathy and compassion for our neighbors; so we can have real, warm connection with real, warm people and not false, cold interactions with names and words on a screen.
It is very easy to hold our heads down and be safe and bold behind a web of walls and screens that fuel fear and hate. But it takes real strength to hold our heads up to be exposed and vulnerable face to face with another person. Courage is not found in self preservation or self proclamation. Courage is found in compassion. And compassion is the movement we were truly made for.

We must open our eyes and lift up our heads. We must resist fear and yet be vulnerable. It makes all of us stronger, together.

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