NTT DOCOMO Inc. (a Japanese mobile operator with over 79 million subscriptions.) and Yoshihito Nagahata, director of the Japan Stretching Association NPO, jointly developed the stretch exercise, “Kabuki neck dance”, to relieve muscle fatigue caused by prolonged smartphone use.
A video demonstrating the “Kabuki neck dance” is now available.
As supervised by Yoshihito Nagahata, an instructor at the Teikyo University School of Medicine and director of the Japan Stretching Association NPO, this stretching video has kabuki actor Kuniya Sawamura teaching the dance.
“Kabuki neck dance” instructions:
Exercise 1
- First, turn your head slowly to the left.
- Turn your head back straight and put your chin down to make a double chin.
- Next, turn your head slowly to the right.
Exercise 2
- With one hand, touch your collarbone.
- At the same time, tilt your head 45 degrees to the right.
- Then turn your head upward 45 degrees. Repeat the same steps for the other side.
- While turning your head upward 45 degrees, open your mouth. Repeat the above steps.
Exercise 3
- Cross your arms in front of your chest, then spread your shoulders wide and stretch back.
- When you stick out your chest, feel your back muscles and slowly spread your arms.
Exercise 4
- While tapping your chest lightly, raise your elbows.
- Like the kabuki mie pose, while twisting your torso, face the palms of your hands outward and open your elbows while putting down your hands.
- Twist your torso in the other direction and repeat.
Exercise 5
- Stick out your chest, lower your shoulders, and extend your neck.
- Follow your eyes while slowly turning your head to the left.
- Repeat the above by slowly turning your head to the right.
Stretch slowly and within your ability.
Kabuki was developed on February 20th, 1607 during the Edo Period, when a woman entertainer named Izumo-no-Kuni first performed kabuki for Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa and other daimyo lords.
