Head & Neck Exercises for Cervical Instability, & Chiari | Phase 1 of 7 | The Hypermobile Universe

Phase 1 of my 7-part Head and Neck exercise series for people with cervical instability, craniocervical instability (CCI), atlantoaxial instability (AAI) and Chiari malformation type 1 in hypermobility and hEDS. These are the exercises I use clinically after over 20 years of working with symptomatic hypermobility, and I've found them extremely beneficial for Chiari as well. All you need is a light or medium TheraBand. In this video I cover: — Why the suboccipital muscles tighten and how they connect to the dura and spinal cord — Axial lengthening using a TheraBand for proprioceptive feedback — Self-massage techniques for suboccipital release — How to set up lying down (and why that's often better than sitting or standing) — Adding breathing and gentle abdominal recruitment — Knee floats and mini bridges adapted for cervical instability — Neck flexor activation to support head control — Adaptations for POTS, neurodivergence and collar users This is the longest video in the series. Phases 2–7 are shorter as less explanation is needed once you understand the foundations. I'm Bonnie Southgate, sports therapist, Pilates teacher and craniosacral therapist with an MSc in Dance Science and a special interest in symptomatic hypermobility. I have hEDS myself and everything I teach comes from both clinical experience and lived experience. I'm also MSK Advisor for SEDSConnective and author of The Hypermobile Universe. 🔔 Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next phases as they come out. If you found this helpful, please like, comment and share so more people in the hypermobility community can find these exercises. 📩 For CPD courses for practitioners: movementanatomyessentials.co.uk 🔗 SEDSConnective: sedsconnective.org #Hypermobility #hEDS #CCI #AAI #CervicalInstability #ChiariMalformation #Chiari #EhlersDanlos #HypermobileExercises #Pilates #CraniocervicalInstability #POTS #HypermobileUniverse