Suboccipital Muscles and Gaze

Why “Lengthen the Back of Your Neck” Matters More Than You Think

In Pilates and other mindful movement practices, you’ve probably heard the cue “lengthen the back of your neck.” It’s short and simple—but behind it lies a surprisingly complex relationship between posture, muscle tension, and gaze control. One of the most overlooked players in this equation? The suboccipital muscles, a small but mighty group at the base of your skull that can profoundly influence how you move, see, and feel.

Let’s unpack why they matter—and how to work with them.

Head-Forward Posture and the Suboccipital Muscles

When your head drifts forward, as it often does while texting, typing, or driving, the body has to compensate in order to keep your eyes level with the horizon. Rather than simply letting the chin drop, the base of your skull tilts upward and your chin pushes forward. This creates chronic compression at the top of the spine and leads to overuse of the suboccipital muscles—a group of short, deep muscles that link the upper cervical vertebrae to the base of the skull.

These muscles are not just responsible for posture. They also play a vital role in coordinating head and eye movement, fine-tuning balance, and sending sensory feedback to the brain. When they're locked in a shortened position, it’s common to experience tension headaches, neck stiffness, eye fatigue, or even a general sense of disorientation. Because the suboccipitals are packed with nerve endings, they’re deeply connected to both the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system—and they tend to react strongly to stress, poor posture, and lack of movement variety.

Head Nods and Skull Glides: Exercises to Reset the Suboccipitals

The best way to release the suboccipital muscles isn’t by stretching them aggressively, but by inviting subtle, exploratory movement that helps the nervous system reorganize. Two incredibly effective movements for this are head nods and skull glides.

Head nods are tiny, refined movements that occur at the atlanto-occipital joint, the topmost joint where the skull meets the spine. To practice them, lie on your back with your head supported. Imagine your nose tracing the smallest possible arc toward and away from your chest. You're not lifting or pressing the head—just exploring a soft nodding motion that reawakens control at the very top of the neck.

Skull glides, sometimes called cranial retractions, involve sliding the skull backward in space, almost like making a double chin. This is done without tensing the jaw or bracing the neck. Lying down, picture the base of your skull drawing away from the upper spine, creating space at the back of the neck and reconnecting the head with the spine. These movements are small but powerful, helping the body restore balance between the front and back of the neck and encouraging clarity in proprioception.

What “Lengthen the Back of the Neck” Really Means in Pilates

When a Pilates instructor says “lengthen the back of your neck,” they’re inviting you to decompress the cervical spine and restore a more neutral head position in relation to the rest of the body. The cue doesn’t mean pressing the neck flat into the mat or harshly tucking the chin. Rather, it’s a soft gesture of elongation—a sense of reaching the crown of your head slightly away from your tailbone while allowing the base of the skull to settle gently back.

This action activates the deep flexor muscles in the front of the neck, like the longus capitis and longus colli, while helping to soften and release tension in the overworked suboccipitals. It’s especially useful in supine Pilates exercises like bridging, abdominal work, and footwork, where the relationship between the head and the spine needs recalibration. By creating space at the back of the neck, the cue supports better alignment, more efficient movement, and a sense of ease in both breathing and awareness.

Final Thoughts

The suboccipital muscles may be small, but their influence is far-reaching. They affect how you hold your head, how clearly your eyes track, and how your entire body feels as you move through space. When they’re locked in tension, it can ripple through the rest of your body, creating discomfort and disconnection. But through gentle movements like head nods and skull glides—and by paying attention to cues like “lengthen the back of your neck”—you can release unnecessary effort, reconnect with your internal support system, and feel more grounded in your own skin.

Try a few head nods before your next Pilates session and notice the difference in your breath, your balance, and your overall sense of clarity. Sometimes, the smallest muscles make the biggest shift.