“Oh wow! My daughter & I were just discussing the neck roll we do in the warm-up portion of our Monday evening QiGong class. I was suggesting that she try it this way because it’s less stressful to the neck! (I had a yoga teacher tell us many years ago not to perform the standard neck roll as it can strain the muscles.) Anyway it can feel a little weird to not follow exactly what the teacher is showing but it’s better than hurting one’s head!!” – Youtube comment by Helen Johnson, video link

My answer: I’ve heard that many of these traditional East Asian exercises were invented 5000 years ago… presumably by some monks living solitary lives in remote places up some mountains. In the meanwhile, in the West, we discovered Penicillin, Anatomy, Physiology, Functional Anatomy, Sports and Performance Training, Somatic Education, developed the Microchip and the Internet and we have millions of very brilliant and dedicated minds in academic and interdisciplinary sharing… I like to think that it’s ok to update some of the old, traditional exercises – especially if a teacher is not able to defend (or explain) his teachings in an academic sense, but instead needs to rely on Appeal to authority only.