happens to me all the time. I either over-work my shoulders or a sleep on it funny or I lifted something a little to heavy or even something light with the wrong posture.

Here's what you do...

start with shoulder rolls... while making front-to-back circles, try to keep them as far from your neck as you can, concentrating on keeping the muscles as relaxed as you can... it'll hurt... don't worry. oh, and hold your head as high as you can while doing it without straining.

Next, neck rolls... do these VERY slow. go in one direction, and then the other, concentrating on completely relaxing your neck and back and shoulder muscles while you roll your head around. Try not to pull or tense any muscle... if you notice that it hurts in one place more than ohters, hang there and make an effort to totally let go in that muscle.. it's hard to isolate one muscle in your neck, so it takes time... you might wanna add a small shoulder roll to this, as well.

do these exercises at least one an hour, even under a hot shower spray. The pain and stiffness should go away in a day or two. To keep it from coming back, do them every morning for about 2 minues. It'll also make your neck look a bit longer and stronger, which makes the boys wet.