Welcome to this reset for the neck and jaw.
Wherever you've just come from,
Whatever you are doing,
Set it aside for the next few minutes and take a moment to just notice,
Without doing anything yet,
Where you're holding tension right now.
Is it in the jaw?
The back of the neck?
That place just behind the ears?
Most of us carry so much tension in this area without even realizing it.
We're going to gently,
Slowly invite it to release.
But before we move,
Let's connect with our breath.
Breathe in slowly through your nose.
And out through your mouth with a gentle sigh.
One more time in.
And out,
Letting your shoulders fall away from your ears as you do.
Good.
Stay with that easy breath.
And bring your awareness to your jaw.
Allow a little space between the upper and lower teeth.
Rest the tip of your tongue lightly on the roof of your mouth,
Just behind your teeth.
Now,
Very slowly,
Let the jaw begin to drift open,
Lips parting,
Softly opening your mouth.
And let it close again slowly.
Notice if you can make that movement even slower the second time,
Softly opening.
And then closing.
Now let your jaw rest in whatever position feels most relaxed.
Not holding,
Not clenching.
Just resting.
Now let your right ear begin to drift toward your right shoulder.
We aren't looking for a deep stretch.
Just let the weight of the head lead the way.
And breathe into the left side of the neck.
If there's sensation there,
That's okay.
Just breathe into it.
Slowly bring your head back.
To center.
Pause here for a breath.
And now the other side.
Left ear drifting toward the left shoulder.
Again,
Just the weight of the head.
No effort,
No force.
Breathing into the right side of the neck.
And slowly back to center.
This time,
Let the chin drop gently toward the chest.
You might feel a long,
Slow stretch along the back of the neck.
Stay with it.
Let the breath move through it.
When you're ready,
Very slowly bring the head back upright.
Take your time.
There's no rush.
Now just be still for a moment.
Just notice the jaw softly releasing down.
The space between your teeth.
The tongue resting on the roof of your mouth.
Shoulders dropping down away from your ears.
Take one final breath in.
And let it go.
Just a few minutes of mindful awareness and conscious release is sometimes enough to bring the body a little closer to its natural state of ease.
