Welcome to this short guided practice for releasing stress.
So to begin with finding a comfortable posture that might be sitting,
Standing or lying down,
Whatever is best for you.
So take some time to organize yourself.
And beginning by paying attention to the face,
The head.
You might be able to gently drop your shoulders down away from the ears.
And then being curious about your mouth.
You can place your tongue on the base of the mouth,
The tip of the tongue gently below the base of the teeth.
Notice when you do that,
The jaw might slightly unhinge.
So it's almost like the tongue is shrinking down,
Softening at the base of the tongue,
But still allowing space around the throat to breathe.
And as you observe the tongue,
Might even be more moisture in the mouth,
Particularly around the tip of the tongue,
As we invite ease.
So the tongue is the organ of action.
It moves when we speak,
It makes micro movements,
Even when we're reading,
Thinking,
Writing,
Texting.
So by releasing the tongue,
We're inviting ease through the mouth,
The jaw.
You'll still hear sounds in the background,
Coming and going,
Not a problem,
You might note hearing.
And then bringing your attention back to the mouth,
The tongue,
The jaw.
Notice if the tongue tries to move,
It might go back into its habitual place in the mouth.
Sometimes if we're stressed,
There might be a clenching of the tongue up to the roof of the mouth,
Which can lock the jaw.
So keep inviting the tongue to soften down to the base of the mouth.
So may unhinge your jaw,
Being curious.
And then begin by focusing on your breathing.
You might be feeling the breath at the nose,
Throat,
The chest or the belly.
I invite you to try this mental noting.
Breathing in,
I smile.
Breathing out,
I let go.
So with the in-breath,
When you note,
I smile,
You might notice that the face will naturally make this smiling gesture.
And this might also encourage the tongue to soften.
And as you breathe out,
I let go,
See if you can invite the tongue to keep letting go and the jaw.
Breathing in,
I smile.
Breathing out,
I let go.
I've been experimenting with this mental noting and working with the tongue,
Particularly with everything going on globally right now.
There's been quite a lot of tension and stress and worry.
So by supporting our body to release stress just by this small gesture of the face and the tongue and this gentle mental noting,
You might find that it releases some stress.
Continuing a few more rounds of breathing.
Soft face,
Soft jaw,
Soft tongue,
Soft belly,
Soft hands.
So I encourage you to try this practice regularly throughout the day as a way of releasing stress.
Thank you for your practice and I hope it can support you into balance and ease.
