Release Tension In The Face - Feldenkrais Method - Spoken

This is a lesson from the Feldenkrais Method about releasing tension in the musculature of the face and jaw.
Perfect to release tension and for bedtime.
The same lesson is also available in whispered format, but as many people send me a feedback that they prefer spoken word to whispers I made a second version.

Enjoy!

Transcript

Lie on your back.

Find a comfortable position.

You can have your knees bent or your legs straight,

If your lower back allows for it.

And take a moment to sense how the bed supports your weight.

Allow your body to spread.

Relax your eyes and cheeks and jaw.

Feel your shoulders,

The weight of your shoulder blades,

Ribs,

Your hips and heels,

Your weight,

Your shape.

Allow your breath to soften and bring your attention to your face.

Feel your cheeks.

Feel your jaw and tongue.

Can you allow a little bit of space between your upper and lower teeth?

Can you allow your jaw to soften?

Feel the corner of your lips and the outer corners of your eyes.

Can you sense the width of your mouth,

The width of your eyes,

From the outer corner of your left eye to the outer corner of your right eye?

Can you sense the width of your face?

Very gently,

Start rolling the back of your head on your pillow,

Turning your face to the left and back.

Very slowly,

As if you were doing the movement in slow motion.

Turning your face to the left,

As far as the movement is soft and comfortable.

And just gently coming back to center.

And as you turn to the left and come back,

Pay attention to the sensation on the left side of your face.

As you gently turn your head,

Can you feel the pull of gravity pulling on your jaw,

The left side of your mouth,

The muscles of your left cheek,

The outer corner of your left eye?

Can you feel gravity pulling on your tongue inside your mouth?

So as you turn your head to the left,

You allow your face to melt towards the earth.

For a few moves,

Can you feel gravity pulling on the left side of your face?

As your head turns,

Bring your head back to center and stay there.

For a few breaths,

Notice.

Is there a difference between the left and the right side of your face?

Your mouth and cheeks,

Your nostrils and eyes?

How does your jaw feel?

With the slowest of movements,

Start rolling the back of your head again,

This time turning your face to the right and back to center.

Make the movement slow.

Only go as far as it's comfortable for your neck.

As your face turns now to the right,

Can you pay attention to the right side corner of your lips and to the outer corner of your right eye?

And can you feel,

As your face turns,

How gravity is pulling on the right side of your face?

Can you allow your jaw and tongue to soften and release to the pull of gravity?

It's okay if the sensation is unclear.

You can imagine it.

Feel the pulling on your jaw.

Let it drop to the side.

Allow your tongue to slide to the right as your head turns.

For a few more moves,

Allow your face to soften and surrender to gravity,

Melting the tension away.

And bring your head back to center.

For a few breaths,

Feel the shape of your mouth,

Your jaw,

Your tongue,

The sensation in your eyebrows and around your eyes,

The shape of your cheeks,

The width of your face.

Start rolling your head again,

This time from side to side.

And as you turn to the left,

Pay attention to the left side of your face.

Could you release your face muscles a bit more and allow gravity to gently pull you down,

Allowing your jaw and tongue to soften,

Allowing your face to widen?

And as you come back to center,

Turning now to the right,

Bring your attention to the right eye and cheek and jaw.

And as you turn from side to side,

Allow your awareness to turn from one side of your face to the other,

Feeling how gravity is pulling your face to the left and then to the right,

Releasing the jaw and tongue,

Releasing the cheeks and the musculature around your eyes,

Allowing gravity to widen your face.

Now turn your head back to center and sense your face,

Your eyes,

Cheeks and jaw and tongue.

As we spend more and more time focusing on even smaller screens,

We tense and narrow our faces.

Take a few moments now to allow your face to widen,

Releasing the tension.

And notice,

Does this change in the musculature of your face also changes how you feel,

Bringing on a sense of peace.

As your head stands in the middle now,

Can you imagine the outer corners of your eyes gently sliding towards the ground,

Just as a tear would,

Trickling down the side of your temples,

Allowing your eyes to widen.

Bring your awareness to your mouth,

Feel the shape of your lips,

And can you allow for the edges of your lips to gently slide towards the ground,

Allowing your mouth to widen,

As if you were just about to smile.

What could you do less of?

Where could you hold less in order to allow for your face to widen?

Take a few more breaths here and let your attention roam free across the rest of your body.

As you sense how your body feels,

Can you also sense how you feel?

What are the emotions that arise now,

With a wide face,

With a soft breath,

And a quiet body?

Bring your attention to your face again.

Could you keep your head in the center and only slide your jaw from side to side,

Making the movement soft and small?

Our goal here is to sense which side the movement feels smoother,

Not how far the jaw can slide.

When trying something new,

We usually make a lot of unnecessary effort,

But effort masks the details of the experience.

Though counterintuitive,

The smaller the effort and movement,

The clearer the feedback you'll get,

The easier it will be to pay attention.

So slide your jaw and sense,

Which side does the movement feel smoother?

Now bring your hands up and take hold of your chin.

On each side,

Holding between your thumbs and index fingers,

Release your jaw.

Allow some space between your top and bottom teeth,

And think of turning your face again,

To the left and back to center,

But this time,

Keeping your jaw in place.

Go only as far as you can turn your head,

Without any resistance from the muscles of your jaw.

So again,

It's a very slow and small movement.

Your face turns,

But your jaw stays in place.

Feel how much do the muscles of your jaw allow your head to turn.

Like playing with a rubber band,

You turn your head and come back.

A small,

Soft movement,

Feeling the elasticity of the jaw muscles.

Without pulling,

Without effort,

Gently holding your jaw in place and turning your face as much as the muscles allow.

Let your arms down and take a few moments to rest,

Feeling your mouth,

Your chin and jaw,

The sensations in your cheeks,

And bring your hands to hold on your chin again,

And start turning your head to the right.

Pay attention now.

Can you compare?

Does your head turn more or less on this side?

Do the muscles of your jaw feel tighter or looser?

Which side has more give?

Which side allows for smoother movement?

Is it clear?

Come back to center and let your arms down.

Feel your jaw,

The space between your upper and lower teeth,

Your tongue,

The sensation in your cheeks.

Take hold of your chin again and start turning your head from one side to the other,

Smoothly and slowly.

The tips of your fingers are keeping your chin in place,

Softly,

Without effort,

And your head gently slides over your jawbone.

How do you sense the muscles of your jaw,

Your cheeks?

Come back to center,

Let your arms down and take a few breaths to rest.

Start turning your head from side to side.

Is your chin moving along?

Can you allow your chin to drop from side to side?

Is there a little bit more space inside your mouth?

Can you feel the muscles of your temples and cheeks and jaw?

Come back to center.

Take a few breaths to feel your face,

To enjoy the sensations.

Now bring your hands together,

Crossing your fingers over,

So that the lower part of your palms are creating a triangle.

Place the lower part of your palms on your cheeks and your fingers on your forehead.

Your eyes should be completely covered,

But without any weight on them.

Take a moment to look at the darkness in front of you.

As you look,

You may notice some residual images popping up against the black background.

Allow for them to be.

Do they stay constant?

Do they change in shape or intensity?

Turn your attention to the dark now.

Find the darkest spots and imagine them widening,

Spreading over your visual field,

Allowing your eyes to relax.

Take your arms down and now with your eyes closed,

Think of turning your gaze,

As if to look at the left ear.

So you slide your gaze from the center to your left ear.

And as you do,

Pay attention to the musculature of your face.

As your eyes turn,

Do you feel strain?

Do other parts of your face follow the movement,

Gliding your gaze to the left and bringing it back to center?

And then for a few times,

Turn your gaze abruptly.

So you allow your eyes to turn now fast,

As if your gaze was jumping from one point to the other.

From the center to your left ear and back.

Small and fast.

Can less of your face follow your movement?

Can you keep your brows and cheeks and nostrils quiet?

Can you keep your breath smooth?

Come back to center and cover your eyes with your hands.

Take a moment to look behind your closed eyelids into the darkness.

Can you allow it to spread?

Can you make it even darker now,

Relaxing your eyes?

Let your arms down,

Keeping your eyes closed,

Think of sliding your gaze towards your right ear and back.

Smoothly and softly,

You turn your gaze and as you do,

Can you feel where do you slide with less effort?

And where do you feel like you're trying more?

Can you feel your face?

Does the movement of your eyes change the sensation in your temples and cheeks,

Your nose and brows?

And the next time you come to center,

Change the movement and let your gaze jump to the right and jump back to center.

Quick and easy.

Keeping your breath soft,

Your face smooth,

Is turning your eyes to the right easier than to the left.

Do you remember?

Can you compare?

Come back to center and cover your eyes with your palms.

Stare into the darkness.

Allow it to become darker,

Quieter.

For a few breaths,

Stay here,

Enjoying the stillness.

Take your arms down and gaze.

What can you see behind your closed eyelids?

What are the shapes and colors that appear now?

This flow of visions,

Allow for it to happen.

Witness as they appear and dissolve and very slowly open your eyes.

And for a few moments,

Pay attention to what you see.

The colors,

The shapes,

The details.

How does looking around make you feel now?

Reviews

Great guided relaxation, not only for face but also impacting body and mind, leaving me with a greater sense of freedom.

Erifily, this was a really helpful practise, thank you. Your words, guidance, and pace are beautiful. When I opened my eyes, at the end of the session, visually everything was brighter and clearer,

🙏🏼❤️

Wow.. The difference at the start already with the sides was huge!! Thank you!! This was amazing!

Amazing! Thank you for the instant relaxation.

Had Feldenkrais lessons many years ago and found them transformative so I'm grateful to have discovered you here. Thank you

Very nice and relaxing Feldenkrais mediatation. Thank you!

This was excellent! Thank you!