Release Jaw & Neck Tension: Soothe Your Nervous System

If your jaw and neck have been feeling tight, tense or a bit uncomfortable - this practice is here to help you release that tension and create more space. These gentle stretches and somatic movements will help you relax, soften the muscles and calm your nervous system, bringing more ease to the whole body. You deserve to feel good! Enjoy!

Transcript

Welcome into space, My name is Maria and today I'm just going to guide you through a short practice to release the jaw and neck tension. So many of us experience this tension. From lots of stress, From lots of anxiety, Feeling overwhelmed, Even from the mind that is overthinking, It's also creating that heaviness and tension in the neck and in the jaw. So I'm just going to share with you a few gentle somatic stretches and massage that you can do, Very easy, Very effective. For any tension that you have. So hope you enjoy. We're going to start just by taking three soothing breaths. So as you axially open the mouth like and let the jaw totally relax. Inhale fully. Exhale, Open mouth. Relax the jaw. Exhale Letting go one more time. Exhale totally release Lovely, Coming back to your soft natural breath. Our jaw muscles are connected to the diaphragm. Through the nerves. So when your jaw is tense, It's actually harder for you to breathe deeper but as you start breathing deeper, As you start creating more space, There is more space in the diaphragm. And then the jaw is relaxing as well. So the jaw and the diaphragm, Jaw and breath is connected. So your breath is affecting your jaw muscles as well. We're going to bring the fingertips now. Maybe your index and middle fingers. Onto your jaw. So just notice what feels good for you. Just experiment and first press around these muscles so you can feel your jaw where there's that connection of the upper and lower teeth. So just feel it and just very slightly press and then start moving in a circular way. So keeping the lower teeth apart from the upper teeth. So there is that space and then just massage here massage all around. You can probably feel some spaces of more tension. Just staying there for a little bit longer. Soft through your face. And then just massage through the fingertips, Your cheeks as well, Your cheekbone. Your forehead. Gently tapping underneath your eyes, Adding that blood circulation all throughout your cheeks, Through your jaw. Through your temples. And release. Okay we're going to take three big yawns now okay a yawning is really nice and healing for the nervous system and it's like a sign for your body, For the nervous system that it's okay to relax. So let's take a big yawn. You can just force it or pretend like you're yawning. Sigh. Really wide, Two more times inhale Exhale through this. Exhale softly and one more. Sigh. Really nice and white lovely and they're just Imagine like you are chewing a gum or like even chewing grass like a cow. It is a little bit funny. But move your jaw all around. Move all around so feel your jaw moving in this gentle circular motion. Then to the other side. With the circular a bit up and down. Or like you're chewing something. You're using those jaw muscles. Nahi. Send release. And then we're going to take three soothing horse breaths. So, Horse breath is pretty much just keeping exhaling with your mouth closed, Like a sound of air. Just kind of flipping your mouth together. So inhale. Xl This time the jaw is totally relaxed. Two more times in. And out. Release one more time. Exhale. Amazing. This is such a nice and soothing breath as well so feel free to do it more often. We're going to feel the neck now. Okay, So we're just bringing interlacing your hands and then bringing them onto the back of your neck. On the inhale, Just press that. Head towards your hands as you open up, Open through the front of your neck. On the exhale round the back, Bring the chin to chest and elbows closer together. Feeling that space through the back of your neck. Inhale, We open. Feel your heart, Open the chest. Exhale, We close, Rounding back down. Two more times like this. Beautiful. Sweet movement for the neck. Mmm. Stay here. And just sliding your arm chin on the chest, Right and left. Very slowly noticing that space. And then inhale to the center. Press your hands now towards the head and head towards the hands, So just create that resistance. In between them press press press hold hold hold and then release. Soften. Just a gentle twist behind your left shoulder. Look towards the left to the back, Keeping the shoulders relaxed. And then to your right One more time. Inhale, Center. Exhale, Twist. Inhale center, Exhale twist. This time coming back to center starting with two maybe three big circles of the neck to one direction all around. Then to the other side, Feeling different. Parts of your neck, Just creating a bit more space through the neck here and coming back to center and this time we're going to Slightly pull. Onto your ear. So the lower part of your ear, The soft part of the ear, Just slightly pulling down. Massaging this. So as we do that, We are also engaging the vagus nerve. When this nerve is engaged, It is activating parasympathetic nervous system that rests and digests response. But additionally here, It will also help us to relax the neck a little bit and possibly twist deeper. We're going to see the difference now. So just keep pulling the ears, Relax, Take a big inhale and full exhale, Just slightly pulling, Not too hard, And then release. And then inhale, Center. Exhale, Twist behind the left shoulder. Notice if you can maybe turn your neck, Your head a little bit deeper now. And come to center and then to the other side to your right Open. Can you feel the difference? Just experiment it, Feel that experience. And then we're just going to finish with a gentle massage for the neck, So bringing your hands forward. Your fingertips to the back of the neck. And then pressing just alongside the spine, So we never want to press on the bone, On the vertebrae. But just alongside the spine on both sides. And this is very intuitive, So just feel it. Wherever there is a bit more tension, Just stay there, Press again in a circular motion. Feeling your that back of the neck that's very often so tense from lots of stress and heaviness that we are carrying in our minds. Reminding yourself that not necessary to hold on to that heaviness. You can let go. Can release. Let's take three soft breaths here. Keep pressing especially on the exhale. And slowly come back to center. Maybe that still feels nice so feel free to do that. You can do your own self-massage and it feels amazing. Shake off your arms, Your hands. We're going just to add one more thing for your jaw this is really great so when you are like dealing with anger when you're holding lots of like anger resentment is also accumulated in your jaw like Lots of that inner tension, Right? So this is a great way to release it. We're going to make a fist of your hand, Placing it just underneath your jaw onto your chin. Pressing like strong and we're going to be opening the mouth while pressing so open the mouth wide like it. Adding that strong exhale like a lion exhale so inhale is normal Exhale, We press the hand towards the jaw, Jaw down towards the hand and we create that sound. Okay, You can even tense your face. You can really create that like an angry lion face. Let's do it three times. Inhale. Exhale. One more nice and strong full breath in. Exhale. Press release. We're going to draw a round. This time relax totally. Just take a moment to notice how you feel. Can you feel a bit more space through the neck, Through the jaw, Through the upper body? You can come back to this practice anytime. It's a very powerful, Soothing practice. For your whole nervous system. Let's finish together with one deep breath in, Stretch arms all the way open. And exhale, Hands to heart. Namaste. Thank you so much for connecting. And hope to see you soon. Thank you.