Tension Points

This meditation is for when you’re feeling tense within your head, face, and body and can be done at the desk, or in bed. It focuses on the tension points including the forehead, temples, earlobes, chin, shoulders, chest, and hands. It involves slight massaging of these areas and Lucy guides you through it.

Transcript

So this meditation is about finding a bit of a release at the end of the day.

Our theme for this month is space.

And more and more of us are working from home or spending more time at home,

And more time sitting down or in one position.

And our meditation today is going to focus on some tension points that naturally build up when we're in this lifestyle.

And what we're going to do is actually touch those points,

And I'll talk you through them in a minute,

And focus entirely on that point,

And as we exhale,

Try to release tension entirely in that point.

It's a little bit like the body scans that we do,

But we go through the whole body in those occasions,

And that's really for release of tension at the end of the day.

But what we're focusing on here are points where tension can build up during the day,

And you can use this meditation at any point during the day if you start to feel like maybe you're getting a headache or neck ache from being at a computer or watching television or being over a desk or even reading a book or driving.

So I'll show you the points,

And we'll spend around a minute on each point.

And when we are focusing on that point,

On the exhale,

We're really trying to let go of any tension we're feeling there.

Even if we don't feel it,

Just fully allowing that point to release.

Okay,

So here are the points.

The point between the eyebrows,

Which in yoga is known as the third eye,

Or the point of intuition.

So we're going to be taking two fingers,

Our peace fingers or victory fingers,

And just applying a tiny,

Tiny bit of pressure on each of the points,

But starting with this point here in between the eyebrows.

And you can even give yourself a little bit of a massage,

Why not,

Whilst you're here.

So that's point one.

Point two,

We need the other peace fingers,

And we're going for the point just next to the eyes,

Just the temples or around where the sinuses kind of all work up.

So again,

No pushing at all,

But the slightest of touches.

And again,

You might want to circle,

Feels good,

Circle the motion of the fingers here whilst we're doing our breath.

God,

I'm relaxing myself here.

Okay,

Point one,

Point two.

Point three is we're going to cup our hand,

Almost like we're in a photograph or something.

And we're going to hold our chin and our jaw,

Allow the head to rest,

And we're just going to support the face.

Because again,

When we're at desks,

Our heads are dropping down,

So we're just cupping the head and the chin here and just holding it.

And we're going to feel that support.

And if it feels achy,

Just bring it down and go back there.

So that's point three.

Point four is to bring your thumb and your finger onto your ear lobes and just gently apply.

If you've got earrings on,

Be careful.

Just gently massaging around the earlobe.

So that's point four.

So one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Point five is to bring our hands across our hearts,

Like across,

And just bring a little bit of weight onto the shoulders.

If that's not comfortable,

You can take your arms or you can do one shoulder at a time,

And I will tell you halfway through.

But otherwise,

It's a bit like wearing a rucksack,

Gentle pressure onto the shoulders.

Heart space next.

One hand on top of the heart,

The other hand here.

And as you'd expect,

I'll be talking about self-love and kindness when we get to the heart space.

So a little recap.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Now number seven and number eight,

We're using,

In fact,

Number nine as well,

We're using our hands here.

So we're going to first of all bring the hands into a cup.

And if you did the live session with me the other morning,

We were talking about holding our own hands.

So cupping the hand is the first of the hand positions.

The second one is to take this spot between your thumb and your first finger,

And with your other thumb and finger you're gently going to massage.

Here is an acupressure point just to release a bit of tension.

Thirty seconds on one side,

Thirty seconds on the other.

Next is our traditional mudra.

Thumb and finger together onto your lap or to your knees.

Gentle pressure through the fingertips on that one.

Final one,

Which is the one we use most often,

Is just bringing the hands down to the lap.

Feel that connection in to your legs or to your knees and really feel it through the palms.

Final recap then if I can remember them all.

Number one,

We go for peace fingers between the eyebrows.

Number two,

We find the temples.

Number three,

We find the chin.

Number four,

We find the ears.

You're testing my memory.

Number five,

We find the shoulders.

Number six,

We find the heart.

Seven,

Eight and nine are the hands.

So seven,

Like here.

Eight is that pressure point here.

Nine,

Our traditional mudra.

Ten,

Down to the knees.

Shall we begin?

Okay,

Get yourself comfortable then.

We're going to sit up nice and tall.

If at any point you want to blink your eyes open to see what I'm doing,

And of course you can.

But otherwise close your eyes or soften your gaze down at the ground.

And just start to feel a connection with your breath.

And I'm going to tell you when the minute is up on each of our pressure points.

So just begin to breathe deeply.

And as you breathe out throughout this entire meditation,

Just try and release any tension you're feeling.

Just try and completely relax.

But breathing in we focus on this one point that we've picked at any one time.

So here we go.

Bring your peace fingers now,

Two fingers up to between your eyebrows.

And gently start to massage this point,

Breathing in and out.

If your mind begins to wander,

Bring your attention back to this point here on the forehead.

Try and notice the sensations as you're massaging.

As you're breathing out,

Try and fully release any tension you might be feeling here.

If you don't want to move,

Just keep a little bit of pressure,

The gentlest of pressure.

Just gently holding your fingers in this position,

Focus.

At any point it feels uncomfortable,

Just bring the hand down.

Okay,

So that's one minute here.

We're going to move now to two of both hands to the temples.

So gently bringing the fingers onto the side of the eyes.

Gently touching or moving slightly,

Not pushing.

So again,

Breathing in and out.

Let your body completely relax and let go.

Just focus on these two points next to the eye,

The left and the right hand side.

Just breathe deeply.

Again,

If it feels uncomfortable,

Just bring the hands down to the lap and the knees.

And you can always give it a go on the next position,

Which is going to be the chin.

So when you're ready,

Bring the hands under the chin and just allow the head to rest here.

This can begin to build tension in the shoulders so you don't have to do it for the whole minute.

But simply focus on your breath.

Just allow your head to be held.

Feel your palms to have contact with your face.

Breathe deeply in and out.

Letting your body completely relax here.

Moving next to the ears in just a few moments time.

Focus on your chin and your head for a couple more breaths.

Now moving to your ear lobes,

Bring your thumb and finger together.

You might be leaning against a wall or chair.

It's completely fine.

Let your body relax.

Gently massaging all around the ear lobes.

Just being careful if you're wearing earrings.

You may even choose to go up behind the ears and just gently follow the line of the ear.

Just massaging or just holding,

Focusing on this point here.

Maybe feeling tense,

Breathing in and out.

Letting go.

Moving to the shoulders next in just a few moments.

Just take your attention to the ears and the ear lobes for these last few breaths.

Then whenever you're ready,

Just bringing your opposite hand onto opposite shoulder.

Almost like you're wearing a rucksack.

You can hold the tops of the arms if you prefer.

Almost like you're giving yourself a hug.

Why not?

Focus on shoulders and arms.

Feel that sense of connection inwards.

If you want to apply a bit of pressure onto the shoulders to fully relax and do.

.

.

Maybe moving the head a little bit from side to side now.

So you begin to free everything up.

And breathe.

Moving to the heart space next in just a few moments.

Allow the head to move forwards and backwards if that feels good.

Alright,

Now one hand on your heart,

The other hand on top of that hand.

Gentle pressure onto your chest.

Not pushing,

Just holding.

See if you can hold your own heart.

Breathe deeply here and I really want you to focus on filling your lungs that you're holding here.

The chest heart space.

Breathe in,

Feel the chest expand as if you're filling your chest and your heart with love and kindness for yourself.

Breathe in and as you breathe out let that feeling radiate throughout the entire body.

Find some softness.

Just let go,

Holding your heart space here.

Remembering that we need to love ourself before we can give love to anybody else.

Just one or two more breaths,

Feeling it here.

And next we're going to move to the three positions on the hands,

Starting by holding our own hand.

You can bring that into the heart space.

Or you can just allow the hands to drop down to your knees.

So you're holding your own hand and I want you to see how that feels.

You might rub a thumb along the other thumb.

Just feel that sense of connection through the palms and really take some deep breaths.

In,

Focus on the hand,

Exhale,

Release.

So for our next one in the moment we'll do 30 seconds on each hand.

So when you're ready,

Releasing the hand,

Bring your thumb and finger onto that pressure point between the thumb and finger on the other hand and you might want to massage or gently,

Gently press.

Breathing in and out and I'll tell you when 30 seconds is up,

We can switch hands.

It's quite a sensitive area in there,

You might feel a slight discomfort,

There shouldn't be pain.

Notice if there's differences on your left and right side,

Breathe in here.

Breathe out,

Let go and then we'll switch.

So bring your thumb and finger onto the other side,

Gently pressing.

Just having a bit of a feel to see how it compares.

Take those nice deep breaths in,

Focus on that point,

Breathe out.

Completely let it go.

You might be just wiggling your fingers here.

Wonderful and then release,

Give the fingers and hands a bit of a roll and bring your thumb and first finger together into our traditional mudra and you might want to bring your hands down onto your lap or your knees here.

And just press gently into your thumb and first finger,

Feel that connection through the fingertips.

Just one minute here and then we have our last point on the knees or the lap.

You can try and just lengthen the breath a little bit now,

Fully releasing,

Fully letting go.

Find softness,

Kindness within the body.

Thumb and first finger gently pressed for those last few breaths in this position.

Exhale,

Let it go and then just turn the hands over,

So palms down now onto the lap or knees.

Let the fingers find contact and for our final minute,

Just allow your whole body to be held and supported in this moment,

In this place.

Whether you're sitting in a chair or lying down,

Allow your body to be held.

Just let go as you breathe out fully,

Mindfully.

Notice how you feel.

And just for these last few moments now,

Just seeing your body as one whole.

So feeling your body from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes.

And just find softness if there's any remaining tension or tightness anywhere.

Breathe in,

Face up to that little point that's feeling tense and breathe out,

Try and melt it away.

And just allow your breath to return to a comfortable rhythm and flow for you now.

Taking these last few moments of our meditation,

Let the practice be absorbed into your body and into your mind.

And you can bring your hands together whenever you're ready and give those hands a bit of a warmth and heat by rubbing them together.

And then just hovering the hands over your eyes and blinking your eyes open into darkness and warmth.

When you're ready,

Removing your hands in your own time and I'm here.

And I hope that was a useful addition to your day.

It's so easy to get compressed and tight when we're sitting in one position for any length of time.

And that almost physical body scan,

Which is just of course just for the upper part of the body,

Is a really useful technique.

Just focusing on those tension points that often build tension without us realising the jaw and the head,

The forehead and the shoulders of course.

And even our hands,

If we're typing or doing anything with our hands,

They can get sort of tight and tense and it's good just to relax into the hands.

So I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.

I hope that was a useful technique for you and I'll see you again very soon.

Take care.

Bye for now.

Reviews

So calming and relaxing thank you for sharing ☺️🙏❤️✨💖