Hi,
This is Sarah Johnson.
This guided meditation for releasing jaw tension is best done lying down,
But may be done seated.
Find your way to a comfortable position,
Allowing the surface to fully support your body.
Just begin to let go of whatever activities you've been involved in today.
Close your eyes and take in a few deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
With each exhalation,
See if you can relax just a little more.
Bring your attention to your feet.
Wiggle your toes a little bit.
Begin to imagine a warm blanket covering your feet and your lower legs,
Your knees,
Thighs,
Hips and pelvis under this nice warm blanket.
Your muscles are relaxing.
Another deep breath in,
Relax with a sigh,
And just imagine bringing that warm blanket up over the torso,
The upper chest,
And then imagine tucking your arms underneath.
And as we go along,
If your mind gets distracted,
That's okay,
That's normal.
Just bring your attention back.
So relaxing,
Allow the arms and the shoulders to soften.
Release the grasping.
There's no need to lift or carry or do any work right now.
Allow the arms to rest,
Allow the hands to rest.
The whole body resting under a warm,
Soft blanket.
Now without any judgment,
Begin to notice the position of your jaw.
Are you clenching your teeth?
Is your jaw held rigidly?
Perhaps your lips are squeezed shut.
Just notice.
See if you can get a sense of your mouth and jaw the way they are right now.
And this area is a bit of a crossroads for different functions,
For expression of your thoughts,
Your emotions,
Speech,
Eating.
See if you can let the mouth open slightly.
Bring your attention to the little place where your nose and your upper lip come together.
There's a little hollow there.
Just notice that area.
And then gently move the attention around the mouth in a smoothing circle.
So imagine you're circling the mouth all the way around past one corner and then under the bottom lip.
So you're around to the other corner and then back up to where you began just below the nose.
And when you get to the starting place,
Move in the opposite direction,
Taking your attention all the way around from below the nose to the corner of the mouth,
Around and under the lower lip,
Back up,
And eventually resting your attention in that little valley that separates the nose and the upper lip and breathing.
And gently open the mouth part way,
Just a little,
Maybe a quarter of an inch.
So the teeth are separated and with a very subtle movement,
As subtle as you can make it,
Allow the jaw to open and close.
So keeping the teeth apart,
But in micro movements,
Opening and closing the jaw.
And then coming to rest,
Teeth still separated and with extreme slowness,
Begin to move your lower jaw side to side.
So we're moving less than a half an inch and all.
So these are tiny movements,
Slow movements of the jaw side to side.
If you have any discomfort at any time,
Just rest.
And then coming back to neutral,
Teeth are still apart.
Allow the jaw to move forward,
Away from the back of the skull,
And back.
So the movement again is very tiny,
The jaw juts forward ever so slightly and then moves back.
It's almost like a little drawer.
Forward and back,
Forward and back,
Micro movements.
And then come back to rest at neutral breathing.
Noticing where perhaps tension is collected elsewhere in the body,
Just noticing the feet and hands,
The belly,
The chest.
And I'm bringing the attention to the back of the head.
Begin a slow,
Subtle movement,
Nodding yes,
Micro movements,
Very subtle feeling how those movements happen.
And then slowly transitioning to nodding no.
Again,
You're moving half an inch to an inch at most here.
This is a tiny movement.
And as you nod,
Just notice if there's any movement in the jaw area.
Nodding no.
And coming to stillness,
Nodding yes once again.
Nodding yes and noticing is there any change in the area of the jaw as you nod.
And then with a deep breath and exhalation,
Bring that to stillness.
On an exhalation,
Bring the hands up and rub them together briskly to generate some heat.
And then place the palms on the jaw,
The fingers resting at the temples.
Hold and breathe.
You can create some gentle circles with the fingertips at the temples,
Smoothing the muscles in this area.
And allow the fingertips to move down toward the corner of the jaw,
Massaging the area just below the ears.
It's a little hollow there and then down to the corner of the jaw,
The masseter muscles.
So this area can be tight and tender on many people.
So maintain a kind and soothing intention here.
And then pause with still hands for a few breaths.
You're sending signals to your nervous system that it's safe to relax.
When you're ready,
Allow the arms to rest by your sides again.
Just know that practicing awareness and relaxation in this way will help you recognize and release tension that accumulates in everyday life.
So it's a practice.
And it's important as we practice to cultivate the kind and non-judgmental attitude.
So a few more breaths here.
Notice how you're feeling.
And then begin to wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes.
Deepen the breath.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes and slowly move on to your next activity.
