Release the jaw, neck, and face

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This is a slow, gentle lesson. You lift the shoulders, roll the head, move the jaw. It’s very useful for anyone with jaw or neck tension, as many of these are. Make very, very small movements and the shifts will occur.

I know a lot about this as I had severe TMJ issues for much of my twenties due to stress. I cracked many teeth living in NYC just from pressure in my jaw. After a number of root canals, crowns, weird appliances and many, many expensive specialists, I went to see my Feldenkrais teacher, Dennis, in California, and got some life-changing input for my neuromuscular system.

It takes time to rewire our patterns, but it does happen. I tell my clients to be on the lookout for the trifecta of tension in the Belly, Breath, and Jaw. If you are holding any one of these, change the situation or change yourself, as much as you can given your circumstances. (I moved to another country.) The cortisol surging through your system as a result of ongoing stress is harmful and not worth it in the long run.

This section has an interesting and revolutionary differentiation of the skull and jaw. Once you feel that, gluing them together again would seem totally completely unnecessary!

That said, often it takes time to unwind years- or decades-old patterns, so return to this possibility a number of times, gently reminding your system that it’s possible to unhook this pattern of holding.

This is a slow, calming lesson, good for before bed. It invites the head to tilt and the jaw to hang, which is a lovely sensation when you really let it happen. If you’re like me and you put stress in your jaw, practicing letting it hang allows for a really deep breath and a release of holding in all kinds of places.

This is the lesson where you stick out the tongue and bring it up and down as you tilt the head and open and close the mouth. (It's helpful to have a tissue nearby.)

Who knew we also have patterns in the lips! Of course we do. Think of pursed lips, or of keeping a stiff upper lip. Plus, holding the lips together to keep emotions or expression from getting out is both a metaphor and a physiological reality. We can maintain a lot of tension in the mouth and lips, often well below the level of consciousness.

This lesson softens the lips and all the sensations around the mouth. Depending on how this area feels for you, it can be dramatic to let it go.

The face is the only place where the muscles attach to your skin. Everywhere else, they attach to tendons that move your bones, or to other structures, like your eyes. This means that patterns of holding in the face are affected by impulses from the brain in all kinds of interesting, complex ways.

This is a slow, sensory-rich filling-in of the gaps in our self-awareness. Bringing kind attention to the face and mouth can change everything about our sense of connection between inner and outer.

This first half is a slow version of the pelvic clock, awakening many angles of tilting in the pelvis. I love this for not having to think, just making small little shifts in the use of the muscles around the pelvis. It’s a soothing feeling to rock the pelvis in this way.

The second half adds the jaw into the movement of the pelvis for a smooth, fluid connection through your whole self. I like these lessons before bed!