Mandible, Maxillae, Molars and Movement
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Jaw tension can be an unrecognized source of upper neck stiffness and pain. This post suggests a way to release your jaw by meditating on your molars.
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A MEDITATION FOR YOUR EYES
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Avoid imagining a baby’s face, a lovely sunset, or a pleasant event. Instead, let your eyes gaze at a doorknob or a light switch—ordinary things. The purpose is not to induce a mental or emotional state, but simply to notice the physical sensations in your body that accompany smiling with your eyes.
Read MoreTongue Support for Diaphragmatic Breathing
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Within your oral cavity, you now have both descent (your mandible resting down) and ascent the subtle lift of your tongue. Notice what that does for the sensations at the juncture of your head and neck.
Read MoreSpatial Orientation as a Source of Support
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This exploration is one I share with nearly every one of my private clients. Awareness of the space around our bodies is uplifting. It emancipates joints, making movement freer, as I hope you’ll be able to feel for yourself..
Read MoreMicromovement, Saliva and Posture
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Today I learned something important about the micromovement of my tongue.
Read MoreSisters of the pelvis
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We dipped into pelvic dance, the ancient feminine communion originally meant to prepare women for pregnancy and childbirth. We explored the possibility of dancing from our ovaries, from our cervices. If we could dance that way, could we not also walk that way? But where and when, in current culture, would that feel safe?
Read MoreEyes on Posture
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Looking at computer screens creates a habit of narrowed vision. This use of the eyes draws the neck forward, stiffening it, and interfering with overall body balance. Mary Bond, author of “The New Rules of Posture,” suggests this exploration to heighten body awareness and improve alignment. Cultivate Two Way Vision: Stand comfortably. Now focus your eyes tightly on an object in front you…
Read MoreTongue-to-Shoulder Tension Relieved!
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I was lying in a backbend, supported by a chair. It had been beastly hot in Los Angeles, and Karin, my yoga teacher, had given our class a number of supported asanas to cool us down. But I was resisting: I had let my yoga practice lapse for a number of months and hadn’t been in that upside down position for a while. My throat felt taut. Trying to find the source of my discomfort, I zeroed in on my tongue. Sure enough, loosening it helped me settle into the posture. But Hyoglossal_musclewhy did my shoulders release so dramatically, just from softening my tongue? The image that came to mind was anatomical…
Read MorePosture, Mobility and Tongue Tension
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“My tongue?” you say. “What does my tongue have to do with my posture?” Actually, quite a lot…
Read MoreFree Your Head
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In my last several posts, I’ve been drawing your awareness to the front of your spine. Releasing the tensions we hold within our bodies at this depth can restore mobility, ease and freedom we didn’t know were missing. Upper-cervical-facet-jointsIn this video you’ll practice a movement meditation that can restore mobility at the joint between the top of your neck and your cranium. This area so often expresses stress as rigidity, and is exacerbated by long hours spent in front of computer screens…
Read MoreForward Head: Where Does It Begin?
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I recently did a movement/posture coaching session with a woman who came to me complaining of pain in her shoulder. She pointed to the spot and said that all her stress “always goes right here.” Hmm, I thought…
Read MoreInside Your Headache: Tongue Tension
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Maybe you’ve had one of those headaches that seem to start in the nape of your neck. Surprisingly, tension in the neck is often a result of tension in structures that lie in front of the neck: the jaw, throat and tongue.
For most of us, concentrated thought involves verbalization. When you’re puzzling over something, your tongue and back of your throat (think of the place where you swallow) unconsciously become active, even though you’re not speaking. Next time you review your bank statement, notice what’s going on in your throat or tongue…
Read MoreRelaxation: What IS it?
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Most of us rely on something outside of ourselves to achieve a state of relaxation: a long walk, a hard workout, a massage, a substance, a person, a meditative practice, a TV show. But, by understanding what that state consists of, we empower ourselves to achieve it without a crutch, and to incorporate it into our daily living.
Read MoreComputer Neck Pain: A Prescription
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You’d think, having spent the better part of 30 years teaching people about posture, that my own would have paragon status. It’s pretty good, I’ll admit, but that doesn’t stop me from being unconscious about my body use in certain situations. Like sitting at my computer and getting lost in a project…
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