Have you ever noticed that you’re clenching your jaw without even realizing it? Maybe you catch yourself grinding your teeth when you’re stressed, wake up with tension in your face, or notice that your jaw feels tight after a long day at the computer. Sometimes we hold so much tension in our jaw that we forget what it feels like to let it relax.
Think about your shoulders as a shelf.
That shelf is carrying something pretty important all day long: your head and neck.
When the shoulders are open, broad, and well-supported, the head has a more stable place to rest. But when the shoulders start to round forward or collapse inward, the shelf begins to tip. And when the shelf is on an angle, the weight of the head and neck has to be managed differently.
Imagine you called me and said:
“I tweaked my lower back. I can't get in to see you for a few days. What should I do?”
First, I’d tell you not to panic.
A tweaked low back doesn't necessarily mean you've injured something or that you need to completely stop moving.
This week, I had the hardest time focusing. I was easily distracted and my brain kept asking for a vacation. That's what inspired me to revisit one of my favorite grounding practices—a body scan.
When I notice I'm anxious, everything feels tense. My shoulders are in my ears, my breath is shallow or sometimes held, my belly is a rock and my jaw is clenched. It creeps up on me through my thoughts and takes over my whole system.
There are many things that can affect our ability to focus. We can be distracted by sounds, people, thoughts or stress. Fatigue can make it hard to keep our eyes open or concentrate on what’s in front of us. Our body might need to move to release some pent up energy or lay down to recuperate and rest. The level of interest we have in something can also make it easier or harder to pay attention. The capacity we have mentally to engage if we haven’t taken a brain break can be diminished. Our nervous system can be dysregulated which makes it hard for our brain or our body to maintain balance or control.
The majority of us sit more than we’d like, but that doesn’t mean it has to hurt us in the process. The exercise for this month is from the book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back by Esther Gokhale. She researched cultures of the East and old art to see what our ancestors understood that we’ve unfortunately lost over the years as technology continues to improve.
Years ago I took a class with a chiropractor that was focused on releasing the TMJ. We get dysfunction when there's too much tension that displaces the jaw. He showed us the skull and went over how to release the muscles on the inside of the mouth. We partnered up, gloved up and went to work. I definitely shed a tear or two having those muscles released. It's a very specific type of pain that's also intensely connected to memories and emotions. I thought about teaching that to you in this month's video, but if I'm honest, I really don't use it anymore.
June was the month of travel me and my husband. I spent every weekend on a plane, in a car, or on a train. Each destination was beautiful and full of family, friends, and sunshine! That was the upside. On the downside, I was feeling all sorts of discomfort from sitting more than my body is used to. After the first trip, I changed things up a little and made a mini workout in the seated position. If you travel for work or leisure, try out any or all of the following tips to get rid of discomfort.
