Breathing meditation for jaw tension (5 min), in a five-minute break

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 5 minutes of breathing for jaw tension, in a five-minute break. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: jaw tension

The jaw is a stress-holding site for many people, often without awareness until it aches. Grinding at night and clenching by day are the same response.

It tends to show up as:

• Clenched teeth, especially in the evening
• Aching or clicking jaw joints
• A dull headache at the temples

Repeatedly checking and softening the jaw through a session teaches you to catch the clench during the day.

Doing this on a break

• Leave the room if you can
• Do not start anything else in the same gap
• Set a timer so the break has an end

A break spent half-engaged with a screen is not much of a break. Guard the whole five minutes.

How breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Start by hearing the furthest sound you can find.
2. 0:11Nothing here needs to be efficient.
3. 0:21Feel the small movements your body makes to keep you upright. They're happening without you.
4. 0:35Everything that happens in the next few minutes is allowed to happen.
5. 0:48Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
6. 1:02If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
7. 1:16Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
8. 1:27Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
9. 1:39Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
10. 1:49Stay with it.
11. 1:57Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
12. 2:09Let this be easy, if easy is available.
13. 2:20If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
14. 2:32When the tight jaw that speaks for your stress presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
15. 2:53You do not have to solve the grinding that follows worry in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
16. 3:12Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
17. 3:26If the clenched teeth at night shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
18. 3:46Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
19. 3:57Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
20. 4:08You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
21. 4:21Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.
22. 4:36Keep following the air.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.