Jaw tension: 10-minute letting go meditation, during the evening wind-down

About this practice

For the times during the evening wind-down when jaw tension takes up more room than you would like — 10 minutes, letting go. A guided session of about 10 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 in the evening

Dim the lights first — bright light works against the point
Put the phone in another room
Keep it slow rather than interesting

Something too engaging will wake you up rather than wind you down.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

0:00Start with the noise that is already in the room. We are not going to try to remove it yet.
0:17With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
0:32We'll start broad and narrow down. Nothing sudden is coming.
0:44If some part of you is resisting this, that resistance is worth noticing too.
0:58Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
1:14Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
1:28Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
1:40Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
1:52Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
2:05Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
2:18Notice how the tight jaw that speaks for your stress changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
2:36Let the grinding that follows worry be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
2:56If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
3:09Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
3:25A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
3:36Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
3:47You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
4:02Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
4:12If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
4:25We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
4:40I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
4:52Just the breath, still.
5:01Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
5:13Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
5:26No need to open your eyes yet.
5:36Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
5:48Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
6:01Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
6:11Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
6:23Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
6:38I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
6:50Let the exhale carry a little of the clenched teeth at night with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
7:09Each time your mind hands you the tight jaw that speaks for your stress, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
7:30Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
7:46When the grinding that follows worry arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
8:05Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
8:17Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
8:28Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
8:39Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
8:55Stay here a little longer.
9:04Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
9:17Let your shoulders come back up to their usual place, if they want to.
9:31Let the pause stretch out.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

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

Where and when should I do this one?

Dim the lights first — bright light works against the point. Something too engaging will wake you up rather than wind you down.

What actually happens during the 10 minutes?

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

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