Meditation for jaw tension: 20-minute letting go session, on a rest day

About this practice

When jaw tension shows up on a rest day, this 20-minute letting go session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 20 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 rest day

Do it without a reason or a target
Later in the day, unhurried, in good light
Let it be longer than usual if you want

Rest that has to be justified is not really rest. This one is allowed to be pointless.

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

0:00Let your tongue rest down, away from the roof of your mouth.
0:13With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
0:28Imagine your thoughts as traffic on a road you're standing beside. You don't have to flag any of it down.
0:45Bring your attention to where your body meets the surface underneath you.
0:58Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
1:10Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
1:24Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
1:38Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
1:49Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
2:01Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
2:14Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
2:26Each time your mind hands you the grinding that follows worry, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
2:45Notice the space around the clenched teeth at night. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
3:03Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
3:16Notice how the tight jaw that speaks for your stress changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
3:34You 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.
3:53Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
4:04If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
4:17You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
4:32Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
4:43Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
4:54Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
5:10Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
5:20If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
5:33Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
5:49A short silence. Let it be empty.
5:59If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
6:14We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
6:29A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
6:40If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
6:53Just the breath, still.
7:02Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
7:13Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
7:24Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
7:36Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
7:49Stay with it.
7:57Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
8:11Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
8:23Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
8:34Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
8:45Stay here a little longer.
8:54Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
9:07Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
9:17I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
9:29Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
9:42Let this one be unhurried.
9:51Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
10:03I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
10:15Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
10:27Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
10:40No need to open your eyes yet.
10:50Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
11:02I'll step back. You stay here.
11:12Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
11:23Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
11:39Keep following the air.
11:48Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
12:00A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
12:11Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
12:24Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
12:39Let the pause stretch out.
12:48Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
13:02Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
13:16Take the next breath slowly.
13:25Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
13:37Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
13:51No rush to move on.
14:00Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
14:10Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
14:22Remain here for a few more breaths.
14:32Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
14:45Give the clenched teeth at night a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
15:03I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
15:16If the tight jaw that speaks for your stress is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
15:35If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
15:49If the grinding that follows worry starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
16:06You do not have to win against the clenched teeth at night. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
16:24Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
16:38Think of the tight jaw that speaks for your stress as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
16:57Imagine softening the edges of the grinding that follows worry. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
17:15Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
17:31If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
17:45Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
17:58Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
18:10A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
18:21Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
18:36Let the quiet do its work.
18:46Let your jaw, shoulders and hands be loose as you finish.
18:58Let the quiet end on its own rather than cutting it off.
19:11Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.

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?

Do it without a reason or a target. Rest that has to be justified is not really rest. This one is allowed to be pointless.

What actually happens during the 20 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.