Meditation for jaw tension: 7-minute softening session, when it all piles up

About this practice

For the times when it all piles up when jaw tension takes up more room than you would like — 7 minutes, softening. A guided session of about 7 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 when you are overwhelmed

• Do not decide priorities during it
• Pick the shortest session available here
• When you finish, write down the first physical action on paper

The pile looks less like a pile once the alarm stops ringing. Sort it after, not during.

How softening works

Softening is the practice of releasing held tension degree by degree rather than all at once. It targets the physical grip — shoulders, jaw, gut — that persists long after the stressor has passed.

• Soften one place per exhale rather than everything at once
• Let warmth and gravity do the work instead of muscular effort
• If a place will not soften, leave it and go somewhere that will

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Take one breath that is slightly slower than the last one. That is enough to start.
2. 0:15Let the exhale do the work. On each one, allow a little more give.
3. 0:29Let the last hour go on its own. You can pick it up again afterwards.
4. 0:43Let the breath get a little quieter, as if you were trying not to wake someone sleeping nearby.
5. 0:59Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
6. 1:10Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
7. 1:23Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
8. 1:35Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
9. 1:46Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
10. 1:58Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the grinding that follows worry is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
11. 2:17Give the clenched teeth at night a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
12. 2:35Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
13. 2:48Let the quiet do its work.
14. 2:58Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
15. 3:11If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
16. 3:25A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
17. 3:36Unclenching is not the same as relaxing. Just stop adding the tension back.
18. 3:49Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
19. 4:03Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
20. 4:16A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
21. 4:27the tight jaw that speaks for your stress may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
22. 4:46Notice the space around the grinding that follows worry. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
23. 5:04Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
24. 5:18If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
25. 5:31Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
26. 5:44I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
27. 5:56Find the tightest place and simply breathe near it. Warmth does the softening, not effort.
28. 6:10Let the last minute of quiet be the last minute of quiet.
29. 6:23Let your breathing be completely ordinary again.
30. 6:33Remain here for a few more breaths.

Questions people ask

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