Where does anxiety manifest in your body? For a lot of people, the front of the chest and throat area becomes tense and restricted during times of high anxiety. Here is a quick neck/jaw fascial release that you can do either seated or standing.
Sit or stand up tall imagining your spine in a straight line. Bring your chin as close to your chest as is comfortable. Place your hands flat on your upper ribcage just below the collarbone. Press down firmly and anchor the skin and tissue beneath it with your hand, take a deep breath in.
As you exhale, slowly extend your neck (keeping your shoulders down and jaw closed) to point forehead to ceiling, without letting your hands or the tissue beneath them creep up.
How far were you able to go before you felt a pull at the front of the throat? If you’re holding a lot of tension there, you may not have gotten very far! Move into it just until you feel a small pull and hold there, taking another inhale/exhale. Release, and repeat two more times. Did you feel the stretch elsewhere? The forehead? The back of the neck? The sides of the jaw or behind the ears?
Once you’ve released, take another big inhale or exhale. Is inhaling freer? Are your breaths deeper? You may notice temporary redness in the area of stretch – that’s a normal indicator of a good fascial stretch!
Sarah Crocker, RMT