I'm Ready for My Close Up: Softer Smiles for the Holidays

Softer Smiles for the Holidays

Have you ever held tension in your jaw?  During this fete, party, and group photo season, skip the botox and try an easier beauty treatment:  an Awareness Through Movement lesson.   

This week's lesson gives you a moment to release tensions you hold in your jaw, lips, neck and - wait for it - your tongue.  Sounds nutty, but your tongue is a good sized muscle that we rarely focus on (as a muscle).  We knew as 7-year olds that sticking out a tongue can feel good!  This week, encourage that 7-year old self to have some fun while the grown-up self relaxes and reconnects with that childhood softness and silliness.

We know the whole body is connected. Tongue to throat to chin to shoulder to chest to arm to hip to toe.  Awareness Through Movement lessons lead you to rediscover whole-body connections that can help destress sore spots. And they help identify connections that might have been helpful at one time - after an injury, habits developed for a long-over job, childhood responses that you couldn't source if you tried -  but now just get in the way of easy, pain-free movement.

This will be an extreme low-impact session, so dress accordingly.  Socks and layers might be a good idea.  We will be lying on our backs for a while, so we will spend some time up front making sure you are well supported and totally comfortable.  No need to bring you own mats or blankets:  the studio has both.

Stop Light Mini Lesson: Smile Support

Look straight ahead if you do this in the car.  You won't be busted until you look to the car next to you and smile!

If you have 15 seconds, try this mini-lesson:  

• Slide your tongue back and forth over the fronts of you lower teeth.   
   

• Slide your tongue back and forth over the fronts of your upper teeth.
   

• Same thing, on the INSIDE of your lower teeth.
   

• Same thing on the inside of your UPPER teeth.
   

• Smile at the car next to you with soft, full lips