Liberating Your Neck and Jaw - 3 - Arch and Open
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Liberating Your Neck and Jaw - 3 - Arch and Open
Spine Like A Wave with Soft Jaw and Eyes
Every vertebra in the spine has a unique, supportive relationship with the cranium and jaw. Use your inner eyes to connect each part of the spine to the head. This lesson guides you through the game of connecting the dots from the vertebrae to the easy, natural movement of the head and neck.
“Do you prefer this, or that?” is a theme of this exploration. Eyes up when the mouth is closed, or when the mouth is open? Jaw closed when arching or rounding the back? Lots of comparisons give your nervous system the chance to remember - “oh, yah, that’s probably the better way to hold up my head.” Also, discover for yourself why it’s so difficult to get a good shot of a singer singing. (Hint- a wide-open mouth is just not photogenic.)
This is a side-lying lesson. Both sides, actually. The advantage of side-lying is that the spine is free to curl and arch easily, which is the point of this lesson. Side-lying also lets the ribs against the floor serve as spine movement sensors. You might want a little support for your head: just enough to let your neck be long and your bottom ear parallel to the floor. Make sure you can easily nod your head up and down. Sitting on a firm chair is a very good alternative.
We will start with isolated movements, but will end with a full body undulation that starts in the hips and rolls all the way up to the jaw and eyes. Let yourself fully open, and release that clenched jaw.
Science Nerd Candy: Take a look at the first video for a great overview of the movement of the spine, with some useful information about how the shape of the vertebrae affect how each moves. The other videos go into greater depth on the neck and low back.
Spine or Vertebral column | Spine bones joints | Human Spine Anatomy 3D animation | Elearnin – full explanation of spine anatomy (4:40)
Spinal Motion Segment: C2-C5 Animation – (veritas health - short video)
Spinal Motion Segment: C5-C6 (Veritas Health)
Lumbar Spine Anatomy Video (Vertias Health)
How you might feel after this lesson: Relaxed, taller, softer neck and jaw, feet connected to whole and whole connected to feet, deeper breath, new information about blocks and kinks between feet and head, curious about the next lesson.
New Student Registration for the series. Continuing students use ongoing login. $60 for series. $15/individual class. PayPal or Venmo: jackisue@aol.com. Or Jacki Katzman, PO Box 116, Bethlehem, NH 03574