Release the Face
The June issue of Mindful magazine offers excellent practice instructions, including these steps to help release tensions that many of us unconsciously carry in our face:
1. Let the flesh of the cheeks hang (you can lightly visualize weight pulling them down and releasing them.)
2. Allow the forehead to soften (you can lightly visualize the sense of tension draining.)
3. Feel how fine the sensations are in the lips and the tongue (the mouth is the site of some of the most delicate sensations in the body and for this reason has been featured prominently in meditation instructions across many traditions.)
4. After playing with these releases for a while, you will notice that they become second nature. Therefore, over time, shifts in attention become coupled with a softening response that has a powerful effect on the entire system. A good reference point for these adjustments is the face of a baby. When you study the face physiology of babies and other mammals, the complete lack of excess tension, the “receptivity” in the facial tissues, and the general sense of equanimity are striking.
(illustration by Nomoco)