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Gentle Yoga Routine-Acupressure/Movement to Release Face, Head, Neck Shoulder
Acupressure/Movement Releasing the Face/Head
Acupressure/Movement Releasing the Neck
Acupressure/Movement – Cradling the Head/Shoulder
Self-Observe/Breathe
You are ready for Savasana.
Tips on Acupressure: Each area you massage in this sequence holds a point used in acupressure release. When the area is tender to your touch, press lightly, working gently to release the point. When the area is extremely tense, press more firmly, working your way through the tension to impact release. Allow what you feel to guide the pressure. Releasing and opening the acupressure points brings relaxation and offers healing.
Let us begin:
Gentle Yoga Routine-Acupressure/Movement to Release Face, Head, Neck Shoulder
Position: Assume a comfortable seated position: in a chair, on a couch, on blankets on the floor. You need enough space to move your arms to your face, head, neck, and shoulder.
Acupressure/Movement Releasing the Face and Head – Images – Each Position
Position/Technique:
Upper Eye-bone/Brow: Fold the fingers into the palms, forming a lightly held fist, thumbs resting beside the index fingers.
Lift your arms to place the first digit of the thumbs on your brow, above the bridge of the nose.
Use the thumbs to massage lightly across the brow, sweeping above the bone that forms the upper eye socket, starting from center, stopping when the thumbs rest gently on the temple area of the face. Breathe. Repeat 3 times.
Move the hands so that the thumb digit presses more directly and firmly into the bone above the eye, center to the end of the upper eye-bone, again easing the pressure when you reach the temple. Breathe. Repeat 3 times.
Lower Eye-Bone: Place the folded hands beside the nose, thumbs resting gently on either side of the bridge of the nose. Breathe.
Move the thumb digits down to massage across the lower eye-bone, sweeping from the center to the side of your face, temple area.
Repeat the massage of the lower eye-bone 3 times.
Upper Eye Socket – Soft tissue: Massage the soft tissue beneath the upper eye-bone by pressing the pad of the thumb directly up underneath the bone, sweeping again gently, inner face to outer face. Repeat 3 times.
Lower Eye Socket – Soft tissue: Massage lightly with the pad of a finger the tissue that is above the lower eye bone, inner to outer face. The touch here is so gentle as to just be making contact with the skin. Breathe. Sweep across 3 times.
Cheekbone: Place the lower palm of the hand on your face to press firmly up into the cheekbone. Begin your acupressure movement using the little finger side of your palms to press into the cheekbone beside the nose. Continue the pressure underneath the cheekbone, rotating the palm to the center, finishing on the side of your face with pressure into the jawbone socket with your thumbs. The movement is a rotation from inner face to outer face and back again.
Repeat at least 3 times, more if you want, for this is a great release for tension in the face and jaw. Breathe.
Jawbone/Chin: Place the fingers on the lower jawbone in the center of your chin. Use the pads of your fingers to sweep across the lower jawbone, chin to jawbone socket. Using especially the middle finger of your hands allows good direct pressure.
In the areas where you feel the most soreness/tension, use the pad of your middle finger to make gentle circular movements. Tension often accumulates in the molar area of the teeth and in the outer jawbone. Circle in these areas, pressing gently, allowing tightness to ease, encouraging taunt muscles to let go. Breathe.
Beside the Upper Earlobe: Move the pads of the middle fingers along the outer jawbone side of the face until you reach the indentation beside the Upper Ear.
Press in to this space and make your circles. Breathe.
Combination: You can increase/continue this release by combining the last two movements – circling the lower jawbone, moving the pad of the middle fingers up the side of the face, circling when you reach the earlobe indentation. This feels quite good.
Bone behind the Ear: Use the pads of your fingers to massage behind the ear, pressing into the bone with an up and down movement. Breathe.
Scalp: Continue using the pads of your fingers to massage your entire scalp, as though you are washing your hair.
Acupressure/Movement Releasing the Neck: Use the pads of your fingers to gently massage the muscles along the side of your neck. Begin on the tops of your shoulders, and work your way with gentle touch, circling up the neck to the head. The touch here is light, skin contact only. Breathe. You need to honor the slight depth to the skin here, plus the blood vessels in this area.
Acupressure/Movement – Cradling the Head/Shoulder: Close your sequence by cradling the head/shoulder: little finger side of the palm presses into the base of the skull, thumbs push down into the top of the shoulder. The hands are loosely clasped together behind the neck, so that the fingers do not press into the vertebrae. The pressure is to the base of the skull and into the shoulders.
Use the following two movements for your release: alternate extending the head back to rest on the little finger side of the palm, thumbs pushing into shoulder tops, with returning the head to face forward, using the weight of the hands and arms to press down into the shoulder tension. For further details, see ________________, page ___.
This concludes your acupressure routine.
Breathe/Self-Observe: Take a moment to breathe and observe how you are.
You are ready for Savasana: Assume the position in which you want to practice your segmental release in Savasana.