Welcome to Part 3 of the Elite Vocal Academy Jaw Tutorial.
Before we go into these next set of stretches, go back & quickly read “Jaw Dropping Fun” Exercise 1 to quickly remind yourself of the area we need to move. I only suggest this as we move our body in mostly a reactive way (meaning we don’t think about it when we do it) and so when we try to deliberately isolate & move a muscle, the message can get lost in translation.
Let’s stretch
1). Let your head slowly fall forward so your chin nearly touches your chest (if it touches your chest that’s great). Let gravity help it hang relaxed in this position till you feel the muscles up the back of your neck stretch out. Repeat x 3. Return to the upright relaxed position so it resembles a car bobble head. Remembering relaxed is right. Make sure your head isn’t tilted back & your jaw is parallel to the ground.
2). Open your mouth as far as you can, as if you’re biting into the biggest apple you’ve ever imagined! Hold this position till you feel the cartilage & surrounding muscles give in to the stretch. Release & let your face relax completely. Repeat x 3
3). Now that the surrounding muscles have had a nice stretch, get out your mirror & let your jaw & bottom lip go completely slack. Again, there should be enough room between your teeth for a fingertip to fit with wriggle room. Now gently move your Jaw from side to side (no hands!). You can start off as slow as you need. Eventually this should become a very loose & quick jiggle from side to side with no clicks or pops. This is one of my favourite exercises. I do this when I feel tense and it immediately reminds me of how loose my jaw should be.
Result
Your face and Jaw have now had a much-needed stretch & a nice wind down. You will have also learned to hone in & isolate the area. You are now ready to move onto the next key muscles, the Tongue before proceeding on to the Palate.
Confused? Understandable. Intrigued? Of course you are! Want to learn more? Book a lesson at www.elitevocal.com & enrol online today!