Feb 163 min read

No more saggy neck or double jaw!

Updated: Mar 18

Supported jawline gives you self confidence and is a sign of confidence

When the posture is supported and the head is aligned, we all simply feel well and this can be seen from our eyes and skin tone. When stressed we tend to smile with our grinding muscles. This is when the most superficial platysma muscle will tense. To solve this we need simple stretching but most of all awareness.

Getting to know yourself and paying attention to how you use your body is the only real way forward. You can teach proprioception and thus learn to use and support your body in a new way. But only when you will get in touch with the emotional level and how you express yourself with your upper body will make a difference.

Tense neck and shoulders age us. No one wants to age prematurely

Anyone who has a phone knows that the constant use of mobile devices weakens the muscles of the neck and jaw as our head tilts and pushes forward. All this prevents our circulation and has an impact for so much more. Tense neck can be seen from tight shoulders impacting on our wellbeing leading to shallow breathing, tiredness and headaches and most of all our posture. Widow's hump impacts the mobility of the cervical spine and is always a sign of poor circulation. When holding your neck tense this will make us tired and have an impact on our whole well-being.

However, the most powerful force changing our face is our grinding muscles. These will activate as we get stressed and will always have an effect on our shoulder area. When tight, the breathing will become superficial and a health issue.

This has an impact on our expression muscles. When we use grinding muscles for smiling, the deeper neck muscles are unable to function properly. This is when we need to retrain how we smile. First step is a simple decision to smile and you already make the difference.

In Chinese culture, the neck is said to be a life line and for a reason. Properly supported neck holds our head high and has an impact on our health, if not even the length of our life, says science, but certainly well-being and energy levels.

Learn to relax the platysma, ease the pressure from your shoulders. When the mind is calm, the shoulders relax and you look younger.

Test your neck if it is a “social media neck”

Place your palm at the junction of the thoracic and cervical spine, which is located on the side of the back at the junction of the upper back and neck (in the thoracic part of the spinal column). Do you feel soft tissue there, resembling a lump? If so, tackle this neck problem, everyday! To avoid widow's (dowager's) hump – or hyperkyphosis, an excessive curvature of the spine (it is also simply called kyphosis, which means a forward curvature of the spine), avoid excessive sitting, make stretching a habit, make breaks a routine, exercise and move regularly.

Beauty is a popular investment, but what is important is the neck. If you want to look your best and feel your best, save your efforts and prioritize beautifying the neck!

It is worth cherishing beauty. Practice can also be a holistic and healing experience. When you want to energize your life, the best way is to release your upper body from tension and learn these skills: how to head your neck, what to strengthen, what to relax and lengthen, and how to make your face shine. It helps to succeed in this if you recognize – through practice – what each exercise feels like instead of just performing the exercises. Shoulder aches are also relieved.

Marja Putkisto