2025: Unclenched

I don’t know where it started but so many of you have decided to have a ‘word of the year’. And you pick great words. Words like strength, fitness, resolve, determination and such. Things that signify what’s important to you or the vibe you want to have all year long. Me? If I have to pick a word – and of course I do, I can’t be left out! – my word of the year will be ‘unclenched’. And why not? If Eric Clapton can have ‘unplugged’, I can have ‘unclenched’.

It's something I’ve noticed happening to my body, piece by piece, over the last year that I’m hoping to bring with me and complete in 2025. You laugh, but I totally mean it!

It actually started several years ago. My very first ever chiropractic appointment, the very sweet man was trying to conduct an assessment on me to determine the best course of treatment for my poor neck. Finally, he stopped and looked me in the eyes and said, “You know your shoulders aren’t supposed to be IN your ears, right??”

I sensed that he was trying to be funny, but I had no idea what he was talking about or how to react. He had to spell it out for me. Part of the issue I was having with my neck was a result of tensing up my shoulders so completely and continually that my muscles were just plain strangling me.

Doctor’s orders: I needed to loosen up.

In one of the yoga classes I took last year the instructor said to place your hands under your bum and literally spread your cheeks apart. I laughed out loud…but did as I was told, because who doesn’t trust a yoga instructor? Turns out, I clench my butt on a very continual basis, too. It felt so odd laying on the ground unclenched. Once I got over it I realized it helps relax not just those muscles but your lower back, too.

Then another yoga instructor asked the class to relax all facial muscles, including the jaw. “Remove your tongue from the roof of your mouth,” she said. I was in awe…how on earth did she know my tongue was tightly jammed up in the top of my mouth?

You see the pattern here, right?

So let’s review: neck issues improved by unclenching my shoulders, lower back issues relieved by unclenching my butt, migraine and head tension softened by unclenching my jaw.

I’ve historically had issues with relaxing. Frankie say relax. Jenn say why? What for? What’s about to happen? Oh, I don’t think so! I need to be prepared!!! I’ve always said that I thrive under stress, and while that may be true in some areas, clearly my body thinks otherwise.

What else can I unclench?

As I’ve been unclenching a little at a time, I’m learning the beauty of relaxation. I’ve felt a pull to slow down, to take in my surroundings, to appreciate what’s right in front of me right now. Life goes fast enough; stressing and tensing to get through ‘now’ and onto the next thing to deal with just isn’t all that fun. It’s amazing to me how my entire perspective is shifting as I unclench. The world looks different – life looks different – unclenched.

Oh, and if you ever need good advice, visit your chiropractor or take a yoga class – those are some A+ smarty pants people!