Tight Jaw, Tight Hips? Where Your Body Holds Stress

Tight jaw, shoulders up by your ears, waking at 3 a.m.? Somatic movement teacher Liz Tenuto, author of When the Body Speaks, joins Dr. Chris Motley to explore where the body holds stress, why she favors tiny, lazy movements over force, why animals shake it off, and how to recognize when you’re still bracing. Dr. Motley adds the Chinese Medicine perspective on the jaw and waking at 3 a.m.

Sources and corrections are included in the show notes.

Content note: This episode discusses trauma, emotional healing, and the mind-body connection. Take care while listening, and feel free to pause or skip around if you need to.

Educational only, not medical advice.

Chapters:

00:00 Cold open: where your body holds stress

00:44 Welcome: Liz Tenuto, somatic movement teacher

02:45 Ten years without sleep, and everything she tried

03:51 "People rolling around on the floor in their pajamas"

04:47 Inside a somatic class: the laziest movements possible

05:52 From workhorse to gentle, and what surfaced

07:06 A dancer, disconnected from her emotional body

08:45 Does the body remember?

11:55 Dance, EMDR, and life before The Body Keeps the Score

13:23 Is fascia a highway for emotion?

15:00 Shoulders at her ears, and the saran wrap picture

16:58 Tiny lazy movements and new pathways

18:30 Calm, wired, or shut down: the "Goldilocks" state

19:41 Why people keep going back to the chiropractor

20:46 Calm takes reps

22:09 How your body learns tension

25:02 Can a stuck joint slow your lymph?

26:17 Dr. Motley's method: meridians, muscles, and the liver

30:17 An old basketball injury and three months of brain fog

33:10 How Liz starts with a new client

34:41 Why animals shake it off

38:04 Where your body holds stress: hips, shoulders, neck, jaw

39:48 Jaw tension, TMJ, and the Gallbladder channel

41:17 How long does it take?

42:29 Why forcing a release backfires

44:37 Why Dr. Motley tells patients a year

45:31 Signs you're storing stress

46:40 3 a.m., your lungs, and the Chinese medicine clock

47:35 What letting go feels like

49:24 Where to find Liz

50:50 Closing thoughts

52:09 Disclaimer

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