If you've been gua sha'ing with me for awhile, you've heard me say a thousand times, "the neck is the gateway to the face", and that if you only have a few minutes to work on your face, choose your neck. The neck is the gateway to a healthier face - the clavicular lymph nodes at the base of the throat are a major lymphatic drainage point from the head to the rest of the body.
When we have a lot of stuck stress and tension in the neck, that tension is creating a barrier to your Qi/ life force flow and nutrients from being able to travel up to benefit your face and for toxins to be flushed out. Top that with constant forward head posture (and frowny resting face), and now the lower part of the face is pulling down and causing saggy jowls, jaw tension, and deepening neck and marionette lines.
Take a look at the photos above of me demo'ing the incorrect and correct head positioning for the Reverse Turtle neck release move. Many of us default to the head posture in the first image (i blame smart phones) - which also includes loose tongue position and frowny resting face. Almost looks like two different people - which one looks more approachable, healthier and happier?
You can try out the Reverse Turtle move to release the back of your neck on my recent IG post HERE. Follow it with some long, smooth strokes with the long edge of your stone held mostly flat on the skin from the base of the neck up into the base of the skull.
Want more? Practice more Facial Gua Sha and Face Yoga moves in my HAPPY NECK video On Demand!
Originally posted in my Facial Gua Sha Newsletter, September 19, 2026