Years ago I took a class with a chiropractor that was focused on releasing the TMJ. We get dysfunction when there's too much tension that displaces the jaw. He showed us the skull and went over how to release the muscles on the inside of the mouth. We partnered up, gloved up and went to work. I definitely shed a tear or two having those muscles released. It's a very specific type of pain that's also intensely connected to memories and emotions. I thought about teaching that to you in this month's video, but if I'm honest, I really don't use it anymore.
There are other ways to work with your structure that make it harder to hold tension in your jaw. I find those interventions to be more effective and way less painful. The only time I incorporate more intense releases in my practice are when I've exhausted all other avenues, and the body is still bracing.
So what's helpful to understand about the jaw energetically in order to explore what path is best for you?
We communicate how we feel or we bite our tongue. We can also swallow what we might have said to "keep the peace". We are constantly taking in our surroundings to understand if we should say something or keep our thoughts to ourselves.
The jaw has a connection to the throat which is a creative center in the body by way of the chakras or energetic centers. How free we feel to express ourselves matters. Do we feel different around certain people? Does our confidence change based on other factors like our hormones, career or what's going on in our personal life?
We can also pay attention to where we feel pain and what we notice when we're moving our body. My jaw tends towards pain on the left, but when I go through my full range of motion, it adjusts on the right. When we look at the right and left qualities of the body based on reiki principles, the right side of the body is connected to masculine, aggressive, forward moving and active energy; it's yang. The left side of the body is connected to feminine energy which is receptive, intuitive, yin, and passive; it's in the flow. The emotion connected to the right side of the body is anger while the left is sadness.
Of the things you keep to yourself, what did you think about after reading the paragraph above? This is great to write out these answers in a journal, or take out your phone and record a voice note. What I've personally found is that when we don't get these thoughts and feelings out, they get stuck in our tissues.
I've been more aware lately of my self-criticism. It's hard to hear or distinguish because it's like this whisper that's continually running through my head when I'm doing things that are out of my comfort zone. For me that's pretty much everything right now. All the things on my plate are important for me, so I'm trying and taking action even though it's scary. It's vulnerable and I have resistance, but if I don't try, nothing changes.
One thing to note about the self reflection is that it's best to be alone. We want instinctual answers to these questions and train of thought responses. That's your truth and what you're looking to uncover. When you get that juicy stuff, you can really shift some things. Before you're honest with yourself though, it feels murky and stuck.
The joints in the body are all about change. What's underneath what you avoid? For me it tends to be imposter syndrome or fear of not having the answer; falling short of another person's expectations. My logical self understands that no one really knows what they're doing, but my emotional self feels like everyone's got a clear path and I'm still lacing up my sneakers.
So since the joints are all about change, is there a way that you've been rigid with yourself or with others? What do you feel in your jaw thinking about this?
In this month's video, I'm going to teach you how to resist against gravity in your body and use your muscles to support you. When everything's lined up, it works as your body was designed to; with ease. There's a concept in the body calledreciprocal inhibition. It means that parts of the body that do opposite actions, can't be doing those actions at the same time. So because of this, when we resist against gravity and find length at the top of the spine, we can't also hold tension in the jaw. It's not possible. If there's tension, we can find something else to unlock. It's like a treasure hunt. What ways are you feeling contracted or braced for impact? How do the weight of your stressors change how your body feels? Get everything out in your journal and then click the link below to do the exercise with me.