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| I have a few little stretches that I do to relieve the tension in my neck, shoulders, and jaw caused byTMJ disorder, but I wanted to know if there are some yoga poses specifically designed to help this area. |
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| I'd like to hear the responses too.
I leaning towards Fish, shoulderstand, thread the needle, and headstand |
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| There is, of course, a protocol for dealing with students who have TMJ issues.
However it is not "take two sarvangasanas and call me in the morning".
Poses? Not really. Actions in poses, a jaw series, stillpoint, traction, etcetera. Once again, therapeutic issues mandate therapeutic approaches. |
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Location: London, England | Hi Mandy,
I don't think there are any poses designed to specifically work on any area-each pose is a culmination of the efforts of the entire neuromusculoskeletal system. The only aspect of yoga that I can think of is pressing the tongue to the roof of the mouth, which is now widely used in western physiotherapy to help the posture of the cervical spine and jaw. The human organism is endowed with a huge number of nerves that supply these two areas, and the central nervous system will, to a large extent, plan a strategy for movement and posture using the information it receives from the muscles and joints of the cervical spine and TMJ.
It may also be that trying to breathe 'better' can also have repercussions on these two areas-a student with a forward-protruding head and jaw is more likely to be a mouth breather, for example. This is because the airways are partially blocked by forward head posture, so the mouth opens to bring in a larger quantity of air.
I have experimented with using a pencil stuck in my mouth, form side to side, but haven't had the guts to try it on my students  It needs some more research on my part. You can use the pencil as tactile feedback on what your two TMJ joints are doing during your postures. It would be interesting to see what would occur in a person with TMJ-I would imagine the bite marks in the pencil would be greater on the side of the TMJ dysfunction. Of course, the object is to get through the practice with an intact pencil. The pencil also helps to protect the jaw from unwarranted movement and posture.
Nick |
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| I like to bring my teeth together in fish and uttana padasana... try it...
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poses to relieve TMJ symptoms
