A Warning On Mewing

Waynish

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Yes, but that isn't Mewing... And Mew is nothing new. Taoists and related traditions have been teaching this for thousands of years. The teeth are "lightly touching" and the tongue is on the roof of the mouth (the first 1/3rd or so)... Make it feel natural and make breathing through nose.
 

Literally

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@Janelle525 I just realized you directly addressed me in some past messages, and I didn't respond. Sorry about that... I thought I was looking at alerts and not quite sure how I missed it.

I am uncomfortable trying to describe the TMJ release myself because of proximity to major arteries and some glands... but I could have scanned a few pages for you. That being said it sounds like you bought the book. You described releasing some trigger point on the side of your face and that it is helping some, but I want to make sure you are finding the actual TMJ release. The book should describe it as such... it is one where you hook under the jaw bone on the "bottom" of your face. Are you finding that?
 
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InChristAlone

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@Janelle525 I just realized you directly addressed me in some past messages, and I didn't respond. Sorry about that... I thought I was looking at alerts and not quite sure how I missed it.

I am uncomfortable trying to describe the TMJ release myself because of proximity to major arteries and some glands... but I could have scanned a few pages for you. That being said it sounds like you bought the book. You described releasing some trigger point on the side of your face and that it is helping some, but I want to make sure you are finding the actual TMJ release. The book should describe it as such... it is one where you hook under the jaw bone on the "bottom" of your face. Are you finding that?
Yes I ended up buying the ebook. Are you referring to the medial pterygoid? I understand what they want me to look for, but I'm not sure exactly if I have it right. When I clench I don't feel anything in that spot, when I swallow I feel a muscle around that area though. I have trigger points in almost all the areas they talked about though. The soreness extends down my neck too. I woke up with pain around my eyes today which I didn't have yesterday. Chewing feels a bit better though.
 

sladerunner69

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I just don't understand why it's getting worse, not better. I have been taping my mouth at night, trying to keep my tongue on the roof of my mouth at all times and it's just getting worse. Maybe I need a palate widener to keep my tongue in position. I was used to mouth breathing for most of my life. My jaw is probably like WTF?

Yes it sounds like the taping and tongue excercises are causing the stress and pain, not helping it.
 
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InChristAlone

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Yes it sounds like the taping and tongue excercises are causing the stress and pain, not helping it.
Thing is I can't go off the mouth tape at night because mouth breathing was causing nightmares and waking up with my heart racing.
 

sladerunner69

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Thing is I can't go off the mouth tape at night because mouth breathing was causing nightmares and waking up with my heart racing.

I always have intense dreams and usually nightmares as well. I think it is a manifestation of anxiety, and is more severe with more coffee.
 
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InChristAlone

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I always have intense dreams and usually nightmares as well. I think it is a manifestation of anxiety, and is more severe with more coffee.
Yeah anxiety can definitely cause it, I just feel healthier not mouth breathing. My poor jaw just doesn't want to cooperate. It could be so many things though. I got bit in the face by a dog last year when most of this started, you can kinda see the scar above my eyebrow. I blamed it on chewing something too hard, but clearly this time it wasn't brought on by hard things. Could be stress too. Jaw clenching.
 
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I wasn't sure what he meant by the appliance he talks about. There seems to be things you need to know to understand the video. I probably won't be able to find any orthodontist in the middle of the country that knows anything about Mike Mew.

Contact Kevin Boyd's office. He is in Chicago and does work similar to Mike Mew. If it's not feasible to see him, he may be able to recommend someone.

Dr. Kevin L. Boyd, MS, DDS | Best Orthodontists in Chicago, IL
 
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InChristAlone

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Literally

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Yes I ended up buying the ebook. Are you referring to the medial pterygoid? I understand what they want me to look for, but I'm not sure exactly if I have it right. When I clench I don't feel anything in that spot, when I swallow I feel a muscle around that area though. I have trigger points in almost all the areas they talked about though. The soreness extends down my neck too. I woke up with pain around my eyes today which I didn't have yesterday. Chewing feels a bit better though.

@Janelle525 sorry it took me so long. Yes I am talking about the medial pterygoid. The book says, "This can be an exceedingly painful spot," which I had to laugh at for a book that is full of painful spots, because for me it consistently is very tight.

I don't think it necessarily means anything that you don't feel anything here when you clench. The referred pain phenomenon is very real... put simply, by the body's design, the pain is not always where you feel it -- unless you are actively pressing there. Most people have had an experience of this where they have some sort of vague back pain that, when rubbed directly, "isn't there." Consider that some of these trigger points work in the opposite way... they are "not there" until you find them and press them directly. That is certainly my experience with the medial pterygoid... I literally never feel pain there until I try to release, but if I have a general feeling of my head/jaw being tight, I will usually find it's extremely painful to release.

Strangely I am not finding the warnings about this spot that I remembered. I have a good memory for books and the like... so I must have seen some additional warnings/instructions elsewhere. I'll try to recap those... This spot is very close to your saliva gland. If you poke as hard as you need to do get to this trigger point, but you do it on the saliva gland by accident, you can damage or bruise that gland. However, I actually use this to locate the spot. If you poke lightly around the area, starting where the jaw "turns the corner" to the lower jaw, (i.e. just inside the "square angle" of the jaw), you can actually feel when you hit the saliva gland, because saliva will squirt into your mouth. Remember, be gentle. Then you just want to move your hand a little bit towards the center of the face, but not much... you are hooking under the jaw, staying in that "groove" and pressing "up and in," where "in," in this context is actually towards the front of the face. If you go too far you will hit a big artery... so you need to feel comfortable recognizing muscle vs artery and don't jab hard until you are sure you not up against an artery or a gland.

This is one of those points that can be so painful that it can seem like something more than it is... i.e. you might experience a searing/tearing sensation that is really next-level. Just keep at it. Be very careful if you manage to release it... move your jaw slowly and experimentally through every plan of motion you can think of to "show" it what it safe.

In general I would go through all the points the book describes for head, face, and neck. Another very important set (for me) is the steromastocliedal (sp?) muscles, which are in the form of an "upside down Y" on both sides of the neck. These require a bit of skill to find but very worth it, for me. And once you learn to feel the "legs" of the upside down Y's, the trigger points are reliably 1/2 of the way in the middle of each "leg."

Of course there is no guruantee you actually do have these particular points that need release. That doesn't mean you don't have jaw pain or even TMJ-related issues, obviously. But my guess is if it's muscle related and there is no special damage that you will find some points to release it, going through this chapter. I'd be curious to know your results.
 
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InChristAlone

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@Janelle525 sorry it took me so long. Yes I am talking about the medial pterygoid. The book says, "This can be an exceedingly painful spot," which I had to laugh at for a book that is full of painful spots, because for me it consistently is very tight.

I don't think it necessarily means anything that you don't feel anything here when you clench. The referred pain phenomenon is very real... put simply, by the body's design, the pain is not always where you feel it -- unless you are actively pressing there. Most people have had an experience of this where they have some sort of vague back pain that, when rubbed directly, "isn't there." Consider that some of these trigger points work in the opposite way... they are "not there" until you find them and press them directly. That is certainly my experience with the medial pterygoid... I literally never feel pain there until I try to release, but if I have a general feeling of my head/jaw being tight, I will usually find it's extremely painful to release.

Strangely I am not finding the warnings about this spot that I remembered. I have a good memory for books and the like... so I must have seen some additional warnings/instructions elsewhere. I'll try to recap those... This spot is very close to your saliva gland. If you poke as hard as you need to do get to this trigger point, but you do it on the saliva gland by accident, you can damage or bruise that gland. However, I actually use this to locate the spot. If you poke lightly around the area, starting where the jaw "turns the corner" to the lower jaw, (i.e. just inside the "square angle" of the jaw), you can actually feel when you hit the saliva gland, because saliva will squirt into your mouth. Remember, be gentle. Then you just want to move your hand a little bit towards the center of the face, but not much... you are hooking under the jaw, staying in that "groove" and pressing "up and in," where "in," in this context is actually towards the front of the face. If you go too far you will hit a big artery... so you need to feel comfortable recognizing muscle vs artery and don't jab hard until you are sure you not up against an artery or a gland.

This is one of those points that can be so painful that it can seem like something more than it is... i.e. you might experience a searing/tearing sensation that is really next-level. Just keep at it. Be very careful if you manage to release it... move your jaw slowly and experimentally through every plan of motion you can think of to "show" it what it safe.

In general I would go through all the points the book describes for head, face, and neck. Another very important set (for me) is the steromastocliedal (sp?) muscles, which are in the form of an "upside down Y" on both sides of the neck. These require a bit of skill to find but very worth it, for me. And once you learn to feel the "legs" of the upside down Y's, the trigger points are reliably 1/2 of the way in the middle of each "leg."

Of course there is no guruantee you actually do have these particular points that need release. That doesn't mean you don't have jaw pain or even TMJ-related issues, obviously. But my guess is if it's muscle related and there is no special damage that you will find some points to release it, going through this chapter. I'd be curious to know your results.
Thanks for your help, yeah when it was really painful rubbing all the trigger points seemed to help. It slowly went away but I still can't chew much on that side. I still need to read through the whole book and get a better idea of other trigger points since my neck seems involved as well so thanks for the info on that!
 

Literally

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Glad it was useful, @Janelle525. If it works, repeat it. Often when I have had the biggest breakthroughs, there is a "backlash" effect where the original problem comes back with a vengeance until I release repeatedly and get used to a new pattern.

At this point I have the notion that learning to release all around your jaw and neck would provide you some permanent relief... hope so! Be aware there is sometimes an emotional component to muscle tension, so don't be surprised if feelings come out in association with this.
 
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InChristAlone

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Glad it was useful, @Janelle525. If it works, repeat it. Often when I have had the biggest breakthroughs, there is a "backlash" effect where the original problem comes back with a vengeance until I release repeatedly and get used to a new pattern.

At this point I have the notion that learning to release all around your jaw and neck would provide you some permanent relief... hope so! Be aware there is sometimes an emotional component to muscle tension, so don't be surprised if feelings come out in association with this.
Yeah I would not be surprised if emotions come up. The jaw can hold a lot of anger and tension. Back when I had that dog bite I thought I released most of the anger about it, I even did a little bit of low 'voooing' via somatic experiencing but that's when all this really began.
 

Lenny

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I have been trying to keep my tongue on the roof of my mouth and I tape my mouth shut at night for the last 2 yrs and for the last year or so I began having tooth sensitivity in my front teeth and TMJ issues on the right side. I have now realized I may have inadvertently caused this by applying too much force on my teeth. I found this thread on another website that explains how to properly "Mew":



My palate must be too narrow because I really struggle to get the back of my tongue up there and from years of mouth breathing at night and some during the day my tongue doesn't even rest up there comfortably. It's very discouraging! And I even have all 4 of my wisdom teeth mostly in, I can't imagine how difficult it is for people who didn't have room for their wisdom teeth to comfortable get their tongue on the palate.

Did the sensitivity in your front teeth reside? Mine have become extremely sensitive all the sudden, from pressing my tongue against them while being in a prolonged stress state.
 

Luann

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Re: mouth-breathing:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/

In this review, the author advises not using a thick pillow at night, saying, "I think the neck should deviate towards the ground as gravity then shuts the mouth, ...and a little traction is applied to the cervical spine"

I wonder if this could be an alternative to taping your mouth at night
 

GelatinGoblin

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Thanks, Literally, I still had full range of motion in my jaw, it was the chewing muscles that seemed the most inflamed thus causing pressure on the nerves to my teeth. Since being aware of what my tongue is doing and trying to relax it more I have not had the TMJ, still some sensitivity in the teeth just because of the habit of pushing on the teeth.

Did you focus on the front teeth too much? The tongue is supposed to put pressure on all of the teeth (teeth at the back and middle, fully touching all) and pressure on the hard palate.
 
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InChristAlone

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Did you focus on the front teeth too much? The tongue is supposed to put pressure on all of the teeth (teeth at the back and middle, fully touching all) and pressure on the hard palate.
For some reason I didn't make it habit of getting the tongue pressed in the back, so it was mainly pressing towards the front.
 
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InChristAlone

InChristAlone

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Did the sensitivity in your front teeth reside? Mine have become extremely sensitive all the sudden, from pressing my tongue against them while being in a prolonged stress state.
My teeth have gotten a lot better. I think mainly from making sure I'm not holding tension in my jaw which mewing can cause.
 

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