How to Relax Your Jaw: Try These 6 Proven Methods to Relax Your Jaws Completely

Good Habits

To prevent your jaw from going tense in the first place, pay attention to how you use the jaw. Practice good habits that will help to rest and relax the jaw:

• When you relax your mouth, teeth should be apart and the lips closed.

• The tongue should rest on the roof of the mouth.

• Avoid the following things that will tense up the jaw.

• Cradling your phone between the jaw and shoulder.

• Opening the mouth to its maximum when singing or yawning (for yawning, drop your head to the chest to stop the yawn).

• Grinding or clenching the teeth, chewing fingernails or lips biting. Pay attention when you are doing any of them and immediately relax when the jaw and separate the teeth.

• Biting on pipes, pens or cigars between the teeth.

Jaw Massage

Rub your palms together to get them nice and warm. Position the fingertips on both sides of your face, lightly touch it.Use both your hands and work on the face symmetrically.

Start with a finger half an inch sideway from the nostrils. Breath in and exhale slowly, relaxing the fingertips with every exhale. Move onto the tips of the cheek bones. Then move up to the upper side of your ears, down towards the corner of your jaw (under the earlobe). Follow the jawline to the side of your mouth, then to the chin, to the corners of your mouth. Go up to under your nostrils, down to the corners of your mouth again. Then with two fingers, press the middle of your cheek, then to the top of your jaw again. Finish it with the full finger length along the jaw line. Remember to press and relax for every point mentioned above.

Visualization Exercise

This is essentially meditating, which helps to relax your shoulder, facial muscles and jaw. Get yourself seated comfortably and keep your focus on the breathing. Breathe in slow and deep with your nose and feel the air flow down your throat. Exhale with the mouth. Close the mouth and press the tongue at the mouth roof, firmly, then relax it. Then clench your jaw muscles moderately tightly for 5 seconds and relax. As if you have to taste something sour, scrunch your face up to that expression and hold it for another 5 seconds, then relax. Slowly lift the shoulders all the way up towards the ear and hold it up there for another 5 seconds. Relax. Stay seated and continue focusing on your breathing.

Yawn-Sigh Exercise

For how to relax your jaw, try this exercise, as it relaxes your jaw, face, throat and body. Make a deep yawn, opening up your mouth as wide as you could. Stretch these jaw muscles, while tightening your arms and shoulders, inhaling. For the “sigh” part, exhale slowly and relax all your muscles. Perform the exercise for a few sets.

Yoga

The lion’s pose in yoga as they call it will relieve tension off the face and chest. Rather than explaining the fancy pose you are going to do, simply look up “yoga lion’s pose” on the search engine and marvel at what comes up. Give it a laugh, which is excellent at releasing the jaw tension! As ridiculous as you will look, this is really beneficial get your jaw clenched, then relaxed.

The key to relieving the tension is just to have it relaxed. For one, you can try leaving your jaw to just hang off your mouth as you do your daily activity.

Acupressure Point

This is a traditional Chinese medical remedy for relaxation. The acupoint, known as Hoku, is effective for relieving pain and calming your mind. It’s located at the junction of the forefinger bones and thumb. Pressing the point will sedate you off plenty of discomforts, often caused by the tensed up jaw (a headache, insomnia, constipation, shoulders and neck tension).

The point is located in the webbing between your index finger and the thumb. Pinch the two fingers together and the little mound it creates next to the thumbs will be right at the top of this hill.

Press down if your other thumb and feel the soreness at the base of your index finger. The soreness confirms that you are pressing at the correct acupoints.

Firmly press the Hoku and maintain the pressure for around a minute. Repeat with your other hand and feel the almost instant relief.