Hey, Blowfish: BLOW!!

I've realized that the muscles in the right side of my cheek are incredibly tight. Remember the movie The Little Mermaid and the sassy jazz trumpeting blowfish in the big band number Under The Sea?

The Little Mermaid - Under The Sea (@ 2:04 for blowfish)

Channel that little guy's energy and BLOW! Puff those cheeks. Spend 5 deeep breaths with both cheeks puffed to the max. Teeth apart. Keep thinking bigger, bigger, BIGGER with each breath but be sure to control both jaws equally on both sides. At the end, release the breath through pursed teeth slowly. Control your jaw muscles making sure that they do not pop or click.

Once you can hold it for 5 seconds comfortably, continue working up to as long as you can sustain it without losing control of your jaw muscles.

Play around with pushing the air to one side of your mouth and holding for a count of 5.

Happy blowing!

Foam Roller Fun for TMJ & Back Pain

A foam roller has been one of my favorite self help tools during this TMJ spasm that I've been having for the past week.

This is a foam roller from Amazon:

Foam roller: Amazon.com

I picked up mine from the local sporting goods store at around $20. I used a serrated kitchen knife to cut the foam roller into 2 pieces: piece 1 is 12 inches long; piece 2 is about 2 feet long (a little wider than hip width apart). Now the goods - HOW TO USE THE THING EFFECTIVELY!

One of my favorite ways to use my roller is like this:

• Step 1) Sit on the floor. 
• Step 2) Take the shorter piece of the foam roller that you cut and turn it vertically.  Even if you don't have a foam roller, you can take any cylindrical object and place it between your thighs (think Campbell's Soup can).
• Step 3) Place the vertically oriented foam roller between your thighs as close to the pubic bone as possible.
• Step 4) Try your best to relax your entire body. Using a deep breath from the belly in through the nose (for a count of 4) and releasing it through the mouth (for a count of 8) works well for me. 
• Step 5) Squeeze the foam roller with your inner thighs. I put my hands next to my hips to stabilize myself so I can't cheat to my right (spasm, TMJ) side. 

This lovely lady has the right idea! 

When I do this thigh squeezing exercise, I feel IMMEDIATE relief in my right jaw and neck pain. It's crazy because I didn't even touch my neck! I like to vary my knee positions (raise the knees a couple inches off of the floor) and squeeze the roller in this position. I also vary the direction my toes are pointing while employing the thigh squeeze. I keep my back either very straight OR slightly arched to make sure I am not cheating and using my overly developed right back muscle to achieve the squeeze.

Now to address the elephant in the room: yes, this position does look awkward! So, all I have to say is: get over it! Or probably easier, you can just do the exercise in a hidden spot in your house. Personally speaking, my boyfriend is already aware of my self healing antics; he doesn't even bat an eye.
 
I hope this helps someone out there!

A cool blog about treating back pain, including the use of a foam roller.