Body tension, including jaw tension, can arise from emotions, stress, trauma responses, and our subtle spiritual body. This post explores the spiritual cause of jaw tension, other ways you can experience this tightness, and how to find gentle release for more comfort in your body.
What Is Jaw Tension?
Jaw tension is an uncomfortable feeling in your jaw muscles. You feel tightness or even pain that doesn’t seem to go away and may not have a known cause.
If your jaw pain isn’t resolved, it could lead to TMD (Temporomandibular disorders), which is essentially pain or discomfort in the major muscles and joints of your jaw.
Research from the National Institute Of Dental and Craniofacial Research lists these common signs you may have a TMD:
- Pain in the chewing muscles and/or jaw, face, or neck
- Jaw stiffness or painful clicking and locking
- Ringing in the ears, hearing loss, or dizziness
Unfortunately, there isn’t much research into the primary cause of TMDs, and treatments don’t always work on all individuals. I welcome you to reach out to your medical team for the most accurate diagnosis and care plan.
Since jaw tension can have many causes, it can be supportive to know how stress and our nervous systems impact our bodies. My guide to Nervous System Healing After Trauma explores how our bodies respond to stress and ways to support a regulated state.
Causes of Jaw Tension
I welcome you to join me as I explore different reasons for jaw tension and how one (or more) causes may play a role in your discomfort.
Spiritual Cause of Jaw Tension
While jaw tension isn’t fully understood in modern day science, spiritual practices have a long history of identifying and soothing jaw tension. The answer lies in the ancient subtle body system known as your chakras, and a clear sign of imbalance is if you experience jaw tension.
Your Throat Chakra’s Role in Jaw Tension
Your jaw is part of your throat chakra region. You have over a hundred chakras in your body, but yoga focuses on your main seven chakras. Each govern a different part of your energetic body and when in balance, you achieve enlightenment, longevity, and inner peace. Imbalances cause symptoms (like jaw tension) which may create further imbalances in other chakras. I invite you to learn more about how to Balance Your Chakras After Sexual Trauma for more guidance.
An imbalanced throat chakra is the main spiritual cause for jaw tension. Your throat chakra is responsible for communication, speech, and expression.
Common signs of throat chakra imbalance include:
- Sore throat
- TMJ disorders
- Grinding teeth
- Talking too much or holding back speaking your beliefs
- Gossiping
Signs of Throat Chakra Balance include:
- Good listener
- Creative
- Effective communicator
Emotional Causes
Your emotions are powerful and influence your body overtime. The National Library of Medicine discovered these emotions contribute to TMJ disorders:
- Anxiety
- Fear
- Frustration
- Anger
Other Causes
Another reason you may have built up tension in your body is because of unprocessed trauma. If you’re a trauma survivor or have high loads of stress in your life, your emotions may become “stuck” in your body if not fully processed or released.
If welcome you to explore more about How Trauma is Stored in Our Bodies after trauma for a deeper look into how we hold tension, was to regulate your body, and how to gently release these protective patterns.
How to Find Relief From Jaw Tension
I invite you to first speak with your medical team to rule out any possible physical conditions before exploring other supportive practices.
Balance Your Chakras
The simplest way to find relief from jaw tension associated with a throat chakra imbalance is to rediscover balance. The options below explore how to do this, and you might also choose to learn more about how to Unblock Your 7 Chakras after sexual trauma.
Meditation With Mantra
A mantra is a chant you do alongside your meditation. The vibrations that are created while saying mantras produce a certain effect in your body. Your throat chakras mantra is: Ham (Pronounced hahm). You may repeat this as many times as you like during your practice.
Breathwork
Pranayama, also known as breathwork, are specific breathing practices that move your life force (prana) to create desired effects. A supportive pranayama for jaw tension is Lion’s Breath (simha pranayama). Not only does it increase confidence, but it stretches your jaw muscles more than any other breath work. You may feel a little silly doing this exercise, but it offers a soothing stretch.
Lion’s Breath Steps:
- Begin in a comfortable posture of your choice.
- If seated, I invite you to find a long, natural spine.
- When you feel settled in, you may have the eyes open or closed as you focus on your third eye center (in between and slightly above your eyebrows). There is an option to send your gaze to that area on the exhale.
- In your time, begin an inhale through your nose.
- Before your exhale, I welcome you to open your mouth and stick out your tongue (like in the doctor’s office). Allow your tongue to stretch toward your chin.
- When you are ready to exhale, you may do so with as much force as you feel comfortable. There is an option to make a ha sound as you exhale.
- I invite you to breathe normally for a few moments before repeating steps 4 through 6.
- When you are near the end of your practice, you have the option to breathe in a way that suits you for a few moments and to notice the effects.
You might choose to explore my 7-Minute Breathwork Practice for Overwhelm to calm stress that can contribute to jaw tension.
Yoga Poses
Yoga poses influence your body’s energy and subtle body. If you’ve ever heard of a power stance (like standing confidently to increase confidence), this is essentially what yoga does, but each posture has a different effect. Here are a few supportive poses to explore for balancing your throat chakra:
- Child’s pose
- Cat/cow
- Cobra
- Bridge pose
- Downward facing dog
- Any pose that exposes your throat (like camel pose)
When you do these poses, I welcome you to only go as far as feels comfortable for your neck. Even a small amount of movement is enough to find balance.
According to the National Library of Medicine, yoga also effectively manages stress and anxiety, so you’ll also promote jaw tension release associated with high stress levels.
Three Additional Methods For Jaw Tension Release
These methods are not associated with chakra balancing but still provide gentle release.
Gentle Massage
I welcome you to gently massage your jaw during your yoga practices for extra release. You can explore online methods for massage, but I’ve found that following my tension on my own still provides relief.
You may also choose to massage your jaw when you’re in the shower or putting on your daily facial moisturizer. It’s a simple way to have less friction between your fingers and face and give yourself a moment of self-care.
Release Hip Tension
This may sound strange, but your hips and jaw have a special connection and influence on each other. This study from the National Library of Medicine discovered that reducing jaw tension also reduced hip tension in patients with complex regional pain syndrome.
I invite you to explore these Yoga Poses for Hip Tension and 7 Yoga Poses for Psoas Release for more guidance on releasing these areas.
Gentle Practices for Release and Nervous System Support
Trauma and stress can impact our bodies, emotions, and nervous systems. Trauma-informed yoga is one supportive practice that support survivors as they reconnect with their bodies through gentle movement, awareness, and choice.
To learn more about this style of teaching, how it supports your mind-body connection, and why it can be supportive for sexual trauma survivors, I welcome you to explore my Trauma-Informed Yoga Guide. I also welcome you to include any additional holistic healing or therapy resources that feel supportive for you.
Gentle Jaw Release Practice
Jaw tension is an uncomfortable, frustrating symptom that may arise from stress, unprocessed trauma, or chakra imbalances. I welcome you to take all the time you need as you explore methods of release.
If you’re ready to find gentle release, I invite you to explore this supportive class if you’re holding stress in your jaw, clenching or grinding your teeth, or have neck tightness and headaches.
We’ll move through simple stretches that gently release your jaw, neck, upper back, and surrounding muscles for a well-rounded stretch that supports all muscles involved in creating tension in this area. If you’re ready to soothe tension and headaches, I welcome you to join me to unwind, release, and relax.
