Jaw tension - why it matters for your pelvic floor and your birth

Jaw tension - and release - is a recurring feature in all my classes. Why? Because it is a very very common phenomenon in our busy, stressful modern lives, affecting most of us, sometimes unknowingly. And because it has a direct impact not only on our jaw or teeth, but on our whole bodies, emotional well-being, births and pelvic floor health.

So, why do we tend to tighten our jaw in the first place?

Tightening the jaw, clenching or grinding our teeth, is basically a stress response. This is the body ‘bracing’ in the face of a perceived threat, ready to fight and protect itself in the ‘fight or flight’ response of the nervous system.

It doesn’t matter whether the threat is a saber-tooth tiger approaching your cave, too much work on your to-do list, being faced with the unknown of birth, or the many demands of motherhood, the response is the same.

This response is so common that over time, we might lose the awareness that we are even tightening our jaw in the first place, and so go on bracing our jaw even when the ‘threats’ diminish or disappear.

What effects does it have on the body?

The main thing to remember - as I repeat over and over - is that the body(mind) is really just one piece. It is not a collection of separate pieces simply assembled but working independently of each other. So whatever happens somewhere in the body is having an effect somewhere else!

There are 4 main effects that I think are worth being aware of, because they affect how we feel in general, and also can have big impact for birth, our parenting experience, and our pelvic health.

• It keeps us in ‘fight or flight’ mode : clenching the jaw sends more blood to the front of the brain - our thinking/planning/analytical brain. This leads us to stay in the ‘fight or flight’ mode of the nervous system, keeping our ‘alert levels’ up so stay aware of dangers and stay ready to fight or flee, in a sort of vicious circle of reinforcement. This means we are less able to tune inwards, listen /tap into our instincts, and access our relaxation state: these are 3 things that we would ideally need to do during physiological birth, but can also help us deal with the demands of new parenting with more ease (especially when we are surrounded by far too much information and uninvited advice).
  
  

• It affects our ability to breathe well/deeply: when we clench the jaw, it tightens our throat tissues, which in turns tightens our breathing diaphragm, as these structures talk to each other. This means we are less able to breathe deeply and expansively, which we need to do to access our relaxed state AND for our deep core muscles to work effectively. This upper body tightness also often translates into tight neck and shoulders, and tension headaches.
  
  

• It affects the pelvic floor (and the space available to birth your baby): continuing the chain of reaction above, tightening the jaw and the diaphragm also tightens and restrict our pelvic floor. As I often repeat, tightness is very different from strength, and while we want a responsive strong pelvic floor, a tight pelvic floor is never helpful. During pregnancy and birth, tension and tightness in the pelvic floor restricts the space baby will have to be born vaginally. Postnatally or at any other point in our women’s life, a tight pelvic floor can be the cause behind many pelvic floor dysfunctions, including leaking when running, jumping or sneezing.
  
  

• It can cut us from feeling: linked to the above, clenching the jaw can ‘cut us’ from feeling and connecting deep in the belly. This is something we might do subconsciously, if we do not want to ‘feel’ what goes on below, whether physically or emotionally. This is common postnatally, when we might not really want to re-engage with our very changed tummy, pelvic floor, genitals, and/or with our c-birth scar, which then can get in the way of helping the body heal well, as we cannot connect well to sensations and what our movement and breath are doing.

  On a more emotional level, this is also common when we have gone through trauma and do not feel ready to engage with it and the feelings associated with it. While this is beyond the scope of my remit as a yoga teacher, if this resonates, this might be something you might want to explore with the support of a therapist or counsellor. If these feelings are linked to a birth, the 3-step rewind technique might be of help - please do get in touch if you’d like recommendations of reputable therapists offering this protocol.

What can do you to address jaw tension/clenching?

Here’s a short video where I talk you through a few self-massage techniques to help unwind jaw tension. Like all practices, it’s the regularity that helps most - not using force but rather giving time for your body to unwind gradually.

As I mentioned above, addressing diaphragm tightness by freeing the ribcage will also help as all these body parts talk to each other. So have a look at this ribcage mobility flow - suitable for all stages of womanhood.

Any questions, or if you need any further support, please do not hesitate to get in touch.