TMJ Energetics Part 1: The Mandible
This series explores the energetic anatomy of the TMJ, beginning with the Mandible.
Image of the Cranium and the Temporal-Mandibular Joint
TMJ Key Facts:
TMJ is an anatomical abbreviation for the Temporal-Mandibular Joint, one of the most complicated joints in the body.
TMJD stands for Temporal-Mandibular Joint Dysfunction Symptoms include pain, clicking, popping, clenching, headaches
Pandemic-related stress made TMJD worse worldwide
The Mandible (chin-bone) is the largest bone in the cranium
The Energetics of the Mandible
Many cases of TMJD are causally linked to emotional stress, but most doctors and dentists lack an understanding of WHY this is and HOW to treat it (beyond generic advice or pills). Whether you are a patient or a practitioner, if you want to learn more about treating the underlying emotional causes of TMJ Dysfunction, you are in the right place.
There is an intimate connection between the energetic & physical anatomy: the chakras and acupuncture channels are etched into the bones, blood, fluids and tissues of the body. By treating the energetic anatomy—you can create change in the physical structures of the body, and including the TMJ.
The energetic anatomy of the mandible includes:
Chakra System: Throat, Heart & Sexual Chakras
Acupuncture Channels: Ren Mai, Heart, Pericardium, Stomach, Gallbladder, San Jiao and Small Intestine
TMJ frequently resolves for good when the underlying issues are resolved—thus breaking a vicious stress-response cycle. I know this sounds very woo-woo, but don’t worry, I’ve got science to back this up.
Did you know your jaw could change shape?
When you imagine your bones, you may imagine like plastic models of a skeleton—brittle and hard—but bone is living a tissue—regenerative and pliable. As this peer-reviewed research study shows, the mandible is the fastest remodeling bone in the body. In response to the stress, Bone cells called called osteoblasts and osteoclasts create and destroy bone, by taking bone away (in the case of compression) and to adding to it (in the case of tension )—this explains how bone spurs are formed. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, the kidneys, bone and marrow serve are an energetic storehouse for your JING/Essence, what I call your life-force. Jing is the physical manifestation of your energetic code, akin to DNA. The Classical Acupuncture channel system, as taught by Dr. Jeffrey Yuen, teaches that
in the face of overwhelming traumatic events and emotions, your body will break itself down—your body will sacrifice resources such as blood, fluids and bone to contain the trauma, acting as storage closets for traumatic emotions.
This elaborate defense mechanism explains why you can still function normally in times of deep trauma and emotional stress. By connecting deeply with the bones and marrow, ancestral trauma, deeply held physical and emotional injuries can be released. When trauma is released from the Jing, bone changes shape, life-force returns and pain recedes.
How is this possible?? Wolfe’s Law—Form and Mass Follows Function
Wolfe’s law states that in response to tension and compression, the bone will change shape. Craniosacral work for TMJ can undo the forces of tension and compression. The condylar processes of the mandible, seen in this image, are where the deepest jaw muscles attach (the lateral ptyerygoids). Wolfe’s Law is what creates the big knobby part of the mandible called a condyle—there is a fibrous joint capsule connects the condyle to the that deepest jaw muscles. Tension is what CREATES this huge boney protuberance—and too much tension will create TMJD. By releasing this tension, the mandible itself can relax!
The Mandible
The deepest muscles of the jaw, lateral pterygoids attach at the condyles of the mandible. When contracting, they draw the mandible condyles INWARD, and causing the mandible to NARROW, making it more difficult to OPEN the jaw.
Unwinding the Mandible as a Spiritual Practice?
The mandible is a part of the THROAT CHAKRA—associated with self-expression. When the mandible tightens and shrinks, the energetic effect is a tightening and restriction around expressing yourself. When your jaw is clenched you are literally restricting your ability to communicate with the world from your heart. Sometimes a trauma is so profound that we shut down completely, and we cannot even remember the details—this means that the trauma has gone DEEP—into the level of the JING, the bone.
I spent six years studying Visionary Craniosacral Work (VCSW), a shamanic approach to Craniosacral Work. In the final workshop in 2006, we gave and received an elaborate ritual called “Unwinding the Mandible as a Spiritual Practice”—a three-hour session, where hands were on or in the mandible the entire time. This bodywork-induced experience of non-ordinary consciousness was profoundly healing and deep—to this day, it remains one of the strongest psychedelic experiences I’ve ever had.
When treating TMJD, it is critical to connect with the Heart—to really listen to it—this is why the instructional textbook that my craniosacral teacher, Hugh Milne wrote was called The Heart of Listening. The emphasis on creating a deep connection with the patient’s heart is what sets the Milne Institute apart from other Craniosacral schools. This understanding also paved the way for my next professional chapter—the study of the Classical Acupuncture Channel system.
Classical Acupuncture & The Channel System:
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will REALLY hurt you….here’s how:
I fell in love with the Daoist approach to Chinese medicine because it is a truly elegant system. From a Chinese medical perspective, the heart is the sovereign of your being—the Empress or Emperor. You can live with just one kidney or lung, your liver will regenerate, but without a working heart, you die. The Heart Primary channel travels up to the tongue, and hopefully you feel free to speak words from the heart. Sometimes our heart shuts down, causing the words to literally become stuck.
Because of the Heart’s special status, other organs and acupuncture channels become protectors and storage closets during times of emotional stress—taking the hit for the heart, just like your own emotional Secret Service! This sophisticated physical coping mechanism explains why we get so much tightness in your neck and shoulders—protective channels go right through these areas, shuttling the stress away from the heart itself. Over time, the closets get full, and then the problem starts affecting the Heart organ itself—you lose your words, you may also experience panic attacks, actual heart pain, palpitations, heart flutters—these are all signs that indicate the Heart needs help.
If you have TMJD, can you can remember a time when you lost your words, and become too overwhelmed to speak? Are you able to speak from the heart?
When it comes to digesting the emotions, Chinese medicine looks beyond the heart to the the Stomach and Gallbladder channels. These channels have trajectories that travel through the mandible (as well as the hips) and are involved in digesting emotions as well as food. Because these channels cross both the hips and the jaw, their trajectories explain the connection between unresolved sexual trauma and jaw pain.
The Connection between Sexual Trauma & Jaw Pain
When studying VCSW, Hugh Milne taught the intimate connection between the throat chakra, and second chakra (related to sexuality, fertility and creation). Sexual trauma can create deep shame and fear around sex and sexuality—specifically talking about it. Are you comfortable talking about sex? Expressing your sexuality? If you have had trauma around sex, have you had therapy, or been able to talk about it?
There are several acupuncture channels travel from the jaw also to the pelvis, creating a pathway. Sexual shame and trauma can get buried so deeply in the body that it becomes frozen inside, and you may even lose your memory of it. Over time, the acupuncture channels can become obstructed and blocked, and when this happens, you may feel physical pain instead. This is why some acupuncture points hurt more than others!! Some acupuncture points are holding enormous pain and suffering. If this is the case for you, I want to offer you a sense of hope and empowerment. When I first began studying massage therapy in 1999, we were taught to think of our hands not as scalpels, “fixing things”, but rather to think of our hands (and needles) as flashlights, shedding light on the darkness.
I sincerely hope that this deeper understanding of the energetics of the mandible will serve you well, and help you to release whatever you’re ready to let go of in your own jaw. It’s my sincere belief that knowledge is power—may you feel more empowered with this deeper understanding of HOW emotional stress can contribute to TMJD.
If you are interested in working with me for your TMJD, or scheduling a deep-dive mandibular unwinding ritual, you can schedule a session here.
Stay tuned for part 2—the Temporal Bone!!
