Friday, March 4, 2011

40 Days of Relaxation - Day 35

Friday, March 4, 2011 - Day 35
Wow, I can't believe I am on day 35. My dental office called today to remind me that I have an appointment on Monday. Which reminds me that I started this 40 day practice because of tooth pain.

I am happy to report that I am feeling pretty good in the teeth. I can eat things straight out of the fridge without cringing. I can can even sip water straight from the tap if I am careful (Duluth water comes from Lake Superior which is frozen right now so our tap water is pretty dang cold). I can drink hot things no problem at all and I can chew hard or chewy things without pain too.

Of course my 40 day practice is not scientific since I am both relaxing and using a special paste that I have to put on my teeth and let it sit for a while. So I can't unequivocally give credit to relaxation for the decrease in tooth pain. But I do think the practice has helped me reduce feelings of stress, which in turn has reduced my jaw clenching. I am more aware of feeling stress and then dealing with it by taking a break. Even though I had a bit of a downer week, it was nothing compared to times past. I'm very happy to be on this relaxation journey.

Today I listened to both the long Yoga Nidra practice and the short Yoga Nidra practice on Robin Carnes's second Yoga Nidra album. I was in la-la land and came back quite refreshed.