Today I went really nuts with relaxation. OK that sounded weird but here's what happened. After my sister, who is in school to become an Acupuncturist, read my blog post, Relaxation for Tooth Pain, she emailed me some images from her Acupuncture textbook which show some key points to help relieve pressure and tension in the jaw. Here's what they look like:
Images from: A Manual of Acupuncture
Authors: Peter Deadman and Mazin Al-Khafaji
Authors: Peter Deadman and Mazin Al-Khafaji
Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 2 edition, June 25, 2007
And here's what my sister wrote me to do:
Hi Sara,
I just read your post about your teeth pain and what your dentist told you. Just relax Sara. haha! But seriously, not fun at all. Teeth pain can be horrible.
I clench my teeth in my sleep and I find that if I spend a few minutes massaging certain points before I go to bed, it helps me not clench during the night. Additionally, I massage them for relief from tight jaw muscles. I have attached a document with some jpegs from my main acupuncture book to show you the points that would be good for you.
On the first page, the one that has a ton of points on it, the ones that would be good for you are the 3 that are in a vertical row in front of the opening to your ear. So would the one right under your earlobe named SJ-17.
On the second page, all of those would be good for you.
On page 3, there is a point named AN MIAN/PEACEFUL SLEEP - The name tells you what it does. It is on the mastoid process but more toward the back edge of it on the same horizontal line as SJ-17 which is right under your earlobe.
I hope that this well be helpful for you. Plus, I don't want you taking more ibuprofen than you have to!!!
Well, this all got me thinking that I needed to make an appointment with my local L.Ap., Jodie Cope. I've been meaning to get in to see her for a while now anyway for my weird cold left foot problem. She was able to get me in today right after I got done teaching my second yoga class (which happens to be right across the street from her office - very convenient). Anyway, she treated all the points that my sister had recommended plus my usual ones for the cold left foot and some others that are a mystery to me. I know she got some good ones though because all the points were so tender.
When I got home I was exhausted. I ate, crawled in bed and watched TV for a while, and then listened to track 2 of Relax into Wellness, Vol. 1 (about 26 min). The practice is called Autogenic Training. It was super great! I was so relaxed. The practice basically consists of imagining your breath and your heartbeat to be in time to waves on a beach and then telling yourself that your body parts are heavy and warm. Well since I was under the covers with my electric blanket on high I had no problem imagining the heavy and warm part. And I loved the imagery of my breath and heartbeat going in time to the waves. I felt quite a bit more alert by the end of the practice.
I'm a bit tuckered out still from the treatment and I have some discomfort in my jaw and in my hands (points in the hand lead up to the jaw) but my jaw feels very loose which is nice. I am glad I went to see Jodie and I think I will go see her again within a few weeks.
Oh yeah - my dog is on day 4 in relaxation too. Hee hee.