“LP” from London wrote to me and mentioned that she had bad jaw pain after catching C19.
The principle of relaxing the muscles is a key one in our training and this following suggestion will explain the idea and give some simple ideas to try out.
There's some research to suggest that doctors believe that this condition is caused by the stress of difficult breathing and that on recovery the nervous system is stuck in this new habit which causes hypertonicity or tight, painful muscles.
https://www.proteethguard.com/blog/covid-jaw-pain/
Here's the most basic breathing tactic that is used in workshops to create what's called a relaxation response.
I've mentioned this before in articles (use the search function and look for “Breath work”) but here is the basic pattern and also some other ideas.
Method:
Inhale smoothly through the nose
Exhale through the mouth
Pretty simple right?
This pattern accesses what is known as the parasympathetic nervous system, associated with relaxation.
Next:
Next focus on making sure that you don't hold the breath when switching between the two but rather create a smooth “cycle” of breathing.
Visualisation:
Both the hands and the face contain a lot of nerve endings so try to relax both of these areas.
Relax the jaw and face muscles with a “dead” expression like boredom.
If you're sitting, visualise the hands getting heavier in your lap with each exhalation.
If you become aware of an area of tension – anywhere, in LP's case the jaw – try visualising that when you exhale, the breath is passing out of the tense area rather than your mouth.
With practice, you can start to perceive a warming of this area as you breathe.
Focus on this warm sensation and visualise the area relaxing and returning to it's correct state of tension.
Self defence application:
The practice of relaxation is very important for self defence training.
To make a relaxed state into habit best prepares the body for stress and also allows more efficient movement for tactics like striking, grappling, running and also allows for better oxygenation when under the effects of adrenaline.
Make it a daily habit.
Practice when sitting in traffic, out walking, whenever you can.
Try it out and leave a comment.
J
241 - Breathwork: relaxation response
I second that! All I seem to think about recently is ‘relax’ ‘breath’ in through the nose out through the mouth and stay aware of my surroundings… it has become part of my daily conditioning and it seems to be starting to help!
I am sat here with Book II and finding it incredibly helpful thank you for going to the effort for the sake of those you train! I for one feel privileged to have such top rate training!
Looking forward to tonight!
I am beginning to really appreciate the value of this. It’s easy to understand that excess tension is unhelpful in a self-defence situation, but that sort of alert relaxation (or relaxed alertness?) is perhaps a bit counterintuitive, and not easy to access without practise. I experienced it with my training partner yesterday, though: when he really relaxed and his face went deadpan he was way faster, the blows were heavier, and it was altogether more intimidating. The calm was kind of chilling and I got the impression peripheral vision was working. The intense psycho focus is momentarily alarming, but it’s really easy to see where the attention is aimed and the tunnel vision means less awareness of counters, other threats, concealed knife hands and so on?
Quick question: since I’ve converted (almost completely) to nasal breathing, I find myself exhaling through the nose as well. I use mouth taping at night and it’s becoming ingrained as a habit. I see it is possible to breath out through closed teeth as well, but I am also really focusing on keeping my mouth shut in training, and it’s a bit easier if I breathe out through the nose. Is this wrong?