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What is Myofunctional Therapy?
Over the past decade or so, we have started making the connection that the tongue is within the mouth, and the mouth is connected to our airway. We need open airways to breathe, eat, and sleep effectively, essentially all the things that keep us alive. If the tongue is interfering with the airway, we’ve got a problem in all three areas. Myofunctional therapy is a way to strengthen, tone, and teach the tongue where to rest within the oral cavity so it can get out of the airway during breathing, eating, and sleeping! It’s a specialty that focuses on the muscles of the face and mouth. If these muscles are working and functioning together properly, we have balanced craniofacial growth.
Box Breathing for Calm
This style of breath, also called a “Square Breath,” “4x4 Breath,” or “Equal Breathing,” can be used in moments of stress or anxiety, or simply when you’d like to calm down or relax. You may have heard of Box Breathing due to its use as a part of Navy SEAL training—it’s used by soldiers to reduce stress and improve focus during chaotic moments of combat. Research supports this technique to help regulate your autonomic nervous system and it is correlated with improved sleep quality, decreased blood pressure and heart rate, and decreased symptoms of depression.
Box Breath aka Square Breath for Calm
This style of breath, also called a “Square Breath” or a “4x4 Breath,” can be used in moments of stress or anxiety, or simply when you’d like to calm down or relax. You may have heard of Box Breathing due to its use as a part of Navy SEAL training—it’s used by soldiers to reduce stress and improve focus during chaotic moments of combat. Research supports this technique to help regulate your autonomic nervous system and it is correlated with improved sleep quality, decreased blood pressure and heart rate, and decreased symptoms of depression.
Grounding and Calm During the Holiday Season
As we move into the final weeks of 2022 and a holiday season that is in full swing, it can be helpful to support our well-being with practices that allow us to pause, breathe, and connect. Whether you are driving in traffic, checking off the to-do lists, or moving through the busyness of everyday life, these practices will offer you tools to stay grounded and connected this season, and throughout the year ahead! Here are some of my favorite practices to support overall health and well-being.