Facilitating Jaw Release Through Improved Habits of Stance and Alignment

Objective: In this interactive workshop, participants assess their current habits of postural stance and dental occlusion and learn techniques to facilitate and maintain jaw release. Despite excellent voice training, many singers and speakers present with jaw tension. The initial cause is often not in the jaw itself but in unfortunate habits of foot posture and stance. Resulting misalignments throughout the body adversely affect many aspects of phonation, including pitch range, dynamics, consistency, ease, articulation, and flexibility. Jaw release maneuvers, while quite helpful (and included in this workshop), are temporary fixes because they don’t address the underlying physical misalignment. Numerous studies have shown that mandibular positions are related to foot posture and gait stability, through the established relationship between posture and the stomatognathic system, including functions such as chewing, speech, swallowing, yawning, and breathing. A more supportive and balanced stance provides the foundational support for the skull that is necessary for consistent release of misplaced jaw tension.

Methods: This hands-on workshop teaches self assessment of current habits of jaw alignment (malocclusion, misplaced tension) and stance (pronation/supination, plantar fascia flexibility, and arch stability), as well as corrective exercises and techniques. Participants learn self-massage and release techniques (including intra-oral massage); release and engagement maneuvers for supination/pronation, fascial flexibility, and arch support, as well as simple exercises for core strength and alignment. Participants have the opportunity to speak or sing as a group before, during, and after the exercises to assess improvement. Methods informing this work include Hennessy Breath & BodyWork, Postural Restoration, The Alexander Technique, The Thompson Method, and intra-oral and shiatsu massage.

Results and Conclusions: Participants facilitate lasting habits of jaw release by improving stance and body alignment. Benefits include improving foot engagement and postural support of the head, reducing muscle tension dysphonia, and increasing flow phonation and pitch range. This workshop’s massage and exercise sequence provides participants with a valuable takeaway for home and studio use.