My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

The cultivation of calm or tranquility and the development of concentration
DeadBuddha
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My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by DeadBuddha »

Hello,

When I concentrate on the breath, little by little, my jaw closes and my upper and lower teeth tighten more and more. I have the feeling that my jaw is quite contracted. This feeling scares me because I have the impression that it is dangerous for my teeth and that they could be damaged.

Because of this fear, I leave the meditation. I could not follow this fear and continue meditating even with this feeling, but for the moment I am worried about the health of my teeth, so I leave meditation.

I have done some tests and I have the impression that when I concentrate, my teeth end up automatically tightening.

What should I do? Am I afraid for nothing?

Thanks in advance

May all beings free themselves from suffering.
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Sam Vara
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Sam Vara »

DeadBuddha wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 12:25 pm Hello,

When I concentrate on the breath, little by little, my jaw closes and my upper and lower teeth tighten more and more. I have the feeling that my jaw is quite contracted. This feeling scares me because I have the impression that it is dangerous for my teeth and that they could be damaged.

Because of this fear, I leave the meditation. I could not follow this fear and continue meditating even with this feeling, but for the moment I am worried about the health of my teeth, so I leave meditation.

I have done some tests and I have the impression that when I concentrate, my teeth end up automatically tightening.

What should I do? Am I afraid for nothing?

Thanks in advance

May all beings free themselves from suffering.
I think the trick is to catch it before the jaw is clenched, so you can relax the jaw muscles.

Try starting off your meditation with the tip of your tongue between your teeth. You'll soon know.
DeadBuddha
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by DeadBuddha »

I'll give it a try thanks a lot!
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Inedible »

Is this something that only happens when you meditate or do you tense your jaw at other times, too?
DeadBuddha
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by DeadBuddha »

Only during meditation.
Dhammapardon
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Dhammapardon »

You might also try spending a session breathing into the jaw muscles that tend to tighten. Hard to explain but breathe some relaxing breath into those muscles with attention there to see what happens.
Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its wings as its only burden; so too is he content with a set of robes to provide for his body and almsfood to provide for his hunger. Wherever he goes, he takes only his barest necessities along. This is how a monk is content.(DN11)
DeadBuddha
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by DeadBuddha »

Thanks
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JamesTheGiant
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by JamesTheGiant »

Same happens to me sometimes. I have 3 possible solutions

1) I put the end of my tongue between my teeth and it helped.
2) Change your meditation technique to one which generates no tension. One based on letting go, rather than focus. Relaxing into the breath, instead of using effort.
3) Mouthguard. A cheap tooth-grinding mouthguard from a pharmacy.

I feel #2 is most likely to have long term usefulness.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Ceisiwr »

I tend to get produce a lot of saliva instead, then get a dry mouth as my tongue pushes up against the top of my mouth. Can be quite distracting sometimes.
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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Goofaholix
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Goofaholix »

I have this issue when I try to concentrate on the physical sensations of the breath at the nostrils, and then clenching jaw feeling can continue throughout the day.

The short answer is don't try to concentrate on the physical sensations of the breath at the nostrils, use a different object of attention, a broader awareness of the body beathing or the breath as a whole rather than physical sensations at one point is better for samadhi once you get into the rhythm of it.
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“Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it.”
― Ajahn Chah
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Dhammapardon »

Goofaholix wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:26 pm I have this issue when I try to concentrate on the physical sensations of the breath at the nostrils, and then clenching jaw feeling can continue throughout the day.

The short answer is don't try to concentrate on the physical sensations of the breath at the nostrils, use a different object of attention, a broader awareness of the body beathing or the breath as a whole rather than physical sensations at one point is better for samadhi once you get into the rhythm of it.
"I breathe in experiencing the whole body, I breath out experiencing the whole body"?
Kind of like a body scan but more like a monitoring all the body at once?
Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its wings as its only burden; so too is he content with a set of robes to provide for his body and almsfood to provide for his hunger. Wherever he goes, he takes only his barest necessities along. This is how a monk is content.(DN11)
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Goofaholix
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Goofaholix »

Dhammapardon wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 9:01 pm "I breathe in experiencing the whole body, I breath out experiencing the whole body"?
Kind of like a body scan but more like a monitoring all the body at once?
Yes, though I've found it useful to give more emphasis to the continuity of the mental attention to the breath and less on the physical sensations.
Pronouns (no self / not self)
“Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it.”
― Ajahn Chah
Dhammapardon
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by Dhammapardon »

Goofaholix wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 11:07 pm
Dhammapardon wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 9:01 pm "I breathe in experiencing the whole body, I breath out experiencing the whole body"?
Kind of like a body scan but more like a monitoring all the body at once?
Yes, though I've found it useful to give more emphasis to the continuity of the mental attention to the breath and less on the physical sensations.
Hmm ok so more broad like "When standing knows I'm standing, when moving knows I'm moving, when sitting knows I'm sitting..."?
Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its wings as its only burden; so too is he content with a set of robes to provide for his body and almsfood to provide for his hunger. Wherever he goes, he takes only his barest necessities along. This is how a monk is content.(DN11)
DeadBuddha
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by DeadBuddha »

JamesTheGiant wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 7:38 pm Same happens to me sometimes. I have 3 possible solutions

1) I put the end of my tongue between my teeth and it helped.
2) Change your meditation technique to one which generates no tension. One based on letting go, rather than focus. Relaxing into the breath, instead of using effort.
3) Mouthguard. A cheap tooth-grinding mouthguard from a pharmacy.

I feel #2 is most likely to have long term usefulness.
Thank you very much I will try
DeadBuddha
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Re: My teeth clench as I meditate. What to do?

Post by DeadBuddha »

Ceisiwr wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 7:41 pm I tend to get produce a lot of saliva instead, then get a dry mouth as my tongue pushes up against the top of my mouth. Can be quite distracting sometimes.
Gosh. For me, it's after the meditation, once I've finished, that I feel that my mouth is very dry. That is to say, during the meditation, my mouth is very dry, but I don't feel it because I am concentrated enough. Maybe if you increase your concentration, you won't feel it? But I don't know if this is a good idea, because my concentration seems to be dangerous for my health (clenched teeth, very tight throat, etc.)...
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