#injuries on abdomen collar bone neck pelvis and so much more

[myauditionfordrphil]

Saw this online and holy shit I cannot even comprehend how one cay say stuff like this. According to this person eating beef is worse than rape or as he says "surprise sex". It's horrifying how they think that a person who they assumed ate beef because of their appearance or religion deserved to be mob lynched but someone who brutally raped and killed a girl deserves less punishment. There is no comparison between the two situations... it's crazy how anonymity gives people the idea that they can get away with saying or doing anything.

And I'm not saying that you should go ahead and kill animals for no reason, everybody have their own eating preferences and you can't shame one for theirs. But if you really think that eating beef is a bigger sin that rape then you're a danger to society.

[nurseofren]

Keeping Your Promise - Chapter 16 (NSFW)

Read on AO3

Read chapter fifteen (NSFW)

Title: Wake-up Call

Words: 4500

Summary: Who knew men's underwear could be so erotic?

ST Rambles:  Y'all. We are getting closer and closer to the good stuff, my friends. Not that there hasn't been good stuff already, but the really good, messy, plot-heavy stuff. When I was just reading through this chapter I started to get very excited about the future of this fic. I hope I can deliver on this, I really do. 

[Masterlist]

Sleepy eyes peered around the mirror, examining the savaging which took new residence over your skin. All shapes and shades of dusk covered your prominences; one purpled puddle spanning your elbow, another three parallel over your side – one etching over your hip, another dripping over the curve of your rib cage, and the final fringing atop your deltoid in a russet starburst. A suggestion of a hand print fixed itself over your opposite shoulder, the bruise more vivid where your Commander’s fingers had bitten into the muscle. The grisly sight continued below your waist, both your knees inked in injury, one blotch creeping upwards in memoriam of the joint’s protrusions crashing against the floor. For once your neck remained free of the ghosted grip of Kylo Ren, the only evidence of him blending together in a patchy trail along your artery.

The tips of your fingers traced down the perforated contusions starting at the hinge of your jaw, drawing down the curve of your pulse, and ending at the proximal end of your clavicle; a violet twilight splayed beneath your touch, the memory of its fruition warming the tops of your cheeks. The reflection gave light to the faint lines which racked together over your wrists, the sight prompting the mindless rolling of the joint to test its range of motion. To any unsuspecting onlooker you appeared a survivor of a gruesome tale, one that indicated a battle with some ferocious creature; in a way, you thought, that wasn’t completely false.

Every welt lingering over your skin, visible or not – the torment which your core had endured aching with each suggestion of movement – belonged completely to Kylo Ren. Last night he’d painted his own pain over your body, the ache of his anger obvious with even the slightest pressure over the affected areas. Though you knew this, knew that these marks were premeditated, you distantly regarded the comfort the echoed pain offered; while the night had been birthed in egregious wrath, its end offered a breath-stealing contrast.

In the full light of Kylo Ren’s bathroom, you brought your hands together before you, the mirror falling out of focus as they turned over and brushed over each other’s knuckles and tendons. The soft skin was painted with vestiges in the valleys between each knuckle, the sight reminding you of the intimacy which had created them, the irony of how a moment of such beauty could manifest in such an injurious manner lighting a spark at your spine. The frozen air of his quarters nipped at your bare skin, reminding you what had prompted you from the warm, yet vacated, covers: the search for clothing.

Waking up had been disorienting, jolting you past the haze of morning and into the acknowledgment of the unfamiliar environment. It felt hollow waking up alone, like you were on some separate plane of reality without Kylo’s presence in his own bed. Out of habit, you’d gone to search for the time on your wrist, only remembering the timepiece’s absence when its red-shining face didn’t blind you in the shadows of early light, artificial in its existence, which framed the ceiling.

It had been too chaotic to get a good look at the Starkiller quarters last night, but as the frozen floor bit at your toes in your walk through the unfamiliar space, you noticed how mundane the provisions were. Everything lacked in comparison to the Finalizer, noting how the smaller rooms and shorter walls created a false sense of hominess; there was barely a kitchen, no dining table, and a hint at a sitting area – all of which blended together in various shades of similar blacks, greys, and whites. It felt uncomfortable to think that the Commander of the First Order lived in such normalcy and necessity when he wasn’t killing innocents or training to do so.

A pile sat at the countertop’s center, your uniform obvious at the top, the red embroidery prominent even in darkness. After a short search, you flicked on a light and padded towards it, crossing your arms as your breath shuddered through the cold air. It was a curious sight, your uniform folded into a frumpy square as your bra poked out from beneath the collar and your watch sat parallel above the red threading. Confused alarms sounded in your head, the fact that Kylo Ren had spent time collecting your belongings and compiling them into a neat pile making you doubt your consciousness, momentarily stopping to see if you had only been imagining the past few minutes.

Something else stole your attention, bringing your eyes away from the stack and up towards a rectangle of paper. It was folded in half, its torn edges and faded print indicating it had come from some scrapped document he no longer needed. Reaching for it, you found something underneath, a soft piece of unfamiliar black fabric. Then, when you lifted it, something slipped out from its confines, a black plastic rectangle glinting beneath the overhead light; its familiar design quickly indicating that of your Finalizer room key. Squinting in effort and inquiry, you read the hand-penned note, skin igniting as your leaned into the icy counter and half-admired the pointed scrawl of your first name at the top left-hand corner.

I’ve arranged for your residence’s security to be updated and reprogrammed to this key. Return there unless otherwise indicated.

You’ll also need these, as yours are tucked into the fasteners of my uniform.

Thanks for the keepsake, officer,

K.R.

With a hesitant curiosity, you took the folded fabric and unfolded each of its creases. It was a pair of his briefs, the sight eliciting a heartbeat between your legs. An astonished gasp fell from your lips, your face burning with exhilaration at the thought of your panties – unwashed and nearly three days old – stowed at his hip, their presence only known to him and you. As you imagined the frail stitching hanging loosely at his waistband, your thighs clamped together, the shifted bones of your pelvis crying out in protest at the sudden plead for satiety. He took your panties as a prize, spoils from last night’s conquest. Such a sick, unapologetic, hot bastard, you thought, your face split in an unintentional grin.

Taking his donation in stride, you pulled the article over your legs, surprised to find the elastic resting easily at your hips. The material was stretchy, an excess amount of give indicating, though they could fit, they were intended for legs much larger than your own. The hem rested four inches below the apex of your thighs, your hands smoothing over the front, your thumb catching on the open flap which rested along the line of your inner right leg. The light sensation, sending tiny continuous vibrations over your mound, built on the prominent pulse beating at your entrance.

Kylo’s face, nonsensically beautiful, passed through your memory, your teeth pulling your lip between them as you thought of how his tongue felt over yours, how his breath ignited body-enrapturing sparks at your ear. A gasp caught in your throat, your thighs pressing together in need, your head bowing down into the counter while you filed through the endless thoughts you’d cataloged from previous encounters. Congratulations. A sharp throb came from your core, your hands grappling onto the countertop’s edge at the memory of graduation.

“Stars.” The plead led into a moan, your throat thickening with need as your body ached for what it couldn’t have.

Closing your eyes and pushing a long breath from your lungs, your fingers dipped into the briefs’ opening, the knowledge that they were his frenzying you further, your skin reveling in the feel of the smooth fabric gliding over the back of your hand. The tips of your index and middle fingers trailed parallel down your slit, mind drifting to how Kylo’s could frame your sex in their length as they drifted closer towards your entrance, the thought seething a whine through your teeth. His modulated voice percolated in your ears, the way his breath falls out in proximity eliciting another merciless pulse, your abdomen tightening to absorb the ramifications.

Parting your folds, your fingers dipped into your slit, collecting the fluid which fled from your core. Just the thought of Kylo Ren – the way his abdomen ripples with every calculated step, the way his hair shifts in rhythm with his thrusts, the way it feels to have his full weight consume your body and alter your breathing – had worked diligently to ruin the fresh garment, your center preparing for a fullness it couldn’t currently achieve. Taking the pad of your middle finger, you pressed against the buzzing flesh of your clit, winding a wide, deep circle around it. A muffled cry fought to unlock your teeth, your head falling back at the taunting.

Are you a good girl? The melody of his past words crept over your skin, your leg crossing behind the other as you remembered his lips kissing the tops of his gifted stockings; a hum buzzed in your head, your fingers leading down to your entrance so your thumb could take residence over your clit. Hunching down lower, your head pressing down onto the smooth countertop as you took a wider stance, you pushed two fingers past your entrance, a shuddered whimper leaving your now parted lips. Your walls were throbbing, your pulse rising with each new reminiscent thought of your master.

The pad of your thumb wound a tighter, fuller path around the engorged flesh beneath, your fingers pumping into your core, your mind wandering through time while pressure heightened within you. A fast thought, a wondering instead of a memory, passed through, imagining how Kylo would react seeing you like this, setting eyes on you while you stood in his kitchen, wearing only his briefs while you bucked into your hand as thoughts of him cascaded from your mind to his. Would he be angry, furious that you could build your own release without him? Or would he watch you, his hidden eyes gawking as he felt your every intention before it came to be, attuned to the way your body sang at the memory of his voice, of his eyes, of his frame?

“Fucking hell,” you gasped, the heel of your hand grinding into the rapturous nerves as your digits hooked into your core, fluid streaming past your knuckles as your body promised an impending release.

With each second and every flex of your hand you crawled towards climax, thinking of Kylo Ren’s cock as it throbbed in need, beads of precum dripping from the slit as it twitched in his hands, readying to fill you with each torturous inch of its pulsating length. Breath stuck in your throat, your pulse pounding in your skull as your mouth hung open, salivating at the thought of him painting your face with thick, hot ropes of his cum, moaning as you remembered how the liquid collected over your nose and slowly dripped within reach of your hunting tongue.

“Oh, Kylo,” you whined, drool dripping onto the floor within your spread stance, remembering how badly you’d wanted his cock, dowsed in his own blood, to completely destroy your cunt, to stretch you until you tore, to have your own blood combine with his as he rocked into you, relentless even in your pain.

Your walls peaked, your body stalling and unfurling into a nebula of pleasure, hearing the phantom cries of your master echo into the false reality as your free hand strained against the countertop, your lungs trembling with quick breaths. Taking in your accomplishment, you leaned down onto the marble, your hand leaving his briefs and hugging onto the chilled stone, gulping as you slowly left the hazed state of contentment.

“Thanks for the wake-up call, Commander.” Not that he could hear you, you felt it was now a fair trade, your panties for his briefs, acknowledging the notion had done a nice job at kick starting your day.

Reaching over towards the pile, you brushed over the watch’s screen, finding it to be a quarter before seven. Although you knew you hadn’t been to the stormtrooper hub in what seemed like a lifetime, you could make it there for shift change if you left from here in five minutes. Reluctantly, wanting to stay here and hide from life’s responsibilities, you pushed off from the counter and grappled your uniform over your head, not bothering to toil with the buttons. Without looking down, you slipped your shoes on and fastened the watch around your wrist; with a quick finger-brush through your hair and a swish of water from the sink, you stowed the keycard into the front pocket of your uniform and activated the door, keeping your head low and face hidden as you made your way into the open hallways.

In an effort to multitask, you pulled your phone out, finding an email waiting on its home screen. The subject line read CONFIDENTIAL: Trial proceedings. In your hobbled stride, the notification dropped your heart. Had it really been less than twenty-four hours since meeting with Hux? He’d informed you of the email, that it would come later in the day, but you’d been so tossed up in the world of Kylo Ren that you’d forgotten to worry about it, forgotten that life wasn’t simple anymore. Even as you skulked away from your Commander’s quarters after not just fucking him, but sleeping with him, this email was what brought you back to reality, your shoulders falling as to remind you of the burdens they’d set down for the night.

Swiping across the screen, you opened the contents, being half-mindful of your surroundings as you trekked towards Starkiller’s general med bay. The scrollbar indicated the lengthiness of the correspondence, your pulse quickening thinking about how serious this all was. This was the beginning of the end, or at least the beginning of trying to prevent the end. It was difficult not to place blame, accepting that it was both a risk and a necessity to take the blood, but also knowing full well that none of this would be happening if Kylo Ren hadn’t taken you from the valuable clinical experience you would have obtained had you been allowed the time to learn in a professional setting. Inwardly you knew you did the right thing, but knowing the entire Board of Physicians was against your cause made it impossible not to feel guilty.

Continuing towards your destination, you delved into the email, first reading the sender information of the Board in all caps – their institutional name, address, contact information, and correspondence code – and then seeing your own information, stomach churning at the sight, head dizzying simultaneously.

Concerning the defendant,

This is an official summons to appear before the Board of Physicians to be tried for the accusation made of first-degree larceny based on multiple eyewitness accounts, a detailed variance report provided by an on-staff provider, and physical evidence surrounding this case collected during the time between the incident’s occurrence and determined trial date. The defendant is required to be notified via word of mouth and either physical or electronic correspondence; once these requirements have been met, construction of the case can and will be expedited.

The defendant will appear directly before the Board, bypassing the selection of a jury as to keep in pace with this time sensitive matter. For clarity’s sake it is reinforced that the defendant is being tried on the matter of her execution, as her license will be promptly revoked upon the formal announcement of the Board’s judgement. As the defendant has been informed, she will be placed under surveillance in an effort to provide adequate evidence regarding not only her practice as a nurse and provider, but as a functioning member of the First Order. During this time of surveillance the defendant should go about her daily life as she normally would to provide the most accurate idea of her character. In addition to technological monitoring, the character review will be centered around personal accounts of those who have worked with the defendant and superior reviews; these documents will be collected directly by the offices of the Board of Physicians and are to be collected no later than the morning of the defendant’s initial hearing.

The initial hearing will provide the defendant the opportunity to be introduced to the current elected members of the Board of Physicians. There shall be no questions asked verbally during this time as the defendant will be provided a list of official inquiries following her appearance. In the time between the initial hearing and the official trial – which shall be no less than five days and no more than seven – the defendant will be allotted adequate time to prepare for her questioning; during this same period, the defendant will choose a representative. Let it be known that the defendant is limited to the representatives provided for and selected by the Board of Physicians. Though it is ill-advised, the defendant also has the choice of representing herself.

Once the defendant has prepared her answers and chosen her representative, the official trial will promptly begin at O-eight hundred the following morning. The trial will follow all legal policies and proceedings as established by the First Order in exception of a selected jury. In the absence of a jury, the defendant will plead directly to the Board of Physicians; the Board has gone through training and certification to disallow bias, emotional or otherwise, to affect their judgments, barring the defendant from skewing their final decision. There will be three testimonies in accordance to the case – one from Officer Talia Harper, another from General Armitage Hux, and a final to be chosen by the defendant to speak in her favor.

The deciding members of the Board will be allotted seven days to construct their judgments and rationales. As there are five members of the Board, there will be no possibility of a tie. A majority of three will decide if the defendant is to be executed. Once the final judgement has been ratified, one chosen representative will formally announce the decision before the Board and the defendant. As disclosed earlier, upon the judgement’s announcement, the defendant’s license will be permanently revoked and she will be barred from practicing medicine under the First Order. Should the judgment entail the defendant’s execution, she will spend an additional seven days on Cantonica; during this time, the defendant will be allowed the facilities and liberties to get her affairs in order.

The trial will be conducted in the city of Canto Bight, six weeks from the initial send date of this correspondence. The defendant will need to arrange for travel and plan to arrive two days prior to the morning of her initial hearing. Standard necessities will be provided to the defendant during her time on Canto Bight; in addition, the defendant will also be assigned a security detail who will report to General Hux at the end of each day. During the defendant’s time away from her Master, Commander Ren, he will be assigned a new provider in her absence; this new provider will be selected from the pool of individuals who were screened for the position earlier this year.

Let it be known that this correspondence does not require a return from the recipient as she cannot refuse an audience with the Board of Physicians without forfeiting her case. Should the defendant be absent at her initial hearing, it would result in a call for her capture followed by an immediate scheduling of her execution.

On a final note, the Board of Physicians has deemed it necessary to put emphasis on this case, meaning all legal proceedings – the initial hearing, the official trial, the formal sentencing, and the potential execution – are to be televised and allowed for public viewing. The defendant should be prepared to go before upwards of two hundred people.

Direct any questions to the return address at the top of this official correspondence.

Respectfully,

Karmen Zag, Esq.

Head of Communications,

The Board of Physicians

The glutton of air which your lungs sucked in pointed out the fact that you hadn’t taken a full breath since you began reading the document. As you’d been reading, your head down and your eyes focused on the bright white screen, the world had fallen away, your journey towards the stormtrooper hub nearly complete. It was five minutes to seven, time evading you in the wake of all the new overwhelming information.

Six weeks didn’t seem like a long enough time for life to change so drastically. Then again, though, it had only been a little over two months since graduation and look how different life looked from then. Standing so far out yet to close to the trial, it felt impossible to win; and how could you win? What’s the prize at this point? Even if the Board rules against your execution, what life could you return to? All the schooling you’d put yourself through, every hour of studying and practicing, just, gone; if you had known it would be so ephemeral and pointless, maybe you’d have spent less time in the library, enjoyed your youth more than you did.

When you turned the corner, you collided into something solid, your body tripping backwards as you took in the familiar sight of your masked master, mind quickly thinking about your hidden belongings tucked beneath the layers of clothing they rested behind. Taking another step back, you regarded General Hux at his right arm, face resting in its usual repugnance.

“Oh, uh, I’m so sorry Commander Ren, I was just on my way to the stormtrooper hub,” you said, shifting your hair so it hid the superficial injury.

“I trust you’ve read over the email detailing your trial, officer?” Each syllable was annunciated, Hux’s voice clear and loud, a sense of unmistakable pride seeping from the question.

“Yes, actually. That’s what had me so distracted from my surroundings.”

“Hm. I’ll see you in six weeks, I suppose.” He took a step forward, away from your Commander. “I’ll notify you when the documents have been cataloged and filed.” With a too-long glare, he tromped past you, his steps growing quieter in his distance.

Looking back up at Kylo’s visor, you went to speak, but he beat you to it. “I trust you’ve had a productive morning.” There was something seductive about his tone, like it was laced with intentional double entendre.

Looking over your shoulder, you scanned the room for onlookers and cameras, finding nothing within earshot before looking back to him. “You could say that.” An unintentional throb came from between your legs, your mind trying and failing at not recounting your earlier self-satisfaction.

“I assume you found my note.”

“Yeah. Yes. Thank you for the… resources. They are both very much appreciated.” It felt funny being so formal with him in public, like a game of pretend.

“Oh, you’re welcome, by the way.”

Had you not just thanked him for the security – both technological and textile? “What… am I missing something?”

Kylo stepped forward, his arm grazing over yours as his head turned down towards your ear. “For the wake-up call, of course.”

Your mouth fell open, a gasp coming from your stunned lungs. “How did you – but you were nowhere near me.”

“I found you last night without that glorified compass on your wrist, didn’t I?” Two fingers pressed into the curve of your hip, goosebumps prickling your skin in fast waves.

Turning your head so your nose almost met his sleeved bicep, you cleared your throat. “So, what? You can hear me now?”

“Not in the literal sense, no. But, you were particularly obvious in your pursuits this morning. You were easy to sense above everyone else.”

You said nothing, still astonished that he grew more attuned to your presence with every encounter. He brushed past you, his fingers pulling at your uniform until they left completely. “Have a nice day, officer.”

His boots echoed behind you in his stride, leaving you hanging like it was nothing to him. Standing there a moment longer, you realized it was past seven, now. Shift change had already begun, and you were once again going to be late due to Kylo Ren’s distractions. Nearly running through the halls, you made it to the nurses’ station five minutes late, seeing the small huddles of night and day nurses around the patients’ doors, listening to their whispers related to client care. A few faces were twisted in confused disbelief, your face hot under their scrutiny.

Walking to the nurse manager’s office, you leaned into the room as you lightly knocked at her door, alerting her to spin in her chair to face you, her own expression following suit with the others’.  “Uh, hi. I don’t know if you remember me, but-,”

“You can’t be here,” the woman said, her words fast and jarring.

“I’m sorry, have I done something wrong?”

“Here—” she patted her desk until she gripped the document of her intent “—this should explain it.”

The paper was fresh, warming your hands when she passed it to you. On the front it had a photocopy of your ID, your unbeknownst face looking back at you in black and white next to your licensure information. Looking at the bottom of the document, you found a short blip of information, reading:

By signing this document, you hereby enforce the temporary disbarment of the above indicated physician from practicing medicine not related to his or her own assigned master.

Once more you looked further down the document, seeing the same pointed script from earlier scrawled across a printed line, next to it finding General Hux’s name in its own full, sweeping signature. Was this a joke? He really let you embarrass yourself in coming here instead of telling you in the halls? And, just, why? Why was he insistent in finding new ways to drive you insane? There was no logical reason for him to ban you from practice.

Without noticing, your teeth had clenched together, your fingers gripping too roughly into the thin document, staining your thumb in the fresh ink as it contorted within your grasp. The nurse manager was looking at you with a forced smile, silently saying you had no more business being here.

“Feel free to keep that,” she said, pointing to the crumpled copy.

Shaking with anger, you fought to contain yourself. “Yep.”

With that, you skulked out of the infirmary, not bothering to look up at the knowing faces of the coworkers you never got the chance to befriend. Would there ever come a day where you weren’t humiliated in your professional life? No. That was a pointless question to ask. Whatever career you currently had was about to end, and now you couldn’t even attempt to make up for it. As you whipped down the halls, fast, seething sounds left you, curses for Kylo Ren and General Hux distorted in a frenzied talk.

As if to piss you off further, your phone buzzed at your hip, hand tearing it from your uniform like the object had any say in the matter. The screen was free of emails, but your stride still stopped abruptly, your anger quickly replaced with a sense of ill-defined fear. Staring back at you was a message from Mason, only offering a single question with no context; three words that could mean anything:

Can we talk?

[bintaeran]

Friday Q&A: Jaw Pain

Friday Q&A: Jaw Pain Nina Zolotow

Q: I have a student with jaw pain. She is a new student and just mentioned it to me at the end of class yesterday. I searched YFHA, but didn’t find anything specific to the jaw, but I may have searched inefficiently. 

I will ask if she has a diagnosis, but do you have any suggested yoga practices specifically for the jaw? I teach neck and shoulder stretches, but have not done much work specifically for the jaw. I sometimes lead my students in Lion’s Pose and we will do self-massage for the face, but any other suggestions? Thank you for any help you can provide!

A: When I got this email, I immediately thought of fellow Bay Area yoga teacher and specialist in all things jaw-related, Cantor Shachoy. She was kind enough to address this question and a few others I had for her. Here’s a condensed version of our interview. —Baxter

Baxter: Cator, thanks for agreeing to share some of your experience and wisdom on the subject of jaw pain with us! Obviously, we don’t really know what diagnosis or the source of this particular person’s jaw pain is. But can you tell us what the two or three most common reasons are for jaw pain in those you have worked with and a little bit about each condition? Cator: Let me start by mentioning my perspective on this topic. In addition to being a long-time yoga and mindfulness instructor, I am also a Craniosacral practitioner. Craniosacral bodywork has a unique understanding of the jaw, which is that it is intimately intertwined with the rest of the body. Much of what I have to offer with regards to yoga and working with the jaw comes from my training in Craniosacral Therapy (CST), and applying these principles to yoga practice. The three most common causes of jaw pain that I work with are: 1.TMJ/TMD: Pain of the temporomandibular joints, located just below the ear on either side of the face. This may be caused by clenching, grinding, structural imbalance (e.g. scoliosis), car accidents or other whiplash (bicycling accidents, sports, etc.), slips and falls, braces, dental work, or other accidents. Hormones, emotions, and trauma can also be factors. 2. Sinus Pain: The upper jawbones, the maxilla, are hollow bones. They have a cavity or sinus in them. When the sinuses do not drain properly they can become heavy, dull, painful, and prone to infection. Sinuses may become blocked due to clenching, inflammation, environmental sensitivities, headaches, muscle tension or spasm, structural imbalance, or injuries as listed above with TMJ. 3. Compressed Teeth: This may be caused by clenching or grinding, a fall or blow to the head, or other causes, and may result in infection or need for a cap, crown, or tooth removal, replacement, or root canal if unaddressed. Baxter: Are there some common approaches to these most common causes of jaw pain, in regards to the use of yoga tools or other mindfulness practices? And, if so, can you share a few with us? And is our curious yoga teacher safe to do those things she mentioned above? Cator: Here are some basics for working with the jaw (we all need a lot of reminding so these can be repeated many, many times): 1. The upper and lower teeth should never touch unless you are actively chewing food. Through bringing conscious awareness to the habit of clenching during the day, we can learn to release the lower jaw so that teeth are no longer touching. This takes frequent reminding for awhile, and it can be said many times in the same yoga class, or practiced throughout the day by taking a few minutes three to five or more times a day (morning, noon, night and a couple other times) to notice what's going on inside your mouth. Invite the lower jaw to release away from the upper jaw, creating space between upper and lower teeth. 2. Practice modified Lion Face pose. Lion Face pose is most often practiced by taking the facial structure to extremes—mouth and eyes open as wide as possible with tongue fully extended, and head and neck often thrust forward. If someone's jaw is tight and painful, they may not be able to open wide, and it could cause some damage if they are not careful. Likewise neck tension may be affecting their jaw (see section on cross connections below). Instead, practice opening and closing the mouth slowly, in a range that feels comfortable. Use the action of opening and closing as a means for investigating what feels good, what does not, and what happens. Is there any clicking, popping, crackling in the jaw joint? Slow down a little. Don't force. If you pay close attention you can even notice when the jaw action influences the neck. You may notice slight twinges and right-left pulls. This gives more info about the neck-jaw connection. Small movements and relaxed muscles will reveal more than extreme movements and tension. 3. Practice breath awareness. When we are clenching, it's very difficult to breathe into the lower belly. Conversely, if we are breathing freely in the whole of the torso, we will be less likely to clench. Begin to notice your breathing habits. Three to five times a day, stop, and just notice where you are breathing—belly, ribs, or collarbones? Three-part breathing is a simple yoga practice to reset breathing patterns. We will breathe into these three different areas for three breaths each: lower belly (between navel and pubis), lower ribs/upper abdomen (breathing diaphragm), and upper ribs/collar bones. Place the hands below the navel. Beginning with the out breath, breathe all the way out. When out turns to in, send the breath here, allowing the belly to stretch and fill more than normal. If your belly is tight, it's okay to apply a little effort to really expand the belly. Practice this for three breaths, and then return to normal breathing. Next, move to base of ribs, with palms on firm ribs and fingers on soft (upper) belly. Invite the ribs to expand forward and to the sides. After three breaths, return to normal breathing. Finally, place hands on upper ribs, with index fingers close to the collarbones, thumbs close to armpits, and other fingers spread across upper chest. Invite the collarbones to lift and upper ribs to expand. Exhaling, release the air without collapsing the chest. At each location, focus on only breathing in that area. For example, when at lower belly, don't worry about breathing into chest and ribs. At your collarbones don't breathe into lower ribs and belly. Keep the jaw relaxed and teeth apart. Breathe through either the nose or mouth, whichever is easier. 4. Work the cross connections. There are a lot of cross connections between the jaw and other areas of the body, which means you can influence the jaw by improving posture, alignment, strength and flexibility in other areas of the body. Important cross connections include the upper neck, the shoulders, and the pelvis. Jaw-Neck: The fulcrum for movement of the jaw, i.e., opening and closing the mouth, is between C1 and C2 (joints in the cervical spine). This is known as Guzay's Theorem. This means that the neck and jaw are directly influencing one another every time we open and close the mouth. This is a very important fact for yoga teachers to know. If a student has jaw tension, they will have upper neck tension. If they have upper neck tension, they will have jaw tension. These two can't really be separated. On the plus side, if we work to release the upper neck (for example, through passive traction in Downward-Facing Dog pose), this can have a positive impact on the jaw, if we remember to relax the jaw. It will be less effective if we are unconsciously clenching. A simple reminder to open the mouth slightly and relax the jaw can help a lot. Shoulders-Jaw: Stabilize the shoulder girdle and invite passive traction (or gentle extension if upright) of neck and head. Keep teeth apart and jaw relaxed. You could also do this in Downward-Facing Dog, for instance. Pelvis-Jaw: Opening the hips with awareness of the jaw can provide a lot of benefits when working with jaw tension. Practice a modified Lion Face pose (i.e., explore gently opening and closing the mouth to invite release of neck & jaw) while in standing poses and hip openers to remind yourself of the pelvis-jaw connection. And as to whether our questioner is safe to do these things, I believe so. The Buddha coined a term "ehipassiko," which translates to, "Come and see for yourself" or “Don't just take my word for it, check it out!” I encourage teachers to try out the suggestions I am offering. See whether they work on your own body. Get to know your own patterns, and see what is helpful and what isn't. Then share your best practices with your students. What I am offering comes out of my experience. I have tried to focus on simple, accessible tools—there's a lot more we can do with yoga asana once we get the fundamentals of jaw awareness going. I hope this is helpful. I am curious as to whether these tools work for you. I'd love to hear from you. I keep learning about what works and what doesn't. Send an email to catorshachoy@gmail.com to let me know your best practices—what worked, and what didn't.  Baxter: I don’t know if you have had the same experience as I have, but many of my students with these sorts of symptoms will often have them for quite a while and have not yet seen a doctor to get it medically evaluated. What sort of encouragement do you give to those folks? Cator: Jaw pain/tension can be treated through a variety of modalities. Working together with your doctor and/ or dentist, Craniosacral bodywork is an excellent gentle non-invasive modality for treating many sources of jaw pain. Once we have a clearer sense of what is going on, you can learn self-help techniques, including yoga, mindfulness, conscious relaxation and self-facial massage, which can all support your recovery. Baxter: I know you offer workshops on jaw issues-do you have any upcoming events that interested folks, at least in the Bay Area, could take advantage of? Cator: Yes! My Relieve Jaw Tension through Yoga & Mindfulness Workshop is coming up at a couple locations around the bay this spring: 1. Sunday, April 23, 1:30-4:30p @ California Yoga Center in Mountain View, CA 2. Sunday, June 4, 2-5pm @ The Mindful Body in San Francisco, CA Baxter: Cator, thanks for sharing this information and ideas around jaw pain with us!

Cator Shachoy, E-RYT 500, began the practices of yoga, mindfulness meditation, and energy healing in 1990 to heal chronic illness. Through the regular practice of these disciplines, she recovered her strength and vitality. Cator completed yoga teacher training through both the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco and the Kripalu Yoga Center. She is a mindfulness teacher, and is a certified practitioner of Visionary Craniosacral Bodywork through the Milne Institute. Cator has taught yoga and mindfulness meditation to both adults and youth in San Francisco since 1995, and has a private practice of Craniosacral Bodywork working with adults, children, and infants . See www.catorshachoy.com. She is the founder of Youth Yoga Dharma, and has trained teachers since 2005. See http://ift.tt/2n7e8M0. Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Friday Q&A: Jaw Pain http://ift.tt/2ndKcdY themostdangerous1 http://ift.tt/2mQ4Nro via IFTTT