The wonders of yoga as part of your mindful living journey are truly remarkable. Your All About Smiles holistic dentist in Wilmington will tell you to consider starting a yoga routine if you’re healthy and able. We’ll also greatly encourage you to continue your yoga practices, no matter what your skill level.
Like the American Osteopathic Association, we support yoga because it focuses on your body’s natural tendency and ability to heal itself to enjoy increased overall health. Your holistic dentist also supports your yoga efforts because, believe it or not; it can actually help your smile stay healthy too. Don’t believe it? Read on!
Yoga is designed to help you build strength in your muscles and bones, but it’s also extremely beneficial at helping you live a more mindful life while creating harmony between both your mind and body. There are over 100 different kinds or schools of yoga for you to choose from. You’ll often find classes or teachings involve meditation, breathing exercises, and stretches.
People who practice yoga will tell you that they enjoy less lower back pain, arthritis, headaches, high blood pressure, and insomnia. Yoga is also effective at:
– Helping you lose weight
– Increasing your muscle tone
– Improving your breathing and balance
– Improving your heart and circulatory health
As you can see (or you may already know)), yoga is so much more than just exercise, and your holistic dentist in Wilmington will tell you that it’s going to help your teeth too.
So, you’ve heard about the many benefits of yoga on your mind, body, and spirit. But let’s talk about what it can do for your teeth. Yoga can help with:
1) Jaw Pain – When you practice yoga, you should find that over time your posture will improve. When your posture is out of alignment, we tend to slouch, and this can affect your jaw and your bite. Bad posture can lead to complications or with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and lead to health problems like temporomandibular disorder (TMD).
2) Saliva Production – Certain breathing techniques used in yoga can help your mouth to create more saliva, and that’s good news for your teeth. Increased saliva production can help keep bad bacteria from attacking your teeth causing deterioration and decay. Having more saliva in your mouth also helps to prevent dry mouth (xerostomia) and bad breath odors.
3) Inflammation – When yoga helps your body fight inflammation, you should take comfort in knowing it’s probably helping your gums too. When you’re stressed, your gums can become inflamed. It’s a natural reaction your body has when the stress hormone known as cortisol is released. If your gums are swollen or inflamed, they could be at increased risk for gum disease. Your teeth could then become at risk for decay or becoming loose.
Your holistic dentist in Wilmington hopes you learned a little bit about yoga and the positive effects it can have on your mind, body, soul, and mouth. Yoga can also help you manage stressful situations, develop solid coping skills, and enjoy a more positive outlook on life. If you have questions about this blog topic or want to learn more about gum disease, please talk to us. We love hearing from you and answering your holistic dentistry questions!
It all adds up to better health, smile, body, and spirit!