Yep, you really can improve your teeth by practicing yoga. It is just one of those weird benefits that yoga brings to you.
Yoga helps to reduce TMJ disorder, a condition in which the body’s lower jaw is in misalignment with the upper, increasing the chances of teeth grinding that wears away the top of the teeth, making it uneven and look unsightly. Stress is also reduced by yoga which might otherwise worsen inflammations in the mouth, cause reduced saliva production and increase bruxism.
All these and more are the ways yoga helps to improve your teeth. The following are three yoga poses you can do to improve your teeth.
1. Sitkari Yoga Technique (Teeth hissing)
Sit down with your teeth clenched together, lips open, then inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose, for up to 10 times in a row. You should be making a hissing sound every time you inhale (hence the name of the pose), and your mouth should be cool as a result.
This pose is especially good for those who have excessive acids in their mouth through the action of bacteria that may be damaging teeth, and causing tooth decay.
2. Sheetali pranayama (Cooling breath)
This pose is similar to the teeth hissing pose. Bring your tongue outside your mouth, and roll the sides up, inhaling through the mouth, and exhaling slowly through your nostrils. Do this for about 10 times.
3. Sarvangasana
This pose has been thought to correct many complications that especially occur in the head region, including pyorrhea (gum disease), tooth decay, and many other complications of the mouth, by pumping more blood to the region. You will need a vertical surface (like a wall) for this pose.
Take a deep breath, then push in your abdomen, and put your legs on the wall, and push closer to it, till your shoulders and head are the only part of your back left on the floor; raising your legs higher on the wall. Bend your head, and rest your chin on your chest, while focusing on your toes. Make sure your legs are straight and closed, and your back is completely flat on the wall, as you continue breathing normally with your abdomen still contracted.
Image courtesy of: womenfitness.net, rejuvalase.com.