Another perspective would be to view it through a tension-contraction-collapse model. When we experience chronic stress and trauma that the body cannot discharge, the tension is 'stuck' in the body which you experience as tightness, knots, adhesions, contractions, etc.
Thus, the tension literally contracts the body, pulling in muscle, fascia, nerves, tissue, etc. This physical contraction is what causes the 'deflationary' or 'collapse' effect - the body literally collapsing into itself through tension. And of course, many regulatory systems get affected- blood cannot flow smoothly, nerves are numbed out, ligament shorten, fascia bunches up, etc. Thus, this physical tension literally contracts and compromises the biomechanics of the body.
However, when this tension is discharged- when the trauma is released - when the body relaxes, then the contractions naturally unwind and release. The body gradually expands and relaxes back into its optimal state, energy flow is restored, all bodymind functions are rejuvenated and the person is reborn. Like a cramp in the calf that finally relaxes and returns to its original length and state of ease.
This explains why people age and their biomechanics can collapse even without orthodontics. The accumulation of undischarged tension gradually wears away the person - unless they realise that they can actually discharge this tension by simply listening and allowing the body to do so.
As you've noticed, exercise and yoga can discharge some of this tension. But often, the tension-discharge achieved by these activities are not the optimal ones the body can effect, or are insufficient to fully discharge chronic and deep-seated tensions. In fact, a lot of body-work simply 'mimic' the bodymind's own intelligent tension-discharge mechanisms, in the same way wearing a mouthguard can 'mimic' a state of relaxation-expansion through the jaw. Effective enough to be of some help and relief, but far from the 'optimal' discharge that can be achieved.
And of course, certain traumatic events can significantly injure the body, the same way certain types of orthodontics can radically impair its biomechanics. Extreme abuse, extreme trauma, war, rape, murder, etc can create so much stress and trauma that precipitates collapse even quicker than orthodontics. The collapse from extreme trauma can occur in weeks, days, hours compared to the months or years that orthodontics takes.
But of course, healing can also take place much faster. When the body is able to relax and discharge a particularly severe trauma, which can sometimes happen when doing conventional bodywork, healing can seem to take place miraculously.
You can release this tension in the body and it will have a similar effect as working via the mouth with a mouthguard.
The problem that i think a lot of folks will face when 'only' working via the body is the fact that working the body will (in my experience) change the dental occlusion.
imo, what usually happens that causes the 'reversion' is because the mental habits do not change enough to support the physical release. eg, if a person assumes and expects that 'it is normal to worry about money, insurance, savings', etc, then even when after one session of tension-release where he feels less anxious, but the tension is not yet fully discharged, when the reduced-anxiety returns, he can re-generate and re-accumulate tension by engaging in those anxiety thought patterns and re-charge it. but if there is already an insight that 'i don't need to worry about money, etc, though i still feel anxious', then after the release, when the reduced-anxiety thought comes, the person will know not to engage with the thought-pattern. if he can prevent the re-accumulation of tension, then there will be a compounding effect.
so this was my experience. I had a spiritual practice of 15+ years when I practised ideas of acceptance, surrender, trust in god etc. but I didn't know about physical release, so I only had mental practice of surrender. whilst this mental practice only helped me very gradually release my tensions, it did help me from 'accumulating' any new tension, such that I did not experience any signs of 'aging' or 'worsening', at least that I could notice. my happiness progress that I tracked went from a 5.5 to 6.5 over 15~ years which was very slow progress in my view, but you could at least say things didn't get worse. and then when I discovered and 'added' the body practice...the progress was incredible. I would say my happiness initially jumped to a 7 after the first week, then stabilised to a 7.5 in the next 7 weeks. Imo, the 'initial' stages are where the most 'noticeable' gains are often made as the initial surface tensions that are not as deeply 'set' in the body are released, and then progress is more gradual as the body moves onto more chronic and deep-seated tensions. but who knows, perhaps there will be an unexpected 'spike' in the future.
so most people who go for bodywork like yoga, massage, exercise, etc may experience improvement as you noticed, but then it reverts and just becomes a cycle of treading water. but at least they do slow down their decline or 'maintain' their state. the surface tensions are more easily released and acquired, and it is only when a consistent enough practice is established that deeper tensions and structures can be worked on.
so I think this is where reviv and a focus on biomechanics can be of great service. because the people interested in 'metaphysics' and spirituality' is even less than the people interested in 'biomechanics-physics'. you may find that suggesting to people 'trust in God' is even harder than getting them to wear a mouthguard. so a focus on 'supporting' the biomechanics is something that can help many 'hold on' and compound their gains especially for those who cannot help but 're-accumulate' and 're-charge' tension throughout the day.
as I did the body-release practice, the tightness in my right suboccipital loosened a lot, and my right eye which had 'collapsed' into the socket since I was a child so that it looked visibly smaller than my left eye for many years had an incredibly rapid and noticeable improvement. whilst previously it was around 60~% of my left eye, after 3 days it became around 70~%. after a month, it became around 80%. after 2 months, there is still improvement but not as noticeable so let's leave it at ~80%. so I believe if you do this body practice consistently enough such that any re-accumulation of tension is less than what you discharge, it greatly aids in changing the structure as well, thus both body practice and biomechanics supports each other.
you might have already noticed...that in fact, the body is constantly 'eager' to discharge tension and unwind itself. its simply a matter of 'paying attention' and allowing it to do so. its just that as you get healthier and better, there is a greater interest and motivation to do 'other things' besides body release. so i believe if you do the body practice, just a few seconds or minutes every hour or so, any 're-charge' of tension can be more or less released. if your biomechanics and general health (both physical and mental) is poor, possibly it is easier to 're-charge' tension, but i'm sure you've noticed that as your biomechanics improves, the entire system just becomes more robust and doesn't 're-charge' tension as easily.
it is as you said in one of your posts that physics transcends chemistry. if your bio-mechanics is poor, then chemistry (diet and nutrition and biochemistry) matters. if your bio-mechanics is strong, then the 'laws and limitations' that a lower level is subject to no longer applies. my speculation is that perhaps if your metaphysics (willingness to trust, love, surrender, relax) is strong, then your bio-mechanics also matters less.
I explored your 'structure' theory by checking up on a few spiritual teachers that I believe to have reached a high level of realisation. david berceli, the founder of TRE, ramana maharshi, david hoffmeister, eckhart tolle, adyashanti. There are several theories why 'realised' beings' can age and fall sick, but at the moment, I don't see a point in speculating. But one thing is very consistent is that the highly spiritually-realised people all have very good facial structure even if their spine is not as good.
I read that you believe that you have not observed a person with a good side profile and facial structure that also has poor spine posture or something along those lines. Which I agree as that seems to be my own personal observation as well. But Ramana Maharshi might be the exception to the rule. If you watch the video below, he is obviously severely twisted on one side, but if one looks at his face, eyes and side profile, one would think that he was still very healthy and full of vitality. incredibly interesting!
If someone got orthodontics from a very young age and therefore damage the soft tissue, then could that theoretically stunt growth? Could that be reversed if growth plates for example are fused?
Another perspective would be to view it through a tension-contraction-collapse model. When we experience chronic stress and trauma that the body cannot discharge, the tension is 'stuck' in the body which you experience as tightness, knots, adhesions, contractions, etc.
Thus, the tension literally contracts the body, pulling in muscle, fascia, nerves, tissue, etc. This physical contraction is what causes the 'deflationary' or 'collapse' effect - the body literally collapsing into itself through tension. And of course, many regulatory systems get affected- blood cannot flow smoothly, nerves are numbed out, ligament shorten, fascia bunches up, etc. Thus, this physical tension literally contracts and compromises the biomechanics of the body.
However, when this tension is discharged- when the trauma is released - when the body relaxes, then the contractions naturally unwind and release. The body gradually expands and relaxes back into its optimal state, energy flow is restored, all bodymind functions are rejuvenated and the person is reborn. Like a cramp in the calf that finally relaxes and returns to its original length and state of ease.
This explains why people age and their biomechanics can collapse even without orthodontics. The accumulation of undischarged tension gradually wears away the person - unless they realise that they can actually discharge this tension by simply listening and allowing the body to do so.
As you've noticed, exercise and yoga can discharge some of this tension. But often, the tension-discharge achieved by these activities are not the optimal ones the body can effect, or are insufficient to fully discharge chronic and deep-seated tensions. In fact, a lot of body-work simply 'mimic' the bodymind's own intelligent tension-discharge mechanisms, in the same way wearing a mouthguard can 'mimic' a state of relaxation-expansion through the jaw. Effective enough to be of some help and relief, but far from the 'optimal' discharge that can be achieved.
And of course, certain traumatic events can significantly injure the body, the same way certain types of orthodontics can radically impair its biomechanics. Extreme abuse, extreme trauma, war, rape, murder, etc can create so much stress and trauma that precipitates collapse even quicker than orthodontics. The collapse from extreme trauma can occur in weeks, days, hours compared to the months or years that orthodontics takes.
But of course, healing can also take place much faster. When the body is able to relax and discharge a particularly severe trauma, which can sometimes happen when doing conventional bodywork, healing can seem to take place miraculously.
yes good points.. and i agree.
You can release this tension in the body and it will have a similar effect as working via the mouth with a mouthguard.
The problem that i think a lot of folks will face when 'only' working via the body is the fact that working the body will (in my experience) change the dental occlusion.
I used to test this stuff a ton back in the day.. i wrote about it a bit here: https://reviv.substack.com/p/a-tracking-splint-is-the-compass?utm_source=publication-search
And so by releasing tension in the body u in fact improve curve of spee a bit and a small posterior open bite is formed.
But if u dont support this new bite, it reverts back to the old way your teeth occluded.
And so releasing only via the body becomes a never ending cycle.. instead of clearly compounding results.
At least that is what ive observed....
imo, what usually happens that causes the 'reversion' is because the mental habits do not change enough to support the physical release. eg, if a person assumes and expects that 'it is normal to worry about money, insurance, savings', etc, then even when after one session of tension-release where he feels less anxious, but the tension is not yet fully discharged, when the reduced-anxiety returns, he can re-generate and re-accumulate tension by engaging in those anxiety thought patterns and re-charge it. but if there is already an insight that 'i don't need to worry about money, etc, though i still feel anxious', then after the release, when the reduced-anxiety thought comes, the person will know not to engage with the thought-pattern. if he can prevent the re-accumulation of tension, then there will be a compounding effect.
so this was my experience. I had a spiritual practice of 15+ years when I practised ideas of acceptance, surrender, trust in god etc. but I didn't know about physical release, so I only had mental practice of surrender. whilst this mental practice only helped me very gradually release my tensions, it did help me from 'accumulating' any new tension, such that I did not experience any signs of 'aging' or 'worsening', at least that I could notice. my happiness progress that I tracked went from a 5.5 to 6.5 over 15~ years which was very slow progress in my view, but you could at least say things didn't get worse. and then when I discovered and 'added' the body practice...the progress was incredible. I would say my happiness initially jumped to a 7 after the first week, then stabilised to a 7.5 in the next 7 weeks. Imo, the 'initial' stages are where the most 'noticeable' gains are often made as the initial surface tensions that are not as deeply 'set' in the body are released, and then progress is more gradual as the body moves onto more chronic and deep-seated tensions. but who knows, perhaps there will be an unexpected 'spike' in the future.
so most people who go for bodywork like yoga, massage, exercise, etc may experience improvement as you noticed, but then it reverts and just becomes a cycle of treading water. but at least they do slow down their decline or 'maintain' their state. the surface tensions are more easily released and acquired, and it is only when a consistent enough practice is established that deeper tensions and structures can be worked on.
so I think this is where reviv and a focus on biomechanics can be of great service. because the people interested in 'metaphysics' and spirituality' is even less than the people interested in 'biomechanics-physics'. you may find that suggesting to people 'trust in God' is even harder than getting them to wear a mouthguard. so a focus on 'supporting' the biomechanics is something that can help many 'hold on' and compound their gains especially for those who cannot help but 're-accumulate' and 're-charge' tension throughout the day.
as I did the body-release practice, the tightness in my right suboccipital loosened a lot, and my right eye which had 'collapsed' into the socket since I was a child so that it looked visibly smaller than my left eye for many years had an incredibly rapid and noticeable improvement. whilst previously it was around 60~% of my left eye, after 3 days it became around 70~%. after a month, it became around 80%. after 2 months, there is still improvement but not as noticeable so let's leave it at ~80%. so I believe if you do this body practice consistently enough such that any re-accumulation of tension is less than what you discharge, it greatly aids in changing the structure as well, thus both body practice and biomechanics supports each other.
you might have already noticed...that in fact, the body is constantly 'eager' to discharge tension and unwind itself. its simply a matter of 'paying attention' and allowing it to do so. its just that as you get healthier and better, there is a greater interest and motivation to do 'other things' besides body release. so i believe if you do the body practice, just a few seconds or minutes every hour or so, any 're-charge' of tension can be more or less released. if your biomechanics and general health (both physical and mental) is poor, possibly it is easier to 're-charge' tension, but i'm sure you've noticed that as your biomechanics improves, the entire system just becomes more robust and doesn't 're-charge' tension as easily.
it is as you said in one of your posts that physics transcends chemistry. if your bio-mechanics is poor, then chemistry (diet and nutrition and biochemistry) matters. if your bio-mechanics is strong, then the 'laws and limitations' that a lower level is subject to no longer applies. my speculation is that perhaps if your metaphysics (willingness to trust, love, surrender, relax) is strong, then your bio-mechanics also matters less.
I explored your 'structure' theory by checking up on a few spiritual teachers that I believe to have reached a high level of realisation. david berceli, the founder of TRE, ramana maharshi, david hoffmeister, eckhart tolle, adyashanti. There are several theories why 'realised' beings' can age and fall sick, but at the moment, I don't see a point in speculating. But one thing is very consistent is that the highly spiritually-realised people all have very good facial structure even if their spine is not as good.
I read that you believe that you have not observed a person with a good side profile and facial structure that also has poor spine posture or something along those lines. Which I agree as that seems to be my own personal observation as well. But Ramana Maharshi might be the exception to the rule. If you watch the video below, he is obviously severely twisted on one side, but if one looks at his face, eyes and side profile, one would think that he was still very healthy and full of vitality. incredibly interesting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcvuctV0FJo
Very clear article as usual! Thank you.
If adult teeth were extracted, what does one do now? No implants correct? I guess the question is, what would Ken do?
If someone got orthodontics from a very young age and therefore damage the soft tissue, then could that theoretically stunt growth? Could that be reversed if growth plates for example are fused?
That's a great question!!