0795 - The ‘Mouth’s Mystery Muscle’

2023.03.06 – 0795 - The ‘Mouth’s Mystery Muscle’

Tongue Root Tension and the ‘Mouth’s Mystery Muscle’

We all know about the tongue yeah? We can see it in our mouth, we know it is very sensitive to temperature, taste and texture (babies instinctively feel things with their tongue), and its complex fibres and nerves makes an extraordinary range of precise movements possible for speaking[1] (Episode 76 “Your Multi-Function Mouth Muscle” has the full list of the tongue’s eight great attributes).

But hidden from view the less-sensitive part of the tongue connects into the larynx via the hyoid bone.

A ‘tight tongue’ limits your range. If the underlying muscle is tight, the larynx can’t move as easily. The result of that is that then other muscles (the ‘wrong ones’) are used to move it instead, which means more effort to create the sound (and not the best sound either) which leads in turn to muscular and laryngeal strain and fatigue, and so causing more tightness.

A tense-free tongue therefore has a hugely beneficial effect.

[1] Or even tying a knot with a cherry stalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFqv-QOSDfg and https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/magazine/how-to-knot-a-cherry-stem-with-your-tongue.html

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