Jaws: TMJ Exercises

Your jaw is holding something. Jaws is a short, guided set of jaw exercises you can do anywhere, led by a shark who shows you the movement and paces you through it. Most jaw routines are a list of instructions and a stopwatch. This one animates. The shark opens, glides, protrudes and holds alongside you, an intensity meter shows how much effort a movement is meant to take, and one clear cue at a time tells you what to do — so you can set the phone down and just follow along. FOUR WAYS IN, PICKED BY HOW THE DAY IS GOING • Today's special — five exercises drawn fresh every day. The same session all day, a new one tomorrow, and the widest spread of what is in the app. • Daily minimum — five minutes. The one you do when you would rather not. • Flare day — six minutes, gentler. Nothing that asks the jaw to go to the end of its range. • Full session — eleven minutes. Settle, release, mobilise, finish. WHAT IS IN THEM Controlled opening, goldfish exercises (half and full), side-to-side glide, forward glide, jaw circles, tongue-up hold, tongue stretch, yawn stretch, clench and release, resisted opening, closing and lateral movement, and masseter and temporalis release. Each one is drawn, timed and cued. BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO CLENCH TMJ and TMD discomfort, jaw clenching, teeth grinding and bruxism, jaw stiffness after dental work, facial tension that turns up at the end of a stressful day — the same jaw, different reasons for it being tight. The exercises are the standard mobility and self-massage routine, presented so you will actually do it six times a day rather than once. SMALL AND FREQUENT BEATS ONE LONG SESSION Set two to six check-in reminders a day and Jaws will nudge you — "teeth apart, ten seconds" — at intervals through your waking hours. The check-in itself takes ten seconds. THE SHARK KEEPS SCORE Practise and he relaxes. Skip a couple of days and he starts to grip. Hold a week and he becomes insufferable about it. Your streak, your last seven days and your most-practised exercises are all on one screen. NO ACCOUNT NEEDED Open it and begin. Every session, the streak, the history and the reminders work straight away, with no sign-up and no email address — it is all kept on your phone. If you want it on more than one phone, an account is there: sign in with an email address, Google or Apple and your streak, history and settings follow you to a new device instead of starting again. Whatever you practised before signing up comes with you. No ads, no ad identifiers, and nothing sold or shared. Clear your progress, or delete the account outright, from the Profile screen whenever you like. Jaws is a self-care and mobility app, not medical advice. If your jaw locks, clicks painfully, or stings rather than stretches, stop and speak to a dentist or physiotherapist.