Hello,
I’ve heard the terms hard mew and soft mew a lot but don’t actually know what they mean and the differences between them. What are their differences?
Also, I’ve noticed a lot of people end up getting an asymmetrical face or looking worse after mewing. How does one avoid this?
See soft mewing is using suction to keep your tongue up and you just apply just enough pressure to keep it up and hard mewing is using sheer force from your tongue to get fast results, this is very harmful because expanding the palate faster then the maxilla remodels doesn't allow the teeth align correctly. This has made my molars tip out.
You can use an appropriate amount of pressure to guide growth latterly, upwards and forwards. Remember to keep the tip of your tongue on the incisive papilla and use diaphragmic breathing.
What you refer to as soft mewing is just the standard mewing advised by Dr. Mike Mew in his videos. Hard mewing is a concept that was developed by forum users, under the assumption that it can speed up results and help people with very poor facial form. It has been discussed allot. If you like I can link for you several of my posts where I explain why hard mewing is wrong.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
What you refer to as soft mewing is just the standard mewing advised by Dr. Mike Mew in his videos. Hard mewing is a concept that was developed by forum users, under the assumption that it can speed up results and help people with very poor facial form. It has been discussed allot. If you like I can link for you several of my posts where I explain why hard mewing is wrong.
Hard mewing is only "wrong" if you don't know what your doing.
Would you try to deadlift 400 lbs with only your back? No.
Would I hard mew if I didn't research proper technique and make sure I am chin tucking, abs walking, tongue chewing, working on sleeping habits, etc? Absolutely not.
Remember that "hard" and "soft" are all relative terms. I think of "hard mewing" as actively pushing up forcefully with my tongue, while "soft mewing" is just passive good oral posture with the tongue firmly engaging the palate without conscious effort. However, as you build up the resting muscle tone of the tongue and the masseters, the actual force of passive tongue posture increases. I use active/hard tongue pressure as an exercise to help build up my passive resting tone.
Hard mewing is only "wrong" if you don't know what your doing.
Would you try to deadlift 400 lbs with only your back? No.
Would I hard mew if I didn't research proper technique and make sure I am chin tucking, abs walking, tongue chewing, working on sleeping habits, etc? Absolutely not.
Since you speak of research, what is your source for supporting hard mewing?
If you had the ability to research Dr. Mew's video content by the word "hard" you would find that he only uses it to describe the effort not the force. Here is an interesting example I found while doing research for the the swallowing paper I am writing:
"I often say as you get in the mew push swallow you should try for practice to bite as hard as you can and at the same time pushing your tongue on the roof of the mouth as hard as you can and you need to hold that for ten seconds with your back of your tongue up there, don't forget, and then just half it, then half that force, half that force again, half it, half it, half it, half it, until you got a very faint light force pushing. The teeth should be touching with what we refer to as butterfly bite, your teeth should not bet getting together hard, just touching very lightly."
https://youtu.be/8d5awyc_ZQ8?t=291
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
My face ended up asymetrical because of «hard» mewing. I went for six months without knowing my tongue was not in the right position. The result of this was that only the right side of my face «grew». Thankfully after re-adjusting my tongue, my left side seems to be catching up quickly.
My difference is that I wear a retainer at night and so I can’t really place my tongue on the incisive papilla and tend to place it right where the hard and soft palate meet. I soft mew mostly with the point on my tongue at that spot but also hard mew a bit more frequently. If I cease hard mewing and soft mew in that position, will I still get the same results of good facial growth (albeit slower than hard mewing) if I keep my tongue tip there?
Could someone also also explain what “abs walk” is? I’ve been doing some diaphragm breathing and some chin tuck reps daily, but I haven’t heard of abs walk before
My difference is that I wear a retainer at night and so I can’t really place my tongue on the incisive papilla and tend to place it right where the hard and soft palate meet. I soft mew mostly with the point on my tongue at that spot but also hard mew a bit more frequently. If I cease hard mewing and soft mew in that position, will I still get the same results of good facial growth (albeit slower than hard mewing) if I keep my tongue tip there?
Could someone also also explain what “abs walk” is? I’ve been doing some diaphragm breathing and some chin tuck reps daily, but I haven’t heard of abs walk before
What kind of retainer are you using? Most likely its going to stop you from achieving any results plus your tongue posture seems far from ideal. That might not be helping either.
The abs walk is a recent video by Dr. Mew. He attempts to teach people how to engage their abdominal and core muscles while walking to achieve proper posture.
I think it's correct to use walking to make postural gains but he oversimplifies the issue. Some people can't even engage cretin core muscles while standing, let alone in action. So it takes way more than that to achieve proper posture for many people.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
What you refer to as soft mewing is just the standard mewing advised by Dr. Mike Mew in his videos. Hard mewing is a concept that was developed by forum users, under the assumption that it can speed up results and help people with very poor facial form. It has been discussed allot. If you like I can link for you several of my posts where I explain why hard mewing is wrong.
While there hasn't been a lot of research done on "hard mewing," calling it "wrong" is unscientific. It's like the Catholic church saying Galileo was wrong. Lack of research does not equal wrong. It may work for you, it may not, but there hasn't been enough research to say anything conclusively.
My difference is that I wear a retainer at night and so I can’t really place my tongue on the incisive papilla and tend to place it right where the hard and soft palate meet. I soft mew mostly with the point on my tongue at that spot but also hard mew a bit more frequently. If I cease hard mewing and soft mew in that position, will I still get the same results of good facial growth (albeit slower than hard mewing) if I keep my tongue tip there?
Could someone also also explain what “abs walk” is? I’ve been doing some diaphragm breathing and some chin tuck reps daily, but I haven’t heard of abs walk before
What kind of retainer are you using? Most likely its going to stop you from achieving any results plus your tongue posture seems far from ideal. That might not be helping either.
The abs walk is a recent video by Dr. Mew. He attempts to teach people how to engage their abdominal and core muscles while walking to achieve proper posture.
I think it's correct to use walking to make postural gains but he oversimplifies the issue. Some people can't even engage cretin core muscles while standing, let alone in action. So it takes way more than that to achieve proper posture for many people.
When you say far from ideal, do you think I should put the tip of the tongue up to that spot before the 2 front teeth (but not touching the teeth) instead of having the tip of the tongue at the bottom of that slope where my hard palate meets my soft one?
Even if I mew during day and can’t mew at night due to retainer, can I still get results?
While there hasn't been a lot of research done on "hard mewing," calling it "wrong" is unscientific. It's like the Catholic church saying Galileo was wrong. Lack of research does not equal wrong. It may work for you, it may not, but there hasn't been enough research to say anything conclusively.
Except, Galileo did his research and proponents of Hard Mewing did not. And if they did they would find nothing scientific to support hard mewing. Just bunch of claims made by people who we do not even know by their real names.
I rather stick with Dr. Mike Mew's views and I am happy to change mine if he suggests otherwise. Besides what he is saying is pretty much well established in the myofunctional profession, which is the most concerned with this issue.
They are treating thousands of children every year with normal mewing techniques and achieving great success. Hard mewing on the other hand, consciously pushing hard with the tongue for extended periods, contradicts many of the principles they follow to achieve such success.
If you are desperate for change get a proper treatment with an expander. Why do you think Dr. Mew offers his treatment with the hybrid appliance to select adults? When I had my first consultation with Dr. Mew I asked him specifically "can I (as a 35 year old adult with a 34mm inter molar width) achieve expansion on my own?" His answer was "NO, you need a trainer to help you learn to keep your mouth closed while sleeping".
This underpins the most important principle governing mewing, all the magic happens at night. And all the work you do in the day is to support that process. Do you really think your tongue will stay up after all the hard pushing you have done throughout the day? No it will drop down like a dead animal after getting shot by a high caliber rifle.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
I'd highly recommend all users read Esther Gokhale's "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back". Dr. Mew highlights a few methods to attain proper posture, but Gokhale's guide is far-more useful and detailed. Everything she says can be used to one's benefit.
One issue I take with her philosophy, however, is her neglect of proper oral posture. She fails to connect the tongue's positioning within the cranium to a healthy spinal posture, which ultimately opens the door to potential relapse. Many of her patients experience immediate relief, but without the tongue's plastering to the upper palate, most will go on to once again adopt poor posture. This being said, The Great Work can use both her and Dr. Mew's research and techniques to reestablish total balance of the body.
Please give her words a chance.
Thanks, I am familiar with her work and have picked up few great tips from it. Her work is among the best I found from the 20+ professionals in this field that I reviewed.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
When you say far from ideal, do you think I should put the tip of the tongue up to that spot before the 2 front teeth (but not touching the teeth) instead of having the tip of the tongue at the bottom of that slope where my hard palate meets my soft one?
Even if I mew during day and can’t mew at night due to retainer, can I still get results?
Well, the tip of your tongue should push lightly against the N spot (the area you describe). I think it's better if you put it in the right spot throughout the day and then let it go where it has to over the retainer at night. This way when you are done with the retainer you don't have to retrain your tongue to go to the right spot.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
When you say far from ideal, do you think I should put the tip of the tongue up to that spot before the 2 front teeth (but not touching the teeth) instead of having the tip of the tongue at the bottom of that slope where my hard palate meets my soft one?
Even if I mew during day and can’t mew at night due to retainer, can I still get results?
Well, the tip of your tongue should push lightly against the N spot (the area you describe). I think it's better if you put it in the right spot throughout the day and then let it go where it has to over the retainer at night. This way when you are done with the retainer you don't have to retrain your tongue to go to the right spot.
Ok, thank you. I have a small space in between my top and bottom teeth which my dentist is trying to get rid of, however my teeth are straight (except for a couple on the bottom). To summarize - if I put my tongue at the “n spot” and soft mew, ensuring my tongue is not squished up against my teeth, and not squished against that gap, I will see results within a few months most likely? It feels like my tongue is touching my teeth a little bit which shouldn’t be happening when I press my tongue at the n spot so just confirming.
While there hasn't been a lot of research done on "hard mewing," calling it "wrong" is unscientific. It's like the Catholic church saying Galileo was wrong. Lack of research does not equal wrong. It may work for you, it may not, but there hasn't been enough research to say anything conclusively.
Except, Galileo did his research and proponents of Hard Mewing did not. And if they did they would find nothing scientific to support hard mewing. Just bunch of claims made by people who we do not even know by their real names.
I rather stick with Dr. Mike Mew's views and I am happy to change mine if he suggests otherwise. Besides what he is saying is pretty much well established in the myofunctional profession, which is the most concerned with this issue.
They are treating thousands of children every year with normal mewing techniques and achieving great success. Hard mewing on the other hand, consciously pushing hard with the tongue for extended periods, contradicts many of the principles they follow to achieve such success.
If you are desperate for change get a proper treatment with an expander. Why do you think Dr. Mew offers his treatment with the hybrid appliance to select adults? When I had my first consultation with Dr. Mew I asked him specifically "can I (as a 35 year old adult with a 34mm inter molar width) achieve expansion on my own?" His answer was "NO, you need a trainer to help you learn to keep your mouth closed while sleeping".
This underpins the most important principle governing mewing, all the magic happens at night. And all the work you do in the day is to support that process. Do you really think your tongue will stay up after all the hard pushing you have done throughout the day? No it will drop down like a dead animal after getting shot by a high caliber rifle.
I should clarify - you are correct in that Mike Mew does not advocate hard mewing.
That much is clear.
If you are looking to follow Mike Mew specifically, don't hard mew.
*That said*, there is anecdotal evidence from people on this forum who have hard mewed and had success (with fairly convincing pictures included). Like I said in a previous thread, whether their success is actually attributable to specifically hard mewing or not is up for debate.
But if we're for the advancement/promotion of good oral posture, we shouldn't be afraid of hard mewing (with the caveat that we're not sure what changes to your face - beneficial or detrimental - it could make at this point in time).
Experimentation is the only way humans/science has ever made any progress. Someone has to take the first step and test the waters.
So if you're saying it's wrong with respect specifically to Mew's teachings in general, fair enough. But if you're saying it's wrong in general, I disagree with that premise. Further research is needed to determine whether its true effects and until then, we can't conclusively say either way.
My face ended up asymetrical because of «hard» mewing. I went for six months without knowing my tongue was not in the right position. The result of this was that only the right side of my face «grew». Thankfully after re-adjusting my tongue, my left side seems to be catching up quickly.
Were you mewing to the right side because of your upper palate being asymmetrical?
Ok, thank you. I have a small space in between my top and bottom teeth which my dentist is trying to get rid of, however my teeth are straight (except for a couple on the bottom). To summarize - if I put my tongue at the “n spot” and soft mew, ensuring my tongue is not squished up against my teeth, and not squished against that gap, I will see results within a few months most likely? It feels like my tongue is touching my teeth a little bit which shouldn’t be happening when I press my tongue at the n spot so just confirming.
As long as you are using a retainer I don't think you will get any results because their function to stop any change.
I don't know if you will get a change in few months. Some young people can but for most it takes time before the results show up.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
I should clarify - you are correct in that Mike Mew does not advocate hard mewing.
That much is clear.
If you are looking to follow Mike Mew specifically, don't hard mew.
*That said*, there is anecdotal evidence from people on this forum who have hard mewed and had success (with fairly convincing pictures included). Like I said in a previous thread, whether their success is actually attributable to specifically hard mewing or not is up for debate.
But if we're for the advancement/promotion of good oral posture, we shouldn't be afraid of hard mewing (with the caveat that we're not sure what changes to your face - beneficial or detrimental - it could make at this point in time).
Experimentation is the only way humans/science has ever made any progress. Someone has to take the first step and test the waters.
So if you're saying it's wrong with respect specifically to Mew's teachings in general, fair enough. But if you're saying it's wrong in general, I disagree with that premise. Further research is needed to determine whether its true effects and until then, we can't conclusively say either way.
You know I am all for advancement of science with experimentation. That's why I believe in mewing, but I can tell you the stuff you are talking about is no where near science. Putting aside that it contradicts Dr. Mew's message, it does not provide the tiniest bit of evidence.
If people take an impression of their teeth and then start hard mewing and then retake an impression few months later and show an expansion I would say yea that is interesting. It still would not be science because it needs to be conducted by professionals in a controlled setting, but at least it would be an encouraging sign to consider.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
I should clarify - you are correct in that Mike Mew does not advocate hard mewing.
That much is clear.
If you are looking to follow Mike Mew specifically, don't hard mew.
*That said*, there is anecdotal evidence from people on this forum who have hard mewed and had success (with fairly convincing pictures included). Like I said in a previous thread, whether their success is actually attributable to specifically hard mewing or not is up for debate.
But if we're for the advancement/promotion of good oral posture, we shouldn't be afraid of hard mewing (with the caveat that we're not sure what changes to your face - beneficial or detrimental - it could make at this point in time).
Experimentation is the only way humans/science has ever made any progress. Someone has to take the first step and test the waters.
So if you're saying it's wrong with respect specifically to Mew's teachings in general, fair enough. But if you're saying it's wrong in general, I disagree with that premise. Further research is needed to determine whether its true effects and until then, we can't conclusively say either way.
You know I am all for advancement of science with experimentation. That's why I believe in mewing, but I can tell you the stuff you are talking about is no where near science. Putting aside that it contradicts Dr. Mew's message, it does not provide the tiniest bit of evidence.
If people take an impression of their teeth and then start hard mewing and then retake an impression few months later and show an expansion I would say yea that is interesting. It still would not be science because it needs to be conducted by professionals in a controlled setting, but at least it would be an encouraging sign to consider.
Agreed, it's not science, it's a hypothesis. All science starts with a hypothesis. What we must avoid is falling into the trap of shutting down the hypothesis before the science has even been conducted.
I have one side of the jaw that is bigger (much)
Can i even it out my mewing with the teeth in contact on the weak side ?
Thank you all!
hard mewing is using sheer force from your tongue to get fast results, this is very harmful because expanding the palate faster then the maxilla remodels doesn't allow the teeth align correctly. This has made my molars tip out.
You might be right on the money on this. I've had this happening to me and this is what convinced me against hard mewing.
My molars are now misaligned.
Is it okay that the master (dont know what its called) muscle of my right show is more bigger than left when I bite with full force btw it's a very very significant difference
Skull and Jaw Correction
Join hundreds who are Tensegrity Mewing, enhancing the good results of mewing and reversing damage. Free Newsletter and Classes
Your email is safe with us, we don’t spam