Myofunctional Sarah

This beautiful little guy and his mom came to visit me today for a Myo munchee and to discuss mouth breathing. We tried some Myo tape with him and mom is massaging under his chin here to help get the tongue up to the roof of his mouth! I’m so excited for this little guy and his mom who cares so much about setting her little guy up for success. Reach out if your little one shows signs of oral dysfunction!

I have been pretty quiet on here with my summer holidays! But yesterday I had a full day of clients back to back and I’m so grateful to everyone booking in and taking time out of their summer to come see me! Your health is a priority and it’s so nice to see so many of you proving you know that too! Reminder: tongued up, lips closed, breathe through your nose! Snoring and mouth breathing isn’t normal just because it’s common! And bring your babies to see Corinne right away and see me by 4 months to ensure your littles are developing optimally ❤️ happy long weekend from me and one of my little boss babes who came to visit me at work!

Today I hiked with a six year old on my back and really needed to focus on my nasal breathing during the points of elevation. during physical activity is a game changer! Make sure you’re breathing through your nose all the time!

My twins couldn’t be more different in EVERY way! And myofunctionally speaking it’s no different! Look at Lenny’s tongue posture! She’s missing a tooth early due to a trauma but it helps you see where her tongue is: on the roof of her mouth! Asher has a significant open bite so if her tongue posture was correct you’d be able to see it too, but because her thumb is always in her mouth her tongue has been trained to sit in the floor of her mouth! It’s something we are working on! Check your tongue posture! Tongues up, lips closed, nasal breathing is the way to go! 👌👌👌

Always learning to support our clients better! Parents biggest concern when it comes to is usually but if parents are educated and supported to only offer developmentally appropriate foods, there is no increased risk when compared to babies!

Look at that straight up and down, no tongue spilling over and able to suction the posterior of my tongue as well! So happy I decided to do the release!

At Epione we have NDs, chiro, RMTs and an OMT all ready to work together to help you treat your headaches and improve your quality of life! Reach out to the clinic and Courtney can help book you with the best provider for your condition and goals!

Sometimes I use the kids mouth tape and I may not look sexy, but I’ll sleep better and live longer so it’s okay with me! 😜

The after! I gained 6mm range of motion following the release! I’m still very frozen so no discomfort really! Getting a good photo did make the muscles feel a bit tender, but no pain! I’ll update you in about 6 hours when the long lasting freezing starts to wear off! Now it’s important to do the post frenectomy exercises!

The before! I am at seeing Dr. Gaudet for a function release of a tethered lingual frenum! 🙌🙌 this is going to to be beneficial for my oral function, but also for helping to explain to my clients and know first hand what my clients are experiencing going through a pre/post frenectomy Myo program with me!

Sorry I haven’t posted any myo content today, I was busy crying 😜 my baby girls have graduated jardin and I’m one proud mama! 🥰

It’s sometimes a struggle to get your littles to do the exercises, but if you do it with them, they love it! 😊

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! Especially mine!

Mommy and Asher are working on their because we both have our appointments booked for assessments and hopefully 🙌 Asher also has a consult for early intervention for follow along to see how things progress! I am excited to share our journey with you!

Channeling my inner 😍 Did you know there is a correlation between foot posture and dental malocclusion?!? Good foot posture helps you maintain good body posture, your spine will be straight with your shoulders level, mouth closed; breathing through your nose! Everything in the body is interrelated!

Proud to announce I am a munchee certified practitioner! Please reach out to book your guidance appointment and munchee fitting with me!

My little future OMT doing her oral function reading!

Myospot ✅ Lip seal ✅ I have a difficult time doing both simultaneously on my own so continuing to utilize my tools to help is important for me! It might be important for you as well! Reach out for a discovery call to learn about what myo is and how it can help!

Benefits of a sunrise - reduced inflammation, increased serotonin (can reduce oral habits), promotes healthy circadian rhythm (= more restful sleep), reduced stress (less tension), time away from your device (better head posture- this one is funny right now as I type this post! 🤪), improved weigh loss (can reduce snoring), restore attention (lack of restful sleep can cause inattention), contributes to a healthy routine! Myofunctional therapy should be part of an overall healthy lifestyle for better success! Hope you caught a sunrise this morning!

How NOT to use the ! The forward head posture, lack of awareness (iPad zombie) and inability to swallow properly makes this a terrible munchee activity. I am doing this with her as an additional passive nasal breathing activity but when I want her engaging she cannot have an iPad or distraction and needs to have good posture. One protocol I’m using is munchee dancing/squats - crank the tunes have a dance party and do 15 squats 2x/day for 8 weeks. It takes around 60 days (give or take)to retrain the brain with a new habit, so it’s a commitment for both the child and parent but it has huge positive impact!

Did you know that kids can mouth tape too? Reach out for info about mouth taping for your child!

Happy Mail! Today Asher will start her myo munchee and combined oral habit elimination! Follow our journey and let’s see what kind of progress we can make! 😍

Tongue exercises with one of my little besties! When mommy brings her work home ☺️

I’ve heard this so many times and my own grandparents slept in separate rooms most of my life because of SNORING!

Snoring isn’t just disruptive to your own sleep, it disrupts your partner as well.

But how much snoring is normal?
* Normal: less than 5 events/r
* Mild: 5 to 15 events/hr
* Moderate: 15 to 30 events/hr
* Severe: more than 30 events/hr

Snoring becomes more concerning when there is partial (or complete) obstruction of the airway. These are hypopneas and apneas. These cause a significant decrease in blood oxygenation and point towards sleep apnea.

Did you know that men are much more likely to have sleep apnea than women before menopause however once women hit menopause it switches to women?!? You can’t always blame those husbands, ladies! 🤪

Cardiovascular disease, GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), obesity, depression, impotence, glucose intolerance and bruxism have all been linked to snoring and sleep apnea.

But why does it happen?
The most common cause of airway obstruction is the tongue but nasal passage obstructions and allergies can have an impact as well.

Don’t want to wear a CPAP?
I’ve got you! Although serious cases might require referrals, myofunctional therapy can help strengthen and tone the muscles of the tongue and throat and help alleviate snoring!

I guess you could say I’m helping keep marriages alive! 🤣🤣

Contact me to book a free discovery call to learn more or book your assessment today! Alternatively you can call Epione and Courtney can book you in!

Looking forward to helping you breathe better, sleep better and live better!

🚨IT’S NOT ADHD!!!!🚨

I recently read an article by Dr. Rachaele Carver. Her goal is to educate about the root cause of disease and reclaiming vibrant health. I thought she must cringe at our health system throwing medications at symptoms instead of digging deeper.

According to the CDC, the most prevalent chronic disease in children is sleep disordered breathing. This epidemic is impacting 9/10 children and because it is not being properly diagnosed, there is an alarming increase in the number of children on prescription medications for ADHD, anxiety and depression. The lack of oxygen children are getting during sleep is largely to blame for these rising rates.

Does your child struggle with bedwetting? That too can be related to poor oxygenation.

Is your child hyperactive? This is how children behave when they are tired.

Is your child eating a nutritionally poor diet? It inhibits the development of strong jaws and lip support.

The best time to correct these disorders such as tongue tie, tongue thrust, improper swallowing and narrow airways is during childhood while they are growing.

Let’s get children off of ADHD medications, let’s fuel our children with foods high in nutritional content, let’s educate parents on the non-nutritive benefits of breastfeeding, let’s get babies off of pacifiers and bottles sooner, let’s encourage nasal breathing, let’s recognize and correct small airways and malocclusion early!

Book your discovery call with me to discuss
How can help your child reduce the need for medications for their symptoms of ADHD - because as you know now; they are also symptoms of sleep disordered breathing. (Some children may and do have psychological causes for their behaviours in which case OMT alone won’t be beneficial and a team approach to their care is necessary.)

Happy Good Friday to those who celebrate and happy long weekend to the rest of you!

If you’re having a big family Dinner this weekend and your little one has all the signs of readiness, consider working on their oral function by giving them turkey with you!

This helpful graphic from shows appropriate ways to serve it at different ages!

And skip that sippy cup!!! Work on straw skills or open cups for an added « workout! »

Soft diets, high in nutrient-poor foods, protein deficiencies and extended sippy cup use are all factors that increase the likelihood your littles will have oral myofunctional disorders… So try these simple changes to aid in your child’s development of good oral function!

Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance) is a group of conditions that together increase your risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other serious health conditions.

If you have any three of the following symptoms of metabolic syndrome, you may be at risk:
- [ ] Larger waistline
- [ ] High blood pressure
- [ ] High blood sugar levels
- [ ] High LDL cholesterol
- [ ] Low HDL cholesterol

Did you know that sleep disordered breathing and metabolic syndrome more often than not coexist?

That about 1 in 3 adults in North America have metabolic syndrome?

That CPAP and lifestyle/habit changes can reduce the prevalence of metabolic syndrome lowering blood pressure, fasting glucose and waist circumference?

Myofunctional therapy might be the missing link in your struggle to lose weight and get healthier! It could change your life!

Contact me today to book your discovery call and learn more about how myofunctional therapy can work!