How to Do Proper Tongue Posture (Mewing)
Master correct resting tongue posture against the roof of the mouth to promote nasal breathing, engage the deep neck muscles, and support proper oral myofunctional mechanics.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Wall-mounted or handheld mirror
- ✓ Smartphone camera for profile angle
- ✓ Timer or stopwatch
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Glass of drinking water
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Do not bite down hard or clench jaw muscles; teeth should rest lightly together or slightly apart to prevent TMJ strain.
- • Do not press the tongue tip directly into the back of the front teeth, which can cause dental flaring.
- • Ensure breathing remains continuous through the nose without gasping or airway blockage.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Establish Head and Cervical Spine Alignment
Stand sideways to your mirror with your shoulders relaxed and back. Perform a subtle chin tuck by gently drawing your head back as if making a slight double chin, leveling your gaze straight ahead. This neutral cervical alignment positions the hyoid bone correctly for palate engagement.
- • Ear canals align directly over the middle of the shoulders in profile view.
- • Chin is parallel to the ground without tilting upward.
- • Tilting the head downward instead of translating the cervical spine backward.
- • Over-tensing the shoulders and upper trapezius muscles.
Seal Lips and Set Gentle Tooth Contact
Bring your upper and lower lips together into a relaxed, natural seal without pursing or straining the mentalis muscle in your chin. Allow your molars to either touch extremely lightly or maintain a microscopic gap (freeway space) of roughly 1 to 2 millimeters. Your jaw muscles must remain soft and unclenched.
- • Lips rest smoothly closed without dimpling or wrinkling on the chin pad.
- • Masseter muscles at the back of the jawline appear soft rather than flexed and bulging.
- • Clenching molars forcefully together.
- • Pursing lips tightly, creating dimples or an orange-peel texture on the chin.
Anchor the Tongue Tip at the Incisive Papilla
Say the letter 'N' and hold your tongue in that exact resting position. The tip of your tongue should sit flat on the incisive papilla, the small ridge of tissue on the hard palate just behind the upper front teeth. Ensure the tip does not push against the enamel of the incisors.
- • Tongue tip rests securely on the gum ridge behind front teeth with zero contact on front incisors.
- • Submental skin directly under the front of the chin begins to tighten slightly.
- • Pushing the tongue tip directly against the backside of the upper front teeth.
- • Placing the tongue tip too far back in the middle of the hard palate.
Engage the Posterior Third of the Tongue
Make the sound of the word 'SING' and hold the 'NG' consonant at the end. As you hold the 'NG' sound, flatten the entire body and back third of your tongue against the roof of the mouth, pressing it flush against the soft palate. You should immediately observe the soft tissue under your jawline pull upward and flatten.
- • Under-chin tissue (submental area) lifts upward toward the mandible, creating a sharp jawline profile.
- • Thyroid cartilage/hyoid bone visibly ascends slightly.
- • Engaging only the front tip while letting the back of the tongue sag into the lower jaw.
- • Holding breath completely instead of maintaining a free nasal airway.
Establish the Negative Pressure Suction Hold
Take a small sip of water from your glass and swallow it with your teeth lightly touching and your lips resting closed. As the swallow finishes, capture the natural vacuum created inside your mouth and maintain that light suction hold across the entire palate. The tongue should now stick to the roof of your mouth effortlessly like a suction cup.
- • Cheeks remain completely still and relaxed during the swallow without facial grimacing.
- • Under-chin area remains lifted and flat immediately after the swallow completes.
- • Using cheek and facial muscles to force the swallow instead of purely tongue movement.
- • Breaking suction immediately after swallowing.
Verify Continuous Nasal Breathing and Hold Duration
With the full tongue suctioned to the roof and lips sealed, start your timer and take slow, calm breaths exclusively in and out through your nose. Maintain this posture uninterrupted for 3 minutes while keeping your facial muscles, jaw, and shoulders completely relaxed. Verify that your chest and belly rise smoothly during nasal respiration.
- • Rhythmic, unhurried nasal respiration with no lip parting or mouth movement.
- • Submental region remains consistently elevated for the full 3-minute period.
- • Breathing through mouth seams when fatigued.
- • Letting the back third of the tongue drop while maintaining front tip contact.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by JawHacks — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Glass of drinking water? Saliva swallow (dry swallow technique)
- No Timer or stopwatch? Smartphone clock app or counting breath cycles (approx. 15-20 calm breaths)