BODY SCANNING
In the fascial maneuvers practice, Human Garage encourages tuning in to your body to get a baseline of where you are before you begin. We refer to this as the body scan. Its purpose is to help you be aware of where your body is so you can determine how you want to feel .
Once you’ve taken a moment to connect with yourself, it’s time to set a clear intention. What are you looking to get out of your practice today? Do you want to move freely, feel grounded, or release something in particular? How will you know if you accomplish what you set out to do?
It’s key to clearly define how you would measure meeting your goal before starting. The more aware you are of the changes, the faster they’ll integrate.
* Sitting, standing or lying down comfortably, take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
* As you breathe out, close your eyes.
* Notice how your body feels right now.
* Starting at the top of the head, assess each part of your body all the way down to your toes.
* Note what feels comfortable and what feels uncomfortable. Don’t judge any of these feelings or try to change them right now.
* When you’re ready, open your eyes.
HEART-BRAIN COHERENCE
Throughout the day, we are constantly pulled between what our hearts want and what our brains tell us we should want. What if we could open the line of communication between our heart and brain to make the most aligned and informed choices possible?
Well, we can! Heart-Brain Coherence is exactly that: harmonizing the mind and the emotions.
BENEFITS OF HEART-BRAIN COHERENCE
* Calm racing thoughts and stress
* Ground yourself into your body
* Achieve balance between the physical and emotional bodies
* Boost immune function
* Balance hormones
Heart-Brain Coherence is successful when heart rate variability (HRV) synchronizes with brain waves, creating a steady flow of communication between the organs.
HRV accounts for the variance of time between heartbeats. This variety is regulated by our autonomic nervous system, which is comprised of the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) systems. The SNS is activated when we feel stress or heightened emotion and causes our heart rate to increase. The PNS is active when we are in a calm or relaxed state.
What’s interesting is that having a high HRV indicates better health outcomes. Those with a higher variability decrease their risk of heart and/or autoimmune disease. That means moving between the SNS and PNS through self-regulation is a vital skill!
Too much of either extreme is not the goal. The true marker of a healthy nervous system is balance between states of arousal and ease.
HEART-BRAIN COHERENCE CUEING
* Place your right hand on your heart
* Place your left hand on the top of your head
* Close your eyes
* Breath in and out through the mouth three times
* Breath in through the nose and out through the mouth three times
* Direct your full focus to your heart
* Then, direct your full focus to your head
* Go back and forth between your awareness of your heart and head
* Relax, taking slow, deep breaths
* Open your eyes and go for a walk
* How do you feel? Check in with yourself!
To try body scanning & Heart-Brain Coherence for yourself, watch Human Garage’s Organ Reset video.