Flexibility Hack #1: Orient
Gravity Yoga Flexibility Hack #1 is called ‘Orient’.
This is how it works: before every ‘Lunar Breath’, you will first direct your attention a couple of inches behind your forehead, and then compare sensations between the left and right halves of your body.
There are a number of reasons why this is crucial to muscular relaxation, and thus flexibility.
(1) For one, being tense in your forehead is a clear indication that you’re identifying with a thought (meaning you believe the thought is who you are.) And — long story, short — identifying with a thought is the thing causing your physical tension in the first place!
Therefore, by virtue of noticing how contracted your face is, there is now an opportunity to release the stressful mental pattern once and for all.
(2) Another reason why ‘Orienting’ is a helpful flexibility hack is that it resets your proprioceptive awareness.
Let me try to explain without getting too into the weeds:
Most of us — most of the time — feel as though we are operating our bodies like a machine.
What do I mean by this?
Repeatedly open and close one of your fists for me.
Interestingly, as you move you probably feel like you are up in the cockpit of your skull controlling your hand like a child plays Pacman with a joy stick.
Again: most of us — most of the time — feel as though we are operating our bodies like a machine.
From this perspective, you think you exist inside of your skull rather than from the Greater Field around your skull…
…BUT by placing your attention inside of your skull — to where you think you are — you will realize that You are not actually there.
And by realizing that You are not there, you then have the opportunity to discover where You actually are.
(Spoiler alert: You are both nowhere and everywhere at once.)
And then — and this may seem like a leap, but I assure you it’s not — by discovering where You actually are, you will have simultaneously found perfect peace.
And peace = relaxation = deeper stretching = faster flexibility gains.
How simple was that!? 😇
(3) Finally, you can use ‘Orienting’ to gauge flexibility and spiritual progress.
As you’ll find out in the practice video, the more embodied you are, the more centered and opened the space behind your forehead (third eye) is.
For instance, due to a physical trauma as a child, my “third eye” was off-kilter. Every time I ‘Oriented’, I would believe myself to be down and to the left of my left eye, rather than smack dab in the center of my skull.
Luckily, through Gravity Yoga, prayer, correct nutrition and the many other techniques I share, I slowly recalibrated my actual center and healed.
It will take too long to get into all of the little nuances of this hack, so if you want the full rundown, I provide scientific and philosophical context in my Deeper. Slower. Easier. Level 3 training and in Yoga Reset.
To summarize, though, all you need to know is that before each ‘Lunar Breath’ breath cycle, you will recenter — ‘Orient’ — your attention towards the third eye a couple inches behind your forehead.
Okay. Practice with me below or keep it rolling. Talk soon,
– Ethan ॐ
P.S. This technique is near-impossible to intellectualize, no matter how many details I provide. Instead, you’d do be better off just practicing. Head to the practice section and give “Child’s Pose” a go. You’ll be shocked at how much easier it is to relax once you’ve embodied this hack.
- or -
share this lesson
$28
one-time price
help fuel my creative endeavors and keep the dream alive! click the button below to purchase this practice pack.
tight budget?
money should not impede your access to yoga! email me for scholarship opportunities - no shame and no questions asked.
4
practice
videos
summary guide
access all of Gravity Yoga's images, practices and concepts in one PDF.
next class
click event to see its details
and purchase your ticket.
