Flexibility Hack #2: Ping
Gravity Yoga Nervous System Hack #2 is called ‘Ping’.
This is how it works: after you ‘Orient’ your body to the center of your skull, you will query — ‘Ping’ — your body, and ask for it to show you where it is tense.
Underline those words: ask for it to show you where it is tense.
The answer the body provides will be translated and interpreted by your mind, and will take one of two forms:
(1) Either your mind will create a tiny signal blip in a certain location on your body. This is similar to how sonar vision alerts the pilot of an incoming missile.
(2) Or your mind will go further and generate a complete three dimensional rendering of overall tension in your body. This is similar to how an infrared heat map might show up on night-vision goggles — red as tense, blue as relaxed, and purple as somewhere in-between.
Whichever form your answer takes, the idea is the same: you’re leveraging the intelligence of the body and mind to tell you exactly which part of your body to focus on for your ‘Lunar Breath’.
I discuss how ‘Pinging’ works scientifically in my Deeper. Slower. Easier. Level 3 training, but the tl;dr is this:
‘Pinging’ uses interoception (awareness of inner body sensations), which — through the electrical wiring of your nervous system — naturally causes your muscles to relax. This relaxing, in turn, provides an opportunity for deeper stretching.
Cool, that was it for hack #2! Feel free to either practice or else I’ll see you in the next one.
– Ethan ॐ
P.S. It’s best to go with your first instinct. Yes, you could spend a few minutes hypothesizing where it might be best to focus your attention for a stretch. But IMO, the time it takes to do so isn’t worth the hypothetical benefits it would accrue.
Seriously…just ‘Ping’ yourself for tension, trust the physical location your mind & body call for, and commit to it for a full ‘Lunar Breath’.
P.P.S. I recommend you get a taste for this hack by checkout out your “Seated Forward Fold” pose found in the practice videos. It’s gonna get those hammies and low back nice and loose!
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