Gravity Yoga Nervous System Hack #7 is called ‘Battery Saver Mode’ (BSM).
This is how it works: after completing your ‘Whisper’ exhale, you’ll hold your breath with no air in your lungs, drop your chin, and ‘Freefall’ your body.
How and why does this work? I talk about it more in my Deeper. Slower. Easier. | Level 4 training, but these are the spark notes:
Holding Your Exhale
Your body, like all of nature, is incredibly intelligent. It never — never — uses its energetic resources without reason. When it recognizes that no breath is coming in, it also knows that no oxygen (an energetic resource) is coming in. Because of this, your body will start going into battery saver mode by powering down unnecessary activity in your skeletal muscles.
The Chin Drop
Similar to ‘Whisper’ breathing, pressure on your vagus nerve (in the throat) creates a rest and relaxation response. In a way, it’s as though the firmly pressing chin were a button that loosened all your muscles.
Furthermore (again due to the structure and wiring of your body), it is far easier to relax when you are curled into fetal position (i.e. chin down) than it is to relax when you are in a chest opener.
Now…obviously not all poses will allow for a chin drop, as some of them very specifically have you dropping your head back in space. But even an energetic lock will make a difference in your flexibility progress.
Note: It can be slightly uncomfortable to hold your breath with no air in your lungs — maybe you’ll only make it a few seconds before needing to inhale. One second is better than none, though. Just do your best. You’ll be surprised by how well it works.
Double Note: energetically dropping the chin is also called “Jalandhara Bandha” — or throat lock — in yoga. It’s actually a really important part of the practice, especially when it comes to accessing deeper meditative states.
Freefall
We’ve already discussed this in Rule #1, but even trying to go limp across your whole body does wonders for stretching. Even if it’s pure imagination, just try to be weightless at the end of each pose. Pretend you are skydiving out of a plane, and watch your body follow suit.
Alrighty, then. That was it for our hacks — nice work!
Please check out the full PDF summary guide below if you want all of this material in one place. Otherwise, maybe you purchase the class pack and do some deep stretching!
Intellectualizing how your body works is fun, but it’s pointless without application. If you just read a book on big cat taming and someone throws you in a cage with a lion, you’ll have wished that you practiced with an expert first.
Either way, I’ve enjoyed spending this time with you immensely. Enjoy the next part of your journey, and I hope to talk with you soon.
– Ethan ॐ
P.S. Let’s embody this one in our practice section in a pose called “Hero’s Pose” — it’s gonna get deeeeeep into those locked-up quads of yours!
P.P.S. If you have questions, please check out the FAQs. If I don’t answer your questions there, reach out using the form on the next page.
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