With all the benefits of Mindfulness Stretching but no need to get down on the floor.  Working all the way around the body we progressively release tight muscles and drop stress.  The practice has us bring our attention right inside the body with simple poses that lead to gentle tension in a specific area.  We focus on this tension, and deliberately release it.  We observe how this target area tightens as we inhale, and relaxes as we exhale.

Even an anxious, vigilant mind can be distracted away from its ruminations.  Cortisol turns off, aches’n’pains ease, sleep comes more easily.

Running Mondays 2.45-3.45pm at the Belconnen Arts Centre for 6 weeks from 17/7/23.

This new class is perfect for people that haven’t been down on the floor in a while, its all in a chair.

If this time / location doesn’t work for you, let me know in the box below if any of the Gungahlin session times would work for you.

Heart Rate Variability is the interval difference between the heartbeats on the inhalation breath and the heartbeats on the subsequent exhalation breath (measured in milliseconds). As the interval difference increases, it demonstrates greater access to the parasympathetic (rest/digest) nervous system, revealed in demonstrable feelings of being calmer and less stressed.

Mindfulness Stretching is a somatic practice which gets practitioner’s “out of their head and into their body”.  The practice generates sensations in the body with the mind focused firmly on these sensations. It is highly accessible for a busy / vigilant / frantic mind, as it deliberately immediately draws the practitioner’s attention onto immediately tangible bodily sensations, thereby distracting from one’s usual internal dialogue.

An example: a student arrived at class one day extremely distressed after their claustrophobia had been triggered when the lift door had stuck.  They were deep in panic attack.  They were able to over ride the panic and return to safety by bringing their attention into their body and following the practice. 

Deliberately following sensations within the body while undertaking the practice actively captures one’s attention. This is extremely effective in ‘overwriting’ the mental internal dialogue, taking away from ruminating on negative thoughts and memories.

The movement of sensation within the participant’s body as described by the instructor becomes a “bright shiny thing” that one’s attention can follow, the movement captivating the participant’s attention.

The Vagus Nerve is a significant nerve that ‘wanders’ through the body connecting the brain with the major organs – including heart, lungs, spleen, liver, kidneys, stomach, gastro-intestinal tract, and reproductive organs. The majority of information travelling along this nerve (>80%) flows from the organs to the brain stem. This is the mechanism by which the brain monitors the arousal state of the body.  When it is aroused it reports higher levels of stress to the brain.

With the vagus nerve calmed, the body is better prepared to cope with stressful events. The practice builds resilience and the participant’s ability to remain calm, absorb stress, and minimise the likelihood of an inappropriate impulsive outburst or action.

Mindfulness Stretching combines somatic awareness and deliberate breathing in a way which dramatically calms the vagus nerve, the parasympathetic nervous system and the electrical frequency of the brain.  Some of this can be clearly shown with Heart Rate Variability measurements.

One of the foundation benefits of the practice is the toning of the vagus nerve, the body’s main internal monitoring system. This is the mechanism by which the brain monitors the arousal state of the body.  When it is aroused it reports higher levels of stress to the brain.  By calming this monitoring system we reduce the baseline stress arousal state of the body.

Heart Rate Variability is a very accurate metric of the stress state of the body that is easy to measure with some fitness chest straps and an app on your phone.

The practice increases the intensity of sensation on the tightening inhaling breath by deliberately activating the target muscle. Increasing the tension differentials between the inhaling breath and exhaling breath emulates the goal of increasing Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and calms the state of the vagus nerve – the significant nerve that transmits messages between the major body organs and the brain.

With the vagus nerve calmed, the body is better prepared to cope with stressful events. The practice builds resilience and the participant’s ability to remain calm, absorb stress, and minimise the likelihood of an inappropriate impulsive outburst or action.