As mentioned in the previous post, measuring your body’s heart rate variability (HRV) is one of the fastest ways to assess how your body is holding stress.
It’s a simple yet important measurement to keep track of, especially if you’re one of those Type A personalities or ‘go-getters’ who rarely stops and just ‘trucks through’ things. And it is certainly one of those easy metrics we should have been taught about during human biology at school. It is like your body’s lie detector.
In our last poll, all of you were reporting relatively low HRV values. That means your body is working really hard to control its environment to a tight, predictable metronome. Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock. The variability between those ticks and tocks is low.
Bottom line: the more stressors you have on your life, the more your body tries to tightly control basic survival functions…which means your heartbeats.
So, even though you might think “oh, I’m feeling pretty good considering living paycheck to paycheck” or “I’m feeling great after that hike up Pirongia”…your HRV might be telling a different story (and it doesn’t usually lie).
While we will talk about stress management throughout the Reset & Reboot Programs, there are a few really simple techniques that, when done daily, can help your body find small moments of calm and re-assess its stress state.
In this short, 6 minute video learn about the simple interrelationship between our vision and breath when it comes to our ability to navigate our nervous system – regardless of what’s happening around us
During your morning glass of water, why not go for a little walk outside and focus on expanding your vision to capture the periphery. Then give the 4-7-8 breath technique a try.
Did you yawn?
Share you thoughts and/or experience in the comments below.