17 Comments

Lovely Gary-this is entirely heart-felt in delivery and a lovely spiral package all to itself! Kudos and thanks

Expand full comment

Thank you :-)

Expand full comment

Wonderful Gary! I look forward to watching the documentary and am happy to see this post, lots of excellent information worth remembering and exploring. Thank you, too, for the shout-out. Best.

Expand full comment

If you have an Android phone, you can check your heart rate variability with this app.

It uses the camera and light to read your pulse.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=srb.ctb.pulse.heartrate.camera.ecg4everybody

Expand full comment

i'm only up to the Gil Hedley vid - he won MY HEART with his best-ever 5 min fascia vid years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FtSP-tkSug&t=47s

Gary, i know OUR hearts are connected because we're always writing about the same thing - each with our own uniquely colored pens! Back to the film...

Expand full comment

Yes, I noticed you had a written a "companion piece" !!

Expand full comment

actually had to split it off into 3 so this article is one part.

that heart video - dense - enthralling - kept rewinding to catch the parts - seeing him unwrap it gave me a much better perspective of the layout than cross sections in books...

Expand full comment

I was just looking to see if you've mentioned any experience you've had with frequencies and sound healing modalities such as crystal bowls, tuning forks. A friend who has a parkinsons diagnosis had found that quartz crystal and stainless steel tuning forks help her. I've been asked to do a one to one sound session with an elderly woman who has parkinsons and who lives in a local care home. I wondered if, in your experience, there is a particular frequency that has been found soothing?

Expand full comment

Lots of experience with sound healing, but haven't looked into to specific frequencies... https://garysharpe.substack.com/p/the-ears-as-a-portal-into-the-nervous

Expand full comment

Bless you Gary. Thank you.

Expand full comment

This article is wonderful. Gary, can you elaborate on the link between the heart and the gut-brain connection?

Experientially, I can feel that, in order to keep my heart open, I need to make sure my stomach (abs muscles, pit of the stomach) is relaxed, so that gravity can pull it down.

Expand full comment

It is all connected by the vagus nerve. The dorsal vagus. the part which extends below the diaphragm and innervates the gut responsible for rest & digest functions when we are relaxed, is also responsible for the freeze stress response when we are feeling unsafe. When the dorsal vagus takes over control,, it also takes control of the heart too, leading to bradycardia. Basically we become more reptilian. When the ventral vagus is in control, we are calm, relaxed and able to socially engage, and properly digest and rest. This is when the heart is in coherence. Basically, we become more human.

Expand full comment

How does my conscious relaxing of the stomach impact the vagus nerve?

Expand full comment

You are activating the gut-brain axis in a good way. When I am frozen/symptomatic, I get a horrible feeling of disconnect from gut or a numbness.

Expand full comment

Thanks Gary. I wish you all the best too.

Are you saying that when you’re symptomatic you get in a state which is similar to the freeze state?

P.s: would be great to read an article on the brain-gut connection at some point

Expand full comment

Gothic hearts are strong! Go goths. ❤️ My bands name is TURBO GOTH

Expand full comment