Preparation: Body Scan

This is a step that we suggest doing in preparing yourself for the 4 to Restore Technique.
The Progressive Relaxation Technique is a method to relax your body by tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups. Here's how you can do it:

1. Find a quiet, comfortable spot to sit or lie down.
2. Start by tensing the muscles in one part of your body, like your toes or your fists, for about 5-10 seconds.
3. Then, release the tension and let the muscles relax completely for about 20-30 seconds.
4. Move on to the next muscle group, like your calves or your shoulders, and repeat the process of tensing and relaxing.
5. Continue this pattern, moving through different muscle groups in your body, until you've relaxed your entire body.

We suggest starting at your head and finishing at your toes or visa vera (depending on which feels right for you).

Step 1: Heart Focused Breathing

In this step, you regulate your breathing to 5 seconds of inhale and 5 seconds of exhale, while drawing attention to the heart center. This seemingly simple action has profound effects on your nervous, endocrine, and immune systems.

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) Benefits of Step 1:

Activation of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS):
Controlled breathing slows down the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for fight-or-flight responses) and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which induces a state of relaxation and recovery.

This activation reduces the production of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, while promoting the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that calms the body and promotes healing.

Enhanced Heart Rate Variability (HRV):
Slow, rhythmic breathing improves heart rate variability (HRV), which is a key indicator of the body’s ability to adapt to stress and maintain balance between the nervous systems. High HRV is associated with greater emotional resilience, better immune function, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

Improved HRV reflects that your autonomic nervous system is more balanced, allowing your body to switch smoothly between stress and relaxation.

Reduction of Inflammation:
By activating the parasympathetic system and lowering cortisol levels, this step reduces chronic inflammation, which is a root cause of many health issues such as autoimmune diseases, heart disease, and depression.

This reduction in inflammation is crucial for improving immune function, as chronic stress-induced inflammation can suppress immune responses and make the body more susceptible to infections and disease.

Step 2: Gratitude

The second step involves pairing your coherent breathing with the deliberate cultivation of positive emotions like gratitude, love, joy, or happiness. These emotions do more than just make you feel good, they have measurable effects on the brain and body.

PNI Benefits of Step 2:

Enhanced Neurotransmitter Production:
Positive emotions trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin, both of which are critical for mood regulation, focus, and overall well-being. Dopamine is involved in the brain’s reward system, enhancing motivation and happiness, while serotonin contributes to feelings of contentment and reduces feelings of anxiety and depression.

Oxytocin, known as the “bonding hormone,” is also released during moments of love or gratitude. Oxytocin not only improves mood but also has anti-inflammatory properties and boosts immune function by lowering stress-related damage.

Improved Immune Response:
Research shows that positive emotions increase the activity of natural killer cells, which are part of the immune system’s defense against viruses and cancer cells. These cells are more active when the body is in a state of emotional well-being, enhancing your natural immune response.

Cultivating positive emotions also reduces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are molecules that promote inflammation. Lower cytokine levels mean that your body can maintain balance and avoid chronic inflammatory responses.

Heart-Brain Coherence:
Focusing on positive emotions strengthens heart-brain coherence, improving the communication between the heart’s electromagnetic field and the brain. This coherence optimizes cognitive function, making the brain more efficient at regulating emotions and reducing stress.

Coherence also enhances the vagal tone, which is the activity of the vagus nerve. High vagal tone is associated with better mood regulation, reduced anxiety, and a more robust immune system, as it helps modulate the balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.

Step 3: I am Statement

This step involves affirming a positive statement about yourself, such as “I am calm,” “I am resilient,” or “I am worthy.” This process taps into the power of intention and belief, which have far-reaching effects on both the subconscious mind and the body.

PNI Benefits of Step 3:

Neural Rewiring:
Repeating positive affirmations stimulates the prefrontal cortex, the brain region responsible for decision-making, planning, and self-regulation. When you affirm positive beliefs about yourself, you begin to create new neural pathways that reinforce these empowering thoughts, making them more natural over time.

This practice of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to rewire itself based on thought patterns, helps replace negative or limiting beliefs with empowering, positive ones. This shift supports mental health by reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

Reduction of Stress Responses:
Positive affirmations lower the activation of the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for processing fear and threat. By calming the amygdala, you reduce the body’s fight-or-flight responses, which in turn lowers levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

This helps break the cycle of chronic stress, reducing the harmful effects of long-term cortisol elevation on the immune system, brain, and overall health.

Epigenetic Influence:
The power of affirmations also extends to epigenetics—the study of how your thoughts and emotions influence gene expression. By affirming positive statements, you can alter how certain genes are expressed, especially those involved in stress, immunity, and inflammation.

This means that consistent positive affirmations can literally change how your body functions at a cellular level, influencing your genes to promote health, healing, and longevity.

Step 4: Meditation

The final step is about letting go of any active effort and simply entering a state of stillness, allowing the coherence created in the previous steps to settle deeply into the body and mind. This state of relaxation enhances the body’s natural healing processes.

PNI Benefits of Step 4:

Deep Nervous System Restoration:
In stillness, your brain shifts into alpha and theta brainwave states, which are associated with deep relaxation, creativity, and healing. These brainwaves allow the body to enter a state of restorative healing, where the autonomic nervous system can return to balance.

This state triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, which further relax the body and reduce stress.

Enhanced Immune Function and Healing:
In this relaxed state, the immune system is able to function more efficiently. Stillness allows for the restoration of cellular processes, promoting tissue repair and cell regeneration.

Natural killer cells, T-cells, and other immune cells operate more effectively when the body is not under stress, enhancing your body’s ability to fight off infection and heal more rapidly from illness or injury.

Hormonal Balance:
Entering a state of deep relaxation and stillness reduces the production of cortisol and increases levels of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), a hormone that counteracts the effects of stress. DHEA promotes youthfulness, energy, and emotional stability.

In this state, the body’s endocrine system (which regulates hormones) is able to recalibrate, supporting hormonal balance that positively impacts mood, immune health, and metabolic function.