The body is driven by the brain and as John Medina states the primary function of the human brain is to solve problems related to survival in an UNSTABLE outdoor environment and to do so on nearly CONSTANT MOTION. As people who live the life of a zoo human we are no longer challenged in the ways we once were as a species. We don’t have to climb trees for food or hunt animals with a rock or spear. We have all of these “luxuries” of the modern world. We walk on flat, stable, sanitized walkways. We go into the gym and lift a perfectly straight bar up and down. When we pause at the end of the rep or we are at rest with a weight in our hands there is no longer any motion. When you think about it you can almost zone out when working out with steel. It is not much of a challenge to the brain. The movements are extremely rudimentary. Up-down, up-down, up-down. The motions feel very mechanical and lack a certain vitality. When you look at the above statement unless you are working outside then you really are not stimulating the brain in the way it was designed. This is truly where the Hydrocore shines. By utilizing water inside the bag you bring a small piece of the natural world into your workout. This alone changes the feeling of the workout. Human beings are innately drawn to water. We know instinctively that water equals life. There is an entire field of study that looks at the neurological connection human beings have to water. Dr. Wallace J. Nichols has shown that the brain is stimulated by just looking at a photograph of water. So imagine how it is responding to the tactile feel and sound of the water in the Hydrocore bag. The Hydrocore bag provides a very unique experience. One that is not often found in the “workout” world. The water inside the bag is constantly in motion. Sometimes that motion is in sync with the person using the bag, other times not so much. When this happens there is a learning moment for the body. It doesn’t like to fight against the water. You will naturally almost without thought adapt your movements to find a flow with the water. When you find that flow you almost become one with water. Because the brain is so responsive to water it is already primed to be paying attention so that it can cement the corrections you make. The water in the bag queues the body into correct and stable positions. When there is imbalance the water not only exposes it but amplifies the feeling of imbalance within the body. This will trigger the mind to seek balance and make the corrections necessary. Add to this the auditory feedback of the water. There is a natural rhythm that occurs when the water is moving in sync with the body. You not only feel it but you hear it. When you lose that synchronicity suddenly there is the crashing sound of a wave with the bag. This increased the feeling of imbalance when compounded with the movement of the water. When you find that flow that rhythm you are now stimulating not only the body but the mind as well.
Joshua Pepping
Doctor of Chiropractic
Comments