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Chapter
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Optimal Quality of Life Training cccecceereeeeereeees
Persistent Adaptation to Chronic Stress cccseeees
Breathe Deeply Smoothly Slowly and on Long Intervals
Hold a Steady Upward Gaze with Wide Eyes
Recognizing Muscular Tension and Dormant Muscle
Release Tense Muscle with Compression and Massage
Thinking Peacefullly cccccscccssseccssecsseesssseesseeesssaeessaees
Reprogramming Facial Tension ccscccssscssseessteesseees
Compressing Facial Muscles for Composure and Wellbeing
Chapter  Perfecting Your Smillecccccccccsscecsseeesseeeesseeesseeeenes
Chapter
Chapter
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Breathing Less Nasally and without Pharyngeal Tension
Release Vocal Tension ccecceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeteeeeneeeae
Reprogram Your Posture for PoWEFC cccscceeseeeereees
Chapter  Antirigidity Therapy Bring Dormant Muscle to Fatigue
Chapter
Combine Antirigidity with your Exercise Routine
Chapter  Antirigidity Exercises for the Neck and Shoulders
Chapter  Antirigidity Exercises for the Lower Back
Chapter  Use Proper Posture and Antirigidity While Walking
Chapter
Chapter  Healthy Eating Patterns cccccscccssseecssseesseeessees
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Stop Sexually Submissive Behavior ccccccecee
Chronic Stress the Amygdala and Cortisol
Listen to Your Heart and Gut cccccccccccceeeseseeeeeeeeseeee
Serotonin Optimism and Cooperation ccccee
Chapter  Rise Above Status Conflict ccscccssceessseeesseeeseeeenee
Chapter
Happiness Is Playfulness  Composed Kindness
Chapter  Conclusions
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Indeed human infertility and sexual dysfunction are both known by medical researchers to be
highly exacerbated by the stress hormone cortisol
Chronically elevated cortisol levels can cause loss of libido and impotence in men mostly by
inhibiting the production of testosterone In women it can cause severe fertility problems and
result in an abnormal menstrual cycle This antagonism between the cortisol and testosterone
hormonal axes is thought to be adaptive because in emergency situations engaging in behaviors
that are encouraged by testosterone such as mating competition and dominance is
unnecessary and possibly counterproductive
If you put a mouse in a cage with a more dominant mouse its testosterone and fertility will
decline significantly Similarly if you spend time believing that you are inferior or inadequate
your virility will drop We must avoid sexual bullying and stop ourselves from thinking sexually
selfsubordinating thoughts Fortunately the effects of cortisol on testosterone in both men
and women are reversed when the stress goes back down
You dont want your body to assume you are a pathetic monkey trying to sneak copulations
in hiding So you need to send it the right messages You want to develop a mindset of sexual
dominance and disinhibition affirming that you can achieve arousal at any time have sex
anywhere and be in your sexual comfort zone under any social conditionsas long as it is
ethical and legal of course This starts with slowing everything else down and making your
sexual response a priority Just as subordination causes us to ignore our shallow breathing and
protracted neck it also causes us to ignore both the tension and the pleasure in our genitals
The best way to counteract this is to learn to listen to your genitals
Sexual Exercise  Listen to the Sensations Coming from Your Genitals
Your genitals are continuously sending you sensory signals about their current state of
arousal Most of us ignore this steady influx of cues leaving us out of tune with our sexuality
Sexual suppression and submission have turned our erogenous zones into blind spots Feeling
good down there is not a sin not a luxury and not something you have to earn It is your
basic right as a mammal and an integral part of dealing with stress If you want to cultivate
your sexual response you must pay attention to any and all pleasurable sensations coming
from in between your legs
Close your eyes and spend five minutes meditating on this area Focus on it completely like
you are watching a movie At first you may not sense much but with time and patience
you will begin to notice faint instances of erogenous squirming and pulsating Indulge them
Learn to revel in them Doing this will help prove to your body that you are a lusty beast
unencumbered by sexual trauma With time practice and the use of the other exercises in
this chapter infrequent tingles and quivers will turn into a steady stream of notsosubtle
heaving and throbbing Monitor your breath while you do this and imagine breathing
straight into your genitals This will help you develop the laser focus necessary to become
reacquainted with the full extent of your aphrodisia
Chapter  Stop Sexually Submissive Behavior
One of the best ways to improve your awareness of sexual sensations is to stop bracing the
muscles involved This is simply because if they are constantly strained they cannot respond
actively to sexual stimuli There is no throbbing in dormant muscle
Stop Bracing the Muscles Surrounding Your Genitals
Hip or pelvic tension can be a conscious or unconscious attempt to downplay the potency of
the genital region and is yet another form of submissive body language Over time the
formation of dormant muscle leads to withered libido lessened enjoyment of sex and sexual
dysfunction There are other sources of pelvic bracing Falling on the bottom bruising the
tailbone long hours sitting at a desk or a bicycle seat and all types of physical trauma can lead
to tension the area
Pelvic bracing is linked to medical disorders Vaginismus is the involuntary contraction of
muscles that surround the vagina The tight muscles make penetration and intercourse painful
for women with this disorder Bracing may also make it harder for some women to orgasm
For a woman to climax the muscles of her pelvic floor cannot be taut They must relax during
sexual stimulation so that they can contract rhythmically during orgasm Many researchers
believe that various sexual disorders such as male impotence latency to female orgasm and
vulvodynia chronic vulvar pain can be due to excessive bracing of muscles adjacent to the
sexual organs This seems even more likely when you consider that common preceding events
for these disorders include sexual assault rape domestic abuse sexual humiliation chronic
pain and generalized anxiety
It is well known that the blood vessels surrounding the external genitalia constrict during
sympathetic stimulation and dilate upon parasympathetic stimulation This means that blood
flow to the penis clitoris and vulva is impeded by stress and accentuated by relaxation In fact
the pelvic floor is one of the most reactive groups of muscles during startle When it contracts it
results in a retraction of the clitoris for women and the penis for men Relaxation of the
anococcygeal area is thought to be key in improving the sexual arousal response As a matter of
fact engorgement of the penis clitoris and labia results from the relaxation of smooth muscle
In other words blood doesnt flow until these unconsciously regulated muscles loosen up
Sexual Activity  Brace and Debrace Your Pelvic Muscles
How do stress and intimidation affect the bracing of the muscles around your genitals Most
people could not answer this because they have little to no awareness of this common
reaction Lets try bracing them to see how it feels Tighten the muscles in your lower back
Tilt your hips to one side and brace them Squeeze your legs together Tighten your urinary
sphincter as if you were trying to stop yourself from peeing Now contract all these muscles
and anything else local you can find at  of their maximum strength After  seconds
let go entirely and register what it feels like to let the bracing here subside Repeat this
contraction and relaxation four more times
We signal sexual submission by straining sexrelated muscles in the abdomen and pelvis
These muscles lose their healthy tone after sexual trauma or feelings of sexual inferiority
Thankfully like all muscles you can rehabilitate them Most people have an untapped reservoir
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
of muscle in the groin that has atrophied The next two sections will show you how to exercise
and strengthen it  believe proper tone in these muscles allows the genitals increased vascular
blood flow vasocongestion increases the prominence of arousal and heightens the
accompanying sensations
Exercise Your Urine Retentive Muscles
You have numerous muscles situated between your sitz bones pubic bone and coccyx These
muscles support the pelvic organs contract during orgasm aid in childbirth and ejaculation
and provide core stability
Abdominal
Muscle
Rectum
Coccyx Pubic Bone
Bladder
Urethra
Anus
Pelvic Floor Vagina
Muscles
Illustration  A Side view of female reproductive anatomy Note the location of the pelvic floor muscles
stretching from the pubic bone to the tail bone coccyx B Frontal view of the pelvic floor musculature which is
similar in women and men Several pelvic muscles are depicted including the ischiocavernosus bulbospongiosus
coccygeus pubococcygeus the urogenital diaphragm and others
In the s Dr Arnold Kegel taught people how to strengthen the perineum the area
between the anus and the genitals He knew that these muscles are often injured in women
during childbirth and he instructed women how to contract them reinstating their strength
in an exercise that came to be known as Kegels Doctors have prescribed Kegels for many
reasons including treating urinary incontinence ameliorating erectile dysfunction and
controlling premature ejaculation Kegels are taught by having the patient repeatedly interrupt
their urinary flow Dr Kegel recommended urinating a spoonful at a time Try this in the
activity below
Sexual Activity  Contracting the Urinary Sphincter
The next time you find yourself peeing stop urinating midstream Once you can stop the flow
completely you have found the right muscles Try urinating for only a second at a time until
you have voided your bladder Focus on tightening only the pelvic floor muscles keeping the
abdomen thighs anus and buttocks relaxed This will allow you to isolate the contraction
Doing this several times will help you identify the muscles and gain conscious control of
them At that point you should do this exercise without urinating and from any position
you want
Chapter  Stop Sexually Submissive Behavior
Most of us learned to brace the Kegel muscles intensely as young children when
holding it for long periods to avoid the embarrassing experience of urinating in public
Can you remember an incident in which this muscle was likely traumatized by being braced
heavily during the traumatic scenario of trying desperately to find a bathroom as a child
Not only do the muscles surrounding the genitals seize up in these scenarios but distressed
breathing predominates making the strain worse Most people have a strong tendency to hold
their breath when performing Kegels and of course this defeats the purpose Therefore
recommend pairing Kegels with paced breathing
Sexual Exercise  Diaphragmatic Kegels
Perform hard Kegel contractions as if you were interrupting the stream of urine Do this while
paced breathing This will build your capacity to activate the pelvic floor muscles without
holding your breath Hold a forceful contraction during a second passive exhalation and
then relax for a few breaths Do this  times in a row You might also try performing rapid
Kegels ie one to three per second for a minute
These muscles contract involuntarily during arousal and orgasm So loosening them up and
developing their responsivity may enliven your sex life Also after developing the muscular
strength that comes from pelvic floor exercises men can perform a Kegel at orgasm to
withhold ejaculation effectively allowing them to experience multiple orgasms  also believe
that strengthening and unbracing these muscles can facilitate female ejaculation and
squirting
The next section will provide you with an exercise that will dilate these areas rather than
constrict them In a previous chapter we learned how important it is to perform forward bends
after backward bends to neutralize the spine  believe that performing Kegels without
exercising the antagonist muscles leads to similar imbalances For example there is evidence
that performing Kegels can lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder and this is a risk factor
for urinary tract infection and other maladies As you might have guessed the counterpose for
a Kegel is complete bladder emptying
Exercise the Muscles that Expel Urine
Interestingly the Kegel contraction is braced involuntarily during social competition
Kegels result in a retraction of the clitoris penis and testicles potentially making them less
conspicuous to a competitor  believe that in this they are submissive and intended to hide
the genitalia It is like the sea slug withdrawing its gill or the snail withdrawing its eyestalk
Male monkeys and apes are frequently observed hiding their erections from other males
especially from males above them in the hierarchy They dont want to be attacked for being
aroused This is why  think genital retraction due to chronic Kegel contraction is an innate
defense mechanism protecting subordinates from sexually dominant individuals It is yet
another display equivalent to a collapsed posture  believe that losing tone and developing
partial contraction in the pelvic region is a selfhandicapping mechanism that assumes
advertising ones level of sexual arousal is dangerous
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
If you have balanced tone in your pelvic muscles your flaccid penis or clitoris will increase
and decrease in size with your arousal level If you have strain or poor tone the flaccid organ
may remain at its smallest possible size until full arousal is reached Most people are aware that
the penis and clitoris shrink in size when exposed to cold In fact penile length decreases by up
to  in the defensive response to low temperature  believe men with a history of chronic
intimidation and sexual subordination are more likely to exhibit this kind of shrinkage when
flaccid This likely corresponds to the grower vs shower dichotomy referenced in popular
culture The growers may be men with a more extensive history of being sexually intimidated
This may be reversible by performing the opposite of the Kegel
It is easy for both women and men to pinpoint the muscles that expel urine They speed up
the stream These muscles include the lower abdominal muscles and the bladder detrusor
muscle They aid in the expulsion of urine by increasing the pressure applied to the bladder
wall The stream of urine will cease when the bladder has been voided but the muscles
themselves can still be contracted If you continue to squeeze the expulsive muscles very firmly
after you finish urinating you will realize you can flex these muscles through their full range
Most people never use this full range creating a missing corner of dormant muscle
Thus it is also a reservoir that you can tap into and rehab Think of the exercise as an
antikegel As we have seen in previous chapters sometimes the only way to free muscles
from partial contraction is through hard full contractions
Sexual Exercise  Contract the Expulsive Muscles
The next time you urinate try to expel the urine more forcefully than usual Steadily increase
the force as you empty your bladder As it nears empty do not let up Instead squeeze the
related muscles hard even after the stream stops Notice the posture that your lower back
and lower abdomen have taken on and remember the feeling of contracting this muscle so
that you can do it later After you have emptied your bladder continue to squeeze the
muscle at  to  maximum force for an additional  seconds It may ache tenderly
but performing this exercise each time you urinate will make this aching disappear within a
matter of days
Start practicing it away from the toilet as well You should feel comfortable performing the
Kegel and antiKegel contractions in the presence of others There is no reason to brace or
selflimit your pelvic range just because other people are around To really stimulate these
erogenous areas and all the tissues and blood vessels involved you can also try gently
performing Kegels and antiKegels while you have an erection whether clitoral or penile
Together these exercises will help put an end to neurotic pelvic flinching and straining
Urine Expulsion as a Posture and Mindset
You want to incorporate proper tone in these urineexpelling muscles into your daily standing
walking and sitting postures The muscles involved include the lower abdominals so imagine
being able to take a small punch to the lowest segment of your abs at any time This means you
need to practice walking around with your lower abs engaged as if you were peeing  want to
Chapter  Stop Sexually Submissive Behavior
encourage you to walk jog exercise and socialize as if you are dribbling urine everywhere
you go
Listen intently to the sensations involved It should feel pleasurable Imagine spurting
rainbows and gushing warm velvet from your urethra onto everything in front of you
Experience everything orgasmically This should be happening as you look at yourself in the
mirror as you walk around the block and as you squeeze in that last repetition while
exercising Imagine that your genitals are permanently everted rather than inverted As you
strengthen the retentive and expulsive muscles muscle memory will develop and they
will come to hold balanced tone automatically  believe this is highly beneficial for
psychosexual health
suppressed these muscles during my lifetime through acquiescent selfhandicapping
behavior  have always been averse to dirty jokes and overt sex play which may have led to
less sexualized perineal posture growing up  believe that  unconsciously allowed my Kegel
muscles to strain and my expulsive muscles to atrophy because  was sexually repressive and
analretentive Again the expulsive urinary and anal sphincter muscles work antagonistically
with the retentive muscles meaning that expulsive qualities may be especially weak in
retentive people If you think that you may be analretentive you are probably also urinary
retentive While we are talking about poop please ask yourself whether combining distressed
breathing while straining on the toilet seat during defecation may have traumatized your anal
muscles If so you might consider using paced breathing while defecating when constipated
and while contracting the anal retentive and expulsive muscles
Strengthening the muscles involved in expelling urine will make your behavior more
assertive Activity and tone in this area are associated with approach and the seizing of
opportunities that are both sexual and nonsexual in nature It is difficult to maintain a
dominant selfassured demeanor if the tone in the expulsive muscles is low You have probably
noticed that worry or sudden fear makes your retentive muscles tense and the expulsive ones
limp Similarly encountering something sharp or experiencing fear of heights does this as well
For example peering over the ledge from the Sth floor of a parking structure can make your
whole pelvis seize up This happens immediately and involuntarily during startle and fright
Your pelvic floor recoils from threat
When you take an ego blow or get upset or flustered the muscles that expel urine similarly
drop out of flexion If your machismo is questioned but you have the gumption to reassert
yourself you might notice the activity waiver and come back Activity here shrivels up when
people get their balls busted For many depressed and anxious people these muscles drop
out of tonicity during social encounters For sexually assertive people the expulsive
musculature develops a stronger tone when around others they find attractive For sexually
withdrawn people the tone may actually decrease in these situations Losing tone and
accumulating strain in these muscles leads to emasculation andor defeminization
When  first started to engage the muscles that expel urine  would become afraid of
upsetting the bully introduced in Chapter   realized that  was afraid to engage the muscles
even when he was not around When  tried thoughts visuals and a feeling of being in the
bullys presence would intrude into my mind unconsciously It took me some time to realize
that  was bracing these muscles in a restricted range out of fear of offending the bully
This bully was muscular highly charismatic a felon and a murderer On one occasion  had
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
seen him continue to make fun of and laugh at someone even after that person pulled a gun on
him As many bullies do he would frequently tell sexually explicit stories describing his sexual
prowess in attempts to intimidate other men This is one of the fundamental forms that sexual
toxicity takes
The man had acquired pseudopsychopathy meaning he had developed criminal
antisocial and hypersexual personality traits after severe brain trauma He was catastrophically
disinhibited after being fully ejected headfirst through the windshields of two cars he stole on
separate occasions  was subverting my sexuality in an attempt to appease this man Simply
becoming explicitly aware of this subversion was enough to end it After bringing peace to this
context  realized that there were additional contexts that caused me to brace my genital
musculature What contexts of intimidation sting you in the genitals and keep you stuck ina
partially contracted Kegel Dont let anyone keep you in a retentive state in which the genitals
are retracted or keep you from contracting your expulsive muscles Rather than being held taut
in a restricted range these muscles should fluctuate naturally between the two extremes of
retention and expulsion as you go about your day
Once you become comfortable fully contracting the muscles that withhold and expel urine
you should notice them quiver involuntarily more frequently Toning the muscles and stretching
them out of partial contraction will increase the range of motion of your orgasms You may also
notice that you experience increased blood flow and heightened turgidity in your genitals This
suggests to me that formal physical therapy centered around exercising these muscles could
treat both diminished sex drive and erectile dysfunction However most medical experts on the
topic assume that these muscles operate autonomously and neednt be exercised
This medical opinion is at odds with Ayurvedic medicine and tantric Hinduism which
recognize the base of the spine as a chakra It is called muladhara the root chakra and
kundalini yoga emphasizes that it must be used and meditated upon Additionally some
Japanese Zen meditation practices emphasize the lower abdominal area dantian or tanden as
a focal point for meditation  believe the exercises in this chapter can guide you to exert
control over and rehabilitate these foci
At one point  realized  lacked the coordination to contract my urinary expulsive muscles
and gluteus muscles simultaneously When  tried  held my breath Many people have this
functional dissociation When these are dissociated you are limited to either doing one or the
other However it is easy to fix Proper core stability demands that you be able to contract
these muscles together actively Everyone should teach their body to activate both the urinary
and fecal expulsive muscles while simultaneously contracting their buttocks
Sexual Activity  Pairing Expulsive Tone with Gluteal Tone
Stand with optimal posture as described in Chapter  With your feet parallel and the top
of your hips rolled backward contract the gluteus muscles Now contract either your urinary
or fecal expulsive muscles as if you were trying to pee or defecate Now try all three together
Spend time in this zone varying these contractions to different degrees while engaging in
calm paced breathing
Chapter  Stop Sexually Submissive Behavior
As with many other examples in the Program Peace system if holding two dominant
displays simultaneously is uncomfortable or difficult they likely inhibit each other However
if you can calmly practice them together you disinhibit them and increase the probability they
will arise together on their own
Walk Confidently as if Your Genitals Were on Display
In Chapter  we discussed how submissive animals minimize the appearance of physical assets
like horns claws and muscles This includes the genitals Your everyday posture and
mannerisms reveal cues to others as to how comfortable you are naked Body language evolved
during our history as unclothed apes so even clothed we often act as if we were naked Most
people conceal their genitals during times of insecurity with their hands legs chairs or tables
When a dominant person makes a power play it is quite common for other people of the same
sex to place their hands in front of their sex organs The only time you should conceal or protect
the genitals is to block a physical blow to the groin
Most people walk in a way that hides or apologizes for their genitalia Walking like this
involves hunching or crouching of the lower back Remember the lumbar lordosis and anterior
pelvic tilt discussed in previous chapters We actually use these to withdraw our private parts
from view They obscure the genitals like a dog hiding its tail between its legs You should do
the exact opposite This means walking around with the back and hips open as if presenting the
genitalia To do this flex your buttocks Thats right gluteal contraction puts your genitals on
display by pressing your hips forward and rolling the top of your pelvis back as discussed in
Chapter  It is an entirely different style of standing and walking that comes across as much
more sexually selfassured
If you can imagine being comfortably naked in social situations you will project higher
confidence The more time you spend naked the more comfortable it will become which is
why  strongly recommend sleeping naked when possible If you have never slept naked you
may lose some sleep the first night because of how uncomfortable you feel But you will relax
into it within a week  also recommend spending time alone in your room in the buff as
described next
Sexual Activity  Spend an Hour in Your Room Naked
Make sure no one can see into your room and you wont be disturbed Lock the door
Completely disrobe Place towels underneath you if uncomfortable sitting on the floor naked
Spend a full hour reading watching TV meditating whatever you want completely naked It
can help to have a mirror in front of you Use optimal posture Once you become
comfortable try talking on the phone How do you hold your body when completely nude
Do you tend to cover up or hide your genitalia Is your posture retentive or expulsive Notice
these tendencies change as you become comfortable Experiment with pushing your pelvis
out contracting your glutes and spreading your legs in different ways If performed with
paced breathing this activity will transform your relationship with your birthday suit
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Masturbation Trauma
Most of us were petitioned by our parents at a very young age to stop touching our genitals in
the company of others We learned to feel bad for stimulating the area resulting in a subtle
form of trauma  recommend briefly touching yourself in a sexualaffectionate way at least five
times a day This can be a graze stroke or reassuring grope Some people already do this
regularly To others it is very foreign You can do it alone or discretely in public Even a second
of selfcomforting can help decrease bracing of the pelvic floor
used to worry that frequent masturbation could cause specific forms of cancer until  used
pubmedcom to look at the actual medical studies It does not There are no diseases linked to
masturbation So give yourself carte blanche to be completely selfindulgent However there
are a few important caveats to keep in mind Masturbating to pornography may desensitize you
to real people potentially leading to sexual dysfunction Also masturbating with a lubricant can
make it difficult for men to sustain an erection with a condom Also consider masturbating
while standing up to avoid losing the ability to remain aroused while standing Definitely
consider masturbating while paced breathing For some people it takes time and work merely
to reach arousal while paced breathing But the process will steel and gird your sexuality
Studies have shown that placing tiny vibrators near or on the genitals of mice can increase
sexual response interest and the production of sex hormones Studies like these suggest that
the external use of vibrators may convince the mammalian body that it resides in some kind of
maximally optimal sexual environment and may in turn elicit an optimal sexual response from it
involving changes in gene expression Keep in mind though that masturbating to orgasm with
some sex toys may make it difficult to sustain arousal during regular intercourse
The fascia and muscles nestled in the pelvis control the responsivity of sexual arousal
Massage and myofascial release are probably beneficial for these muscles however there is no
existing rubric to help people do this safely and effectively Moreover excessive pressure could
damage your sexual organs or drastically change the tone of the muscles that regulate blood
flow to them For these reasons  will not describe a protocol for genital massage here If you
decide to use compressive massage on the areas between your legs  recommend using only
very light pressure That being said you should also find that groin stretching and antirigidity
can be helpful in conditioning these muscles
Sexual Expressivity
The antirigidity exercises for the lumbar spine from Chapter  will help free up your hips and
lower back making your sexual expressivity more sensual and enjoyable Try to incorporate
previously dormant muscles into intercourse and use them to explore new movement patterns
Use the next two activities to enhance the coordination of the muscles and joints involved
Sexual Activity  Bump Your Pubis Against the Wall
Find some privacy and turn on some sexy music Stand with your feet shoulderwidth apart
and your toes touching a wall Press your pubic bone into the wall to the beat of the music
You can bump against it like a bouncing basketball or smear yourself into it with each thrust
Contract your buttocks firmly as you advance Vary the curvature of your lower back the
distance between your feet and the placement of each blow against the wall
Chapter  Stop Sexually Submissive Behavior
After a few sessions you will develop the coordination to turn it into a dance You can move
each advance from left to right or from top to bottom Doing this against a door jamb can
give you the leg room you need to bend your knees and drop lower You can also try this
exercise by bumping your butt against the wall instead of your pubis Bang everything from
your pubic bone to your hips your sacrum to your sitz bones into the brick wood or plaster
Focus on rhythm timing and bravado
Good sex should provide a massage to the pubic bone and the muscles that surround it
for both partners The friction between your pubic hair and your partners should make
rhythmic crackling sounds Pubicboneonpubicbone massage increases arousal and is one of
the best ways to stimulate the clitoris Just like the muscles in our lower backs muscles that
surround the pubic bone can take the form of tense cords that form tense cords Teaching
yourself to massage them during the act of sex along with those of the other person can be
very sexually empowering
Sexual Activity  Hump Your Pillows to Music
Put on some music or a music video Stack pillows on your bed to support your pelvis in
different sexual positions You can straddle these pillows kneel squat or lie on top of them
You can also fold a pillow over a couple of times to
Chapter  Finding Happiness Through Playfulness  Composed Kindness
It can be freeing to be mellow and passive and to support the leadership of others
Allow other people to take over and yourself to relax when they do Relish the relief from being
in charge Do so while exuding balanced nonconfrontational energy Perpetual assertion takes
its toll It involves intense face time eye contact talking decision making and an overtaxing of
existing bracing patterns It leads to social fatigue and is why highpressure executives and CEOs
can age so rapidly We should be handing over the pack leader role constantly passing it
around from person to person sharing the stage the crown and the accompanying burdens
Often in real life we are forced to play an inferior role At our workplace we must submit
to higherups to keep our jobs and advance our careers There are many reasons you should
treat your boss as the dominant individual Whats more it may be best for you your boss and
the business to allow them to act superior in some ways That said dont hurt yourself just to
let the boss be the boss Acquiesce appropriately to your employer law enforcement judges
and other authority figures without diminishing your posture shortening your breath or
surrendering your pride This will allow you to maintain a healthy serotonin level regardless of
your place on the corporate ladder
Just because you dont try to stop someone from acting dominant doesnt mean they are
dominating you They are only dominating you if you are inhibiting yourself or avoiding
confrontation with them out of fear They can never dominate you as long as you stay
composed Take sovereignty from needless oneupmanship
Keep in mind that everyone has essential observations and keen insights to impart
All humans are our fellows and our equals As Ralph Waldo Emerson said Every man  meet is
in some way my superior So let every man and woman be your superior at times especially
when they have something to teach you When you see someone do better than you at
something you value dont feel envious or threatened Instead feel eager to learn This is ego
stability and emotional strength
When threatened by an intruder a dominant gorilla will let out a tremendous roar charge
and knock down the newcomer with an immense hand swipe However outside of defending
themselves and their group members dominant gorillas do not generally overtly assert their
rank Even though gorillas are immense powerhouses animal behaviorists often describe them
as shy because most of the time they dont feel like they have anything to prove It is not that
they are shy it is that we are arrogant pompous and flagrantly adversarial
The only way to transcend the dominance hierarchy is to be content when you temporarily
find yourself in a subordinate position to be comfortable when others perceive you as
subordinate without trying to change their mind You dont want to be a doormat but neither
do you want to be consumed by resisting looking like a doormat Only doormats worry about
being doormats
Our unconscious mind values prestige over happiness The two are often at odds You can
change this by intentionally pursuing happiness over prestige
Optimism Excitement and Feeling Good
It pays to be happy Optimists live longer have stronger immune systems recover from injury
more quickly and have increased mental and physical health Happiness and positive emotions
are linked to higher earnings better appraisal at work relationships of higher quality and
increased likability Happy people are perceived as more intelligent competent and physically
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
attractive Optimists cope more effectively with stress are generally healthier and are less
likely to become depressed When optimists have coronary bypass surgery they heal more
quickly than pessimists Positive thinking results in a cardiovascular system that is less reactive
to stress But how do we become happy in the first place
Optimists attribute the cause of adverse events to external specific and transient factors
In other words they see a tragedy as a oneoff fluke Pessimists on the other hand attribute
failures to their own internal global and permanent shortcomings They see themselves as
useless and assume the world is out to get them If this is you stop it Regain your optimism by
recognizing that you have the potential to fix anything and everything that has ever been wrong
with your life Recognize that the future you will be skilled and competent enough to solve
any problems that arise
We are constantly making expressions to ourselves as we go about our days alone
Whatever these expressions are they constitute our true selves For most people its wincing
If thats you make the gestures and facial expressions of happiness when you are by yourself
The smiling and the postural alterations from previous chapters will help with this If solitary
happiness is not practiced regularly attempts at appearing happy among others will be fake
Remember how excited you could become as a child You had no reservations about expressing
exuberance and enthusiasm Nothing is stopping you from feeling zestfully happy right now
aside from the force of habit
have spent much of this book describing how we use our bodily energy to traumatize our
tissues This might make you assume that our life force is destructive It is not You must
redirect that same life force away from anxiety and tension toward happiness and joy The
more you do this the less energy there is to sustain stress Doing so actively reprograms how
your body routes energy setting you up for hardwired happiness Accordingly all the exercises
in this book should be done with joy and optimistic expectations This will make them much
more powerful
Be a lifeless corpse when it comes to tension ego and pessimism When it comes to
playfulness however thats when you want to be alive and spend your chilike energy on
positive social displays Lets start with laughter
Laughter in Other Animals
Many mammals laugh For example most rodents emit long ultrasonic vocalizations during
rough and tumble play The sounds rats and mice make have been described as chirping and
occur in the kHz range inaudible to humans When chirping they actively seek being
tickled and played with They chirp when wrestling chasing or searching for one another
They chirp during courting and before copulation Researchers have interpreted rat chirping as
an expectation of something rewarding and it appears to elicit friendly social approach in other
members of their species It also nullifies anxiety If you tickle a rat after a fearful situation
it will neutralize the negative emotions and vastly decrease any fearrelated learning going on
in its brain
Dogs can pant using heavy forced exhalations in a way that suggests a form of modified
laughter They use it during play Dogs exposed to a recorded doglaugh exhibit significantly
reduced stress behaviors increased tail wagging the display of the canine playface as well
as prosocial behavior such as approaching and licking another dogs lips
Chapter  Finding Happiness Through Playfulness  Composed Kindness
Chimps gorillas and orangutans all exhibit laughterlike vocalizations in response to
physical play including friendly contact like chasing wrestling and tickling It is a shallow pant
conveying nonaggression that is highly reminiscent of suppressed laughter in humans Their
laughter shows the same sonographic pattern as that of human babies They also use similar
facial expressions while laughing and are ticklish in the same areas that humans are Ape
laughter consists of a series of exhalations and inhalations like panting On the other hand
human laughter consists of a series of exhalations with no intervening inhalations
Mice dogs apes and humans make their breath shallow to create rapport Insistence on
breathing at long intervals caused me to stop doing this  was so focused on diaphragmatic
breathing that  refused to breathe shallowly even when joking with friends This is like refusing
to make anything other than an expressionless face Think of shallow breathing during fun
jovial play as a form of healthy panting that serves as a temporary microbreak or counterpose
to diaphragmatic breathing Refusing to pant is refusing to play
Rehabilitating Your Laughter Will Make It Much More Pleasurable
Gelotology is the study of laughter and the positive effects it can have on the body Proponents
advocate the induction of laughter on therapeutic grounds Laughter yoga hasya yoga and
laughter meditation also use voluntary laughter for therapeutic purposes Studies have shown
that it alleviates both stress and pain These practices assume that voluntary or forced
laughter provides some of the same benefits as spontaneous laughter Voluntary laughter is
often done in groups and may turn into real laughter Participants are instructed to facilitate
laughing by using childlike playfulness and eye contact These practices are great but  think
they do not get down to the issues crux From what  have seen people who engage in this
practice are mostly laughing superficially To reap the benefits we must isolate and strengthen
the core laughing reflex
The muscles involved in laughing have been traumatized by life stress As an infant your
laugh was primordial and bona fide Years of anxious laughter and worrying that your laugh is
too aggressive have damaged your instinctual laughing pattern As you might expect people
who are depressed or anxious have the least convincing laughs Extremely dominant people
laugh loudly without hesitating at whatever they like Most people however stifle their
laughter in the same way they stifle their posture and breathing This explains why most adults
laughter is eccentric and deviated from the innate laughter pattern
A babys laughter is vivacious and natural To relearn to laugh genuinely it is helpful to
watch infants and toddlers laughing Take the time to search for videos of babies laughing
on the internet and mimic them You will see that infants dont stifle their laughter They dont
worry about their laugh being too forceful or about offending someone Neither should we
Your laugh should shake you to your core and be intensely pleasurable
A hearty and progressive emptying of the lungs applies a significant load to the diaphragm
and the muscles of the chest wall triggering the endorphin system This is why social laughter
is correlated with an elevated pain threshold However most adult laughs hardly activate
the pleasure system at all After years of stifling laughter we have forgotten how to laugh in
a way that produces this response For many people the diaphragms role in laughter has
been weakened so much that laughter no longer recruits endorphins and is draining rather
than energizing
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Fake or nervous laughter comes from the throat and often results in increased tension
there During natural laughter the diaphragm does most of the work By training yourself
to laugh through deep contractions of the diaphragm and abdominals you can rebuild an
authentic laugh These muscles should reach exhaustion and start to fail during a good laugh
If your diaphragm and abdominals begin to burn like they did when you were a child you know
that you are doing it right The next exercise will show you exactly how to retrain your
diaphragm to fully participate in the act of laughing
Happiness Exercise  Diaphragmatic Laughing
Practice laughing while exhaling completely This involves an uninterrupted emptying of the
lungs Inhale completely only after you laughexhale completely Your exhale should consist
of a long series of laughing sounds punctuated by vocal glottal closure haha equals two
glottal closures The brief closing of the vocal tract glottis against the exhalation allows
pressure to build and makes the laugh sound like a series of rapidfire punches They should
roll out somewhat like the Rs when you roll your tongue Practice this as an exercise and
attempt to make the laughter last for at least five seconds but shoot for  to  seconds
Laugh all the way to the bottom of your range of exhalation Use the principles of anti
rigidity Try the following variations
Focus on and coordinate the laughs glottal closures so that they proceed at a
smooth and steady rate
Notice inadvertent irregularities in timing as well as the tendency to gulp
choke or falter and iron these out Its okay if it sounds mechanical and
robotic at first while you are relearning the basics
Cause the punctuated exhalations to roll out as fast as possible while
maintaining a fixed rhythm After you gain coordination in speeding them up
try slowing them down
Do this using your voice at various pitches but focus most on using a deep
voice to create a deep laugh
Explore your preferred ways of laughing varying resonance inflection and
timing Modulate each in as many ways as possible
Employ different melodies and model other peoples laughs Spend time
listening to and imitating actor Mark Hamills maniacal Joker laugh
Try laughing while exhaling completely until it turns into a wheeze and you
feel you dont have a cubic centimeter of air left in your lungs Ensure that the
laughing pattern remains coordinated even at the bottom of your exhalation
This will greatly strengthen the muscles involved
Dont raise your shoulders when you laugh and focus on keeping them pushed
toward the floor Maintain the tenets of optimal posture Dont allow your
spine to curve into a forward C shape You might try lying on your stomach
while you laugh to ensure that your spine is straight
Do this with a thoroughly relaxed face or while you massage your face so that
you can laugh heartily without intense facial constriction Induce paroxysms of
Chapter  Finding Happiness Through Playfulness  Composed Kindness
laughter without raising the eyebrows squinting sneering or tensing any
other muscles
The pressure to keep exhaling should be forceful and have a life of its own It
should feel like a boa constrictor is wrapped around your chest squeezing you
hard and only giving you a short period to inhale every few seconds
Laugh authoritatively compellingly boldly forcefully mightily Work on
making it contagious
Because the muscles are strained stagnant and uncoordinated your laugh may sound like
that of an insane villain at first But with practice it will become friendly and ebullient It is
important to do this exercise loudly gleefully and unhesitatingly so make sure that you are not
worried about others hearing you Do it in a closet or better yet in the car
It will be uncomfortable at first The muscles you engage may be so weak that they feel
susceptible to damage Mine certainly were If so take it easy the first few days and build up to
doing it vigorously Use laughter to work out the cramp in your diaphragm This exercise is a
powerful complement to diaphragmatic breathing exercises and will help you reach muscles
that you otherwise could not To this end try it while lying on your stomach from a forward
fold or from happy baby pose with your belly pushed out
At first the laughing exercise should make you feel weary After only one week you will be
able to push harder and be more adept at coordinating the pulses of laughter After a few
weeks you will be good at it and find yourself laughing more often This exercise transformed
my laugh from a flimsy perfunctory courtesy laugh into something enjoyable Now  laugh
spontaneously heartily resolutely and much more frequently  find laughing tremendously
gratifying and things that were barely amusing to me before are now hilarious
believe that laughing evolved to help humans let off steam It may have allowed instances
of camaraderie and social bonding to influence an individuals life strategy to place less value
on the adaptive aspects of trauma In other words the more conducive your environment is to
laughing the more your body assumes that your environment is a good one and that it is safe
to be optimistic A real laugh was probably designed by evolution to help us attain a fullrange
hard contraction of the diaphragm As with panthooting Exercise  this contraction
relieves the diaphragm of the partial contraction caused by stress and shallow breathing
The more you rehabilitate your laugh the more you increase your diaphragms potential
for providing you with endorphins Remember that endorphins are most reliably produced by
grooming singing laughing and play These are addressed in Chapter  Chapter  this
section and the next section respectively
Some people with relatively calm nasopharynxes can clear their nasopharynx in the same
way others clear their throats It is like snorting except it involves breathing out rather than
breathing in Some people call it a nose laugh  see it as a dominance signal conveying that the
persons nasopharynx is not tense When my nasopharynx was tense  was incapable of
doing it Once you have compressed your nasopharynx using the exercises in Chapter
you can build the coordination to perform this empowering laugh
Some people use this signal to laugh at something they find inferior like rolling the eyes
Please dont use it derisively or to ridicule people Instead use it as a heartfelt laugh to
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
communicate that you are enjoying absurdity People usually find it exciting and it makes them
want to laugh along with you
Happiness Exercise  Laugh through the Nasopharynx
Use a brief  to  seconds but powerful exhalation to force air out through your
nasopharynx with the mouth closed This snort is similar to a scoff or chortle It sometimes
arises when you try to withhold laughter First practice doing it in small short bursts to
develop the proper coordination so that you can build up to doing it in a prolonged way
With practice you will be able to hold convincing threesecond nose laughs It is a convivial
way to express amusement that improves quickly with practice
Be Playful
We dont stop playing because we grow old we grow old because we stop playing  George Bernard Shaw
Play like laughter is a form of medicine but certain conditions must be met for it to be
genuine All stressors anger fear pain hunger and separation reduce play Animals must be
well fed comfortable and healthy for play to take place When these conditions are met rats
and mice chase and pounce wrestle pin nip poke and knock each other over This is the kind
of play that generates highfrequency laughterlike chirps at  kHz Physical roughandtumble
play is the most fun of all At one point  thought all aggressive acts were unpleasant but
judging from play in other mammals feigned aggression can be joyous
It is important to note that when mammals play rapid role reversal is a defining element
In other words they know it is friendly when everyone gets a chance to be on top Knowledge
of this should influence us to pass being dominant back and forth with our friends The rat that
ends up on top more often during pins becomes dominant The continuation of play
necessitates a willingness on the part of the winner to selfhandicap Dominant rats that go
easy on others always have playmates but those that bully are ignored when they try to solicit
play Play helps animals determine who to avoid and with whom they can develop cooperative
relationships They learn to dominate but also accept defeat without being defeated
Dominant animals would rather play but aggressive animals would rather fight Rats
involved in a fight bite each other and box This can lead to injury They stand on their hind legs
and strike each other with their front paws When they do this the kHz laughter turns into
kHz complaints This is similar to chimpanzees among whom play is accompanied by
wrestling panting and a play face whereas fighting involves boxing tearing scratching biting
and barking
Chapter  Finding Happiness Through Playfulness  Composed Kindness
Ilustration  Animals playing
Rather than being based around wrestling human play focuses on verbal interchange and
banter Repartee involves provocation rejoinders biting commentary and if friendly laughter
As in other mammals this form of verbal jousting can engender friendship respect and
cooperation It can be made more fun with the use of bombastic quarreling absurd
braggadocio frivolous histrionics grandiose pretentiousness and ostentatious balderdash
When you do it be spunky employ exuberance and enjoy it You dont have to act excitable to
be sparkling and bubbly you just need to be playful Usually if you manage to entertain
yourself others will be entertained as well
Remember to be like the mice during play and allow others their opportunity to be on top
lest you risk losing playmates This includes giving others equal chance to talk and refraining
from dominating conversations A dog initiates play by crouching A monkey initiates it by
exposing its rear end Both of these actions involve selfdiminishment and vulnerability
Showing others that you dont take yourself too seriously or exposing a vulnerability can make
them want to play with you After experimenting with this for years now  have concluded that
you can be as vulnerable and nice as you can and as long as you are playful it wont be
mistaken for weakness
Play ranks among the most beneficial neuroplastic interventions Placing rodents into
enriched environments where they can socialize wrestle and play with others results in
heavier brains and higher levels of dopamine endorphins and serotonin Studies have found
that rats deprived of play are more fearful and aggressive toward other rats Encouraging
playfulness in animals is one of the few behavioral interventions known to reverse anxiety and
depressive symptoms This is probably because it allows them to shift from the threat
response to the challenge response
Social play involves creativity and requires that we learn to approach others in diverting
and lively ways Imagination and fantasy can also facilitate play My favorite way to play with
people is to make up imaginary scenarios What would you do if  am animated
shameless and immature when doing this My scenarios include helicopters ninjas dinosaurs
and hats with pinwheels on top of them When other people do this recognize it as play
participate and egg them on by laughing with them Whenever someone uses an analogy or
poetic license to describe a situation help them flesh it out until you have created a whimsical
comical cartoon world Feel at home with wordplay punning nonsense and silliness
Use Sensory Deprivation to Unmask Neurotic Activity
Most of us are afraid that fixing our gaze on anything will make us look too calm We keep our
eyes busy to make others feel comfortable Take a minute now and observe yourself looking
around You should be able to sense pressure to keep glancing neurotically This comes froma
form of anxiety in the eye motor centers that act below the level of conscious awareness The
restlessness makes it difficult for you to maintain eye contact and to fixate on anything if other
people are watching you The best way to retrain this nervous habit is to become more
comfortable anchoring your gaze without worrying about how you may appear to others while
doing it
Eye Exercise  Sustained Gaze
Spend two minutes staring at a single point Notice any impulses to glance away and gently
override them You might try to keep your eyes fixated on a single feature of the wall or
ceiling or you might try to keep your gaze limited to a circumscribed region of space like a
light fixture If youre having trouble cut out a picture of a face from a magazine and tape it
to your wall or ceiling to gaze at contentedly Allow yourself to feel free to space out like a
child absorbed in a daydream Dont be concerned about looking dazed or stupefied and
dont worry if this level of ocular relaxation causes your eyes to cross for a few moments
Sensory deprivation can help uncover baseline neurotic tendencies Lets start with sight
Tracking your ocular behavior in complete darkness will make it clear how much of your eye
movement is highstrung and unnecessary The best way to do this is to wait until nighttime
turn off all the lights in your home and lie down on the floor of a closet or bathroom Do
whatever you can to make this area completely dark You may need to put up curtains or drape
some towels over the cracks Being in pitch blackness makes it easier to feel absolutely certain
that no one can see your face expressions or eye movements Think back to the way your
submissive signaling diminished when you took that walk around the block while pretending to
be invisible Complete darkness allows you an even greater degree of invisibility and anonymity
No one and nothing can be offended by how relaxed you appear because you truly are invisible
Take the opportunity to relax fully and open your eyes very wide without compunction
In absolute darkness  feel like a slimy gelatinous sea slug that has been removed from all
danger  can feel the squinting contraction release in the same way that the sea slug we
discussed in Chapter  releases its gill The complete vacancy of visual stimulus will desensitize
you and provide your eyes with the experience they need to grow wide This phenomenon is
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
also a bit like eyestalk extension in snails When you touch a snail its eyestalks retract The eyes
invert within the eyestalks and travel down toward the head This action blinds the snail but is
an essential defensive reflex meant to protect the eyes After several seconds when the snail
starts to feel safe again the eyes slowly evert the eyestalks reach full length and the eyes pop
out at the top Use the exercises above to develop fearless wide eyes and fully extend your
eayestalks
In absolute darkness you will also be able to see phosphenes which are colored shapes
that are produced by your visual system These may take the form of dots stars lines static
circles or various other shapes This visual activity will be accentuated if you lightly rub your
eyes The phosphenes represent a type of background noise that is usually not noticeable yet
always ongoing When the lights are on phosphene activity is put to work helping you make
perceptual distinctions When the lights are off that activity hits a stumbling block amounting
to a lowlevel form of hallucination
believe these phosphenes can play a role in driving anxious thought Notice when they
flash abruptly and calm your reaction to this You may notice that they flare when you look
straight keeping you from maintaining a fixed gaze You may also notice that they burst in the
corner of your eye When they flash like this in the periphery of your vision  believe they may
be reminding you to scan for potential threats that are to the side of you or behind you When
first started doing this the phosphene activity appeared sinister and frightening  even saw
flashes of scenes from horror movies This all contributed strongly to the feeling of being unsafe
in the dark
This may have also been the case for my cat Niko He cried like a kitten in the dark closet
the first few times but now he will join me of his own volition Notice your reactions and try to
bring peace to your conscious and unconscious responses to the phosphene activity by pairing
the experience with diaphragmatic breathing After doing Exercise  twice for five minutes
never again saw any frightful apparitions  strongly recommend that you use this technique to
free the background activity of your visual system from unnecessary negativity
Eye Exercise  Vision in Complete Darkness
Lie down on the floor in a pitchblack room Keep your eyes as wide as possible and observe
your eye movements Practice looking in different directions and sustaining your gaze at
different points with the eyes wide and eyebrows relaxed You will notice your eyes dart
around in the dark They will display an intense agitated tendency to move quickly on their
own without any conscious deliberation Simply observing this and practicing sustained
gazing in utter blackness will allow you to reduce the intensity Nonjudgmentally monitor the
visual activity colored phosphenes the eye movement activity and the feelings that come
from being in utter darkness Use this method to dismantle your fear of the dark
recommend buying noisereducing earmuffs to use in your dark closet With the earmuffs
on you will be able to hear the background activity of your auditory system just as darkness
reveals the background activity of your visual system For most of us background auditory
function takes the form of a ringing or buzzing in the ears which is known as tinnitus When
first heard the hissing sound amplified by the earmuffs it was very upsetting  abhorred it
Chapter  Hold a Steady Upward Gaze with Wide Eyes
Many people feel this way which is unfortunate because some degree of tinnitus is always
there whether we are conscious of it or not  found that the practice of breathing
diaphragmatically and listening to my tinnitus gradually reduced its volume and made it far less
emotionally disquieting Paced diaphragmatic breathing will quickly help you come to peace
with being alone in complete darkness with nothing but the background noise of your own
visual and auditory systems This will make it so that their default settings do not haunt you
during everyday life
Conclusion
The final exercise puts several of the routines from this chapter together into a single routine
that you can perform while watching television
Eye Exercise  Watching TV Upside Down
Lie on the floor on your back with your head near the TV and your feet away from it Watch
a movie or television program upside down so that you are looking straight up at the screen
Your eyebrows should be visible but out of focus just below the bottom of the TVs border
Do not allow your brow to raise Keep your eyes wide and your face relaxed Try to maintain
constant eye contact with the characters on the television Place your breath metronome
next to the TV so that it can guide you in paced diaphragmatic breathing Remain this way for
the duration of a TV show or movie
Afterward look in a mirror You should notice that your eyes look fuller happier and calmer
Watching inverted video is also a challenge for your brains visual systems and may build
cognitive and perceptual skills
Some of these exercises may seem strange forced and almost comical Remember
though that when you perform them you are coactivating behavioral subroutines not
ordinarily coactivated together because of social constraints By pairing these with
diaphragmatic breathing you reeducate your nervous system to treat them as safe making
that combination of subroutines possible The more you do it the more probable it is to arise
spontaneously in the future and eventually become a fixed part of your personality You will
rarely have the opportunity to make prolonged eye contact looking up with wide eyes
breathing diaphragmatically in the course of everyday life To build optimal behaviors into our
repertoire we must create artificially ideal worlds in which to practice
The next chapter widens our focus Behaviors like squinting looking down and glancing
away all have muscular components to them Chapter  discusses repetitive muscular strain in
detail and considers the panoply of negative effects on us This will set the context for the rest
of the book which will guide you to overcome it
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Chapter  Bullet Points
e Squinting eyebrow raising looking down and gaze aversion are forms of trauma that
fracture our composure but can easily be rehabilitated
e Widening your eyes relaxing your brow looking up and practicing a fixed gaze have
many benefits and will literally change your perspective on life
e Squinting is defensive and intended to protect the eyeballs On a fundamental level it is
a sign of defensiveness or submission Deliberately widening the eyes can end excessive
squinting and is especially easy to do when breathing long deep breaths
e Raised eyebrows are analogous to the action of moving the ears backward in other
mammals This action is performed by an animal being chased so that it can hear its
attacker behind it It is submissive and so should not be strained for long periods
e Eyebrows lowered is analogous to ears forward which is the posture for an animal
chasing another This should not be strained either However becoming comfortable
lowering your eyebrows into a full frown will increase your nonverbal dominance The
same goes for glaring and the sideeye
e Looking down is submissive and doing it habitually weakens the muscles that allow us to
look up Looking upward above the horizon more often strengthens your ocular muscles
and conditions your nervous system to stop casting your gaze toward the floor
e Social trauma has caused us to become afraid of fixing our gaze on anything especially
anothers eyes
e Making prolonged eye contact with yourself in a mirror or simply gazing calmly at points
in space will train your unconscious visual control systems to be comfortable
maintaining a fixed gaze
e After making eye contact look at or near the eye line rather than below it
e Looking at characters on the TV straight in their eyes will strengthen your ability to look
real people in the eyes
e Speaking to someone on the telephone while making sustained wideeyed eye contact
with yourself in a mirror will strengthen your facetoface rapport with others
e Spending time in complete darkness while engaging in paced breathing will help you
make your visual systems default activity less chaotic and frightening Using sound
reducing earmuffs can do the same for your default auditory activity
e Watching TV upside down can reinforce looking up and eyewidening
Chapter  Hold a Steady Upward Gaze with Wide Eyes
Chapter  Endnotes
Pease B  Pease A  The definitive book of body language Bantam Books
Lutz T  Crying The natural and cultural history of tears Norton
Hasson O  Emotional tears as biological signals Evolutionary Psychology
Even C Schrder C M Friedman S  Rouillon F  Efficacy of light therapy in
nonseasonal depression A systematic review Journal of Affective Disorders
Keating C F  Human dominance signals The primate in us In S L Ellyson  J F
Dovidio Eds Power dominance and nonverbal behavior pp  SpringerVerlag
Keating C F  Keating E G  Visual scan patterns of rhesus monkeys viewing
faces Perception
Keating  Human dominance signals
ChevalierSkolnikoff S  Facial expression of emotion in nonhuman primates
In P Ekman Ed Darwin and facial expression A century of research in review pp
Malor Books
Trichas S  Schyns B  The face of leadership Perceiving leaders from facial
expression The Leadership Quarterly
Carney D R Hall J A A  LeBeau L S  Beliefs about the nonverbal expression of
social power Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
Tubbs S  Human communication Principles and contexts th ed McGrawHill
Hermann H R  Dominance and aggression in humans and other animals The great
game of life Academic Press
Sapolsky R M  The influence of social hierarchy on primate health Science
Gomez J C  Ostensive behavior in great apes The role of eye contact In A E
Russon K A Bard  S T Parker Eds Reaching into thought The minds of the great apes
pp  Cambridge University Press
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Cruz W  Differences in nonverbal communication styles between cultures
The LatinoAnglo perspective Leadership and Management in Engineering
Sadri H A  Flammia M  Intercultural communication A new approach to
international relations and global challenges Continuum International Publishing Group
Knapp M L  Hall J  Nonverbal communication in human interaction th ed
Cengage Learning
Knapp  Hall  Nonverbal communication in human interaction
Hogan K  Stubbs R  Cant get through  barriers to communication
Pelican Publishing Company
Farroni T Csibra G Simion F  Johnson MH  Eye contact detection in humans
from birth Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Lohaus A Keller H  Voelker S  Relationships between eye contact maternal
sensitivity and infant crying International Journal of Behavioral Development
Van Edwards V  Captivate The science of succeeding with people
Penguin Random House
Chance M R A  Attention structures as the basis of primate rank orders
Man
Dovidio J F Ellyson S L Keating C F Heltman K  Brown C E  The
relationship of social power to visual displays of dominance between men and women
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Dovido at al  The relationship of social power to visual displays of dominance
Nagasawa M Mitsui S En S Ohtani N Ohta M Sakuma Y Onaka T Mogi K
Kikusui T  Oxytocingaze positive loop and the coevolution of humandog bonds
Science
Tehovnik E J Slocum W M Carvey C E  Schiller P H  Phosphene induction
and the generation of saccadic eye movements by striate cortex Journal of Neurophysiology
Baguley D McFerran D  Hall D  Tinnitus The Lancet
Chapter  Recognize Muscular Tension
and Dormancy
You translate everything whether physical or mental or spiritual into muscular tension
F M Alexander
Suppose youre interacting with an abusive boss Without realizing it you hold some part of your body still in order
to manage your behavior during the confrontation Tension in your jaw throat or shoulders keeps you from lashing
out and losing your job Tension in your hips or feet keeps you from storming out of the room Similar tensions may
arise when you deal with a relatives expectations of you or during a disagreement with a friend
Mary Bond b
This chapter discusses a form of trauma that transforms muscles on a cellular scale repetitive
strain The first half of the chapter introduces the concepts of bracing and persistent muscular
tension and explains how to recognize them in your own body The second half dives into the
social and emotional aspects of muscle tension laying out the relationships between longterm
strain pain breathing and submissiveness Exercises are offered throughout to aid you in
recovering from your bodily tension
Recognizing Excessive Muscular Tone
It can be difficult to recognize the physical sensations of muscular strain We become so
accustomed to the pain and discomfort that they become effectively imperceptible the same
way we stop noticing unpleasant smells It often takes a significant shift for us to notice how
our bodies really feel This happened to me after  strained my shoulder skateboarding After
the accident a doctor prescribed me a dozen pills of meloxicam a nonsteroidal anti
inflammatory drug NSAID with analgesic effects After my first dose  spent a few hours trying
to analyze the effects of the drug My muscles felt looser and this quickly put me to sleep
woke up in the middle of the night to feel my hamstrings burning intensely but they had
not been stretched or exercised recently in any unusual way It took me a few minutes to
realize that this pain was their normal baseline condition The strain had simply been unmasked
by the NSAID drug  had become utterly accustomed to the fact that this tension went to bed
with me every night  quickly realized that the problem was widespread My hamstrings were
chronically strained from overzealous exercise but so were my hips lower back shoulders and
neck That night as  focused on gradually relaxing these body parts  began to realize just how
much  had been clenching them in a bizarre contorted way
This experience made me think of a lesson that my mother taught me In my twenties
developed a condition called plantar fasciitis that causes pain in the soles of the feet She
shared the method that she used to cure her plantar fasciitis saying something along these
lines Jared its a medical disorder but it comes from tension You must be curling your feet
into fists at night Right now you are unconscious of this tendency but it is possible to create
awareness Each evening before you go to bed focus on the sensations in your feet and tell
yourself that you plan to let the tension release and remain released as you sleep Dont allow
your feet to remain clenched all night  had painful plantar fasciitis for a full year yet after two
nights of following her instructions meditating closely on the sensations of tension the pain in
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
my feet was gone Right there lying in bed  saw the connection and realized that this same
lesson applied not only to my heels but to my hamstrings my heartache my headache
and my whole body
Tone Hypertonia and Hypotonia
Muscle tone also referred to as residual muscle tension or tonus is a continuous and passive
partial contraction found in all skeletal muscles It is often conceptualized as the muscles
resistance to passive stretching during a resting state Muscles receive continuous innervation
from the nervous system ensuring that even in rest they remain in a semiactive default state
Thus there is no complete rest in living muscle tissue
Both extensor and flexor muscles are constantly kept activated which helps us maintain
muscle readiness For instance your bicep a flexor and triceps an extensor are both always
in a state of partial contraction They complement and support each other no matter how
much you try to relax them Muscles on opposite sides of a joint contract in unison to stabilize
the joint This kind of antagonism occurs all over the body It is beneficial and necessary
Muscle tone is normal but it can become too intense under certain conditions and begin to
cause harm Excessive tone is referred to as persistent muscle tension muscle spasticity or
hypertonia Hypertonic muscles can be found in crucial places throughout our bodies and are
sources of chronic pain stiffness and premature frailty for every adult on the planet
The cause of excessive muscular tone and the accompanying pain we experience is
multifactorial Hypertonia can be exacerbated by bad habits wear and tear genetic risk factors
and injuries such as car accidents and falls However most of the preventable muscular pain
that we suffer is derived from a lowenergy injury to the tissues known as repetitive strain A
repetitive strain injury is caused by repetitious tasks or by sustained awkward positions Almost
any job profession or chore you can imagine involves monotonous contractions through which
muscles are subject to continuous or nearcontinuous strain While repetitive strain may occur
intermittently its effects build up over years resulting in chronic conditions
Longstanding instances of muscular tension develop pathways in the nervous system that
reinforce and perpetuate them Simultaneously an array of cellular changes takes place within
muscle cells themselves forcing them to contract permanently forfeiting strength and
flexibility By becoming accustomed to such burdens we force ourselves to carry them
unknowingly This is how we come to feel the weight of the world on our shoulders We are all
hauling an invisible intangible load forcing dozens of muscles throughout our body to push and
pull against absolutely nothing
Refrain from Muscular Bracing
Excessive tension in any posture is called muscular bracing and it is pervasive We brace
muscles all over our bodies every day Squinting and the raising and lowering of the brow
discussed in Chapter  are also forms of bracing Mostly we brace as a reflexive response to
things that make us worried or uncomfortable Due to the false sense of security it can afford
some researchers have termed it muscular armoring Bracing is intended to prepare us to
quickly initiate offensive or defensive movements as when we protect the neck by keeping the
shoulders raised Small amounts of temporary bracing are healthy and can be helpful during
rough and tumble play contact sports falls or collisions Unnecessary bracing however
Chapter  Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy
keeps the body on guard and rigid Thus when you need to move you are forced to
overcome your own resistance forfeiting grace and coordination
Keeping our muscles tense makes us feel in control but is a dysfunctional coping tactic
People generalize bracing from physical challenges to intellectual and social ones This is why
some experts refer to instances of bracing as neurotic holding patterns For instance we
tense during social encounters especially confrontational ones People tense their bodies
during standardized tests social gatherings and public speaking This hinders their
performance by interfering with productive efforts and by causing discomfort and autonomic
stress As we will discuss in Chapter  the sensation of fear in your gut and the sensation of
having your heart in your throat are also manifestations of chronic bracing
Imagine that you are standing alone in a strange dark parking lot with nothing nearby to
grab ahold of You hear someone yell Brace yourself What pose do you strike Whatever
pose you imagined is likely one that you commonly adopt during stress and startle The muscles
responsible for this pose are the ones you brace most often and so they are likely currently in
the process of becoming locked up Explore this a little further using the first unbracing
activity below
Relaxation Activity  Making a Claw
Tense all the muscles in your hand making it into a stiff claw Curl your fingers so that all
fifteen knuckles are partially bent Keeping your hand in that formation see whether you can
tense it even further Keep it tight as you open and close it five times
Now use your imagination Try to feel what would happen to your hand if you were forced to
hold it like this for a week straight It would become immobile inflamed and excruciating
Consider how often you tense your hand in daily life Has it already taken a toll Going
forward work on undoing that tension Try to notice the claw whenever it materializes and
allow it to revert to a soft lithe hand
You also want your hands to be strong so contracting their muscles firmly is necessary The
important thing is that you allow them to relax deeply after you stop using them Make a
very firm claw and then let it relax five times in a row How you respond to the discomfort
involved in the effort makes all the difference Dont allow the discomfort from the
contraction to influence you to keep bracing Rather plunge into the deeper level of
relaxation that is available after you have brought the muscles to fatigue
There are cyclical relationships between stress bracing and arthritis Some specialists
refer to forms of bracing as prearthritic postures Joints can only be braced for so many years
before they become inflamed and degenerative My mother has osteoarthritis in her hands
Some of her knuckles are larger and more deformed than others She firmly believes that the
most affected knuckles are those that she braced more during stress over decades An extreme
example is the raisedarm babas of India These are men who for spiritual reasons have
decided to always raise one arm in the air Over the years their shoulders become stiff as a
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
board and completely useless As you look over the table below think about which bracing
patterns you use
Internal Facial Postural
Tightening the Jaw Squinting the Eyes Raising the Shoulders
Constricting the Throat Raising the Eyebrows Bracing the Lower Back
Sucking the Tongue Straining the Smile Hunching the Neck
Constricting the Nasopharynx  Straining the Sneer Neglecting the Glutes and Abs
Straining the Vocal Folds Pursing the Lips Bracing the Shoulder Blades
Shallow Breathing Tightening the Cheeks Clenching the Hands and Feet
Abdominal Tensing Drawing Down the Corners of  Tilting the Pelvis to One Side
the Mouth
Table  Common Forms of Bracing that Compromise Muscle and Cause Pain
Bracing belongs to a more general category known as dysponesis or the misdirected use of
energy in the musculoskeletal system of which unnecessary tensing of the muscles is just one
example This wasting of energy is destructive For example dentists and orthodontists make
particular note of jaw clenching teeth grinding and tongue tension because those movements
push the teeth out of their optimal alignment In Chapter  we will discuss how bracing the
back pushes the spine out of alignment Muscular bracing is a factor in almost all joint disorders
and is responsible for carpal tunnel temporomandibular joint disorder tennis elbow and
countless others  believe that most chronic injuries despite the fancy and distracting terms
used by physicians start with tension caused by bracing
One way a mammal remembers that it just glimpsed a predator is by crouching down and
becoming very tense We often use muscular tension to keep something in mind When  need
to remember something or when there is an urgent need to do something that cannot be done
right away  become tenser The specific part of my body necessary to carry out the task is
often where the tension manifests For instance  will try to remind myself to write down a
thought by tensing my fingers as if  were gripping a pencil Recognize when this happens to you
and try not to use tension as a mnemonic aid
We tend to be negligent of excessive increases in muscle tension even when we are
performing simple tasks We tighten muscles that are not involved in what we are doing and
then keep those muscles tight even after we finish If the action is built into your job or daily
routine you can start by improving the ergonomics of your workspace or taking more regular
breaks You can also teach yourself to selectively calm muscles that you are not actively using
for the task at hand The key is to constantly and creatively alter your body posture so that
unused muscles are engaged and overused muscles are given a break
Chapter  Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy
Relaxation Activity  Monitor Your Bracing During Teeth Brushing
The next time you brush your teeth notice the movements in your hand arm shoulder
neck face and torso Are you tensing muscles or expending energy that you dont need to
For instance you might be gripping the toothbrush too tightly flexing heavily at the elbow or
shoulder locking your jaw or craning your neck to one side Do you alter your posture and
vary the repetitive motions to give your muscles breaks Use this activity as an example that
you can extend to all your daily chores and rituals Generalize this experience to as many
other activities as possible including writing with a pen typing with a keyboard or holding a
phone tablet book remote controller or steering wheel
Microbreaks Allow Muscles the Short Rests They Need
Not all muscle tension is bad After all there is no way to exercise without tensing your
muscles But bracing is very different from healthy exercise because it does not include tiny rest
periods called microbreaks Sometimes all our muscles need is a few seconds or even just a
few fractions of a second without being held taut When the electrical activity of muscle is
tracked with electrodes these moments of downtime show up as electromyographic gaps
brief intervals during which the muscles slacken and relax They are essential
For example every step you take involves significant exertion as you push off against the
ground However as one leg takes over the other is given a break during the time it takes to swing
it forward again That respite allows the muscles to regenerate and prepare for the next step If
you didnt have this microbreak after every step walking more than a few hundred meters would
be difficult In much the same way all the muscles in your body require microbreaks
Without momentarily reverting to a relaxed baseline tone muscles cannot replenish and
unwanted processes ensue You have probably noticed the difference between fatigue caused
by sustained bracing hyperfatigue and fatigue caused by exercise that contains microbreaks
The former aches and is unpleasant while the latter is both soothing and exhilarating Indeed
the most important factor in building healthy muscle is to allow it to relax The more relaxed
your muscles are at rest the more quickly they recover from exercise This is why relaxed
muscle responds dramatically to training whereas tense muscle responds sluggishly Whenever
you are not using a muscle allow it to go limp It almost seems slothful but its not its the way
you should live your life
Intermittent breaks and rests can help you disrupt long periods of unnecessary rigidity
Naps can work wonders in this regard During sleep and especially during REM sleep changes
occur in brain signaling that cause vastly reduced muscle tone known as atonia This is one
reason why short  to minute naps can be so invigorating Short naps can also restore
alertness mental performance and learning ability As you nap you are even giving your heart
a brief rest which may be why naps have been associated with reduced coronary mortality
Just remember that naps of  minutes or more often lead to sleep inertia impaired alertness
and tiredness When you feel depleted after the gym after an upsetting episode or whenever
you start to feel stiff and sore set your phones timer for  minutes and allow yourself a
recuperative power nap Even if you dont fall asleep just giving yourself a few minutes to lay
down during the day provides a reprieve that can be highly beneficial in the long term
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Why dont we allow ourselves the microbreaks that our bodies call for Often it is due to
social pressures Propriety and intimidation related to the status hierarchy cause us to brace
then feel guilty about relaxing Chronic submissive signaling disallows you from claiming the
microbreaks that your muscles need When at a dinner date or in a board room we dont give
our neurotic holding patterns a single second of downtime Wellcomposed people give various
muscles involved in social displays microbreaks In fact we can conceptualize composure as skill
in microbreaking Of course even our breathing muscles require microbreaks
Unbrace Your Exhalation with the Passive Exhale
Diaphragmatic bracing is the central feature of distressed breathing and a core symptom of
trauma Remember Activity  in which you held your hand like a claw and kept it tight as you
opened and closed it This is exactly what you are doing with your diaphragm when stressed
This kind of bracing could be an excellent exercise for the diaphragm if it only lasted for
seconds at a time but we tend to do it for hours or days at a time Continuously overtensing
the diaphragm and other respiratory muscles reduces their strength and range of motion
resulting in rapid shallow breathing
The inbreath requires muscular contraction but the outbreath does not It is not necessary
to do any muscular work during exhalation The positive pressure of air in your lungs is enough
to create the force This effortless return of the diaphragm to its resting position is called elastic
recoil The air naturally wants to be pressed out of your lungs as it would from a deflating
balloon Unfortunately most of us keep our breathing muscles tense during exhalation and this
ensnares us in a state of fight or flight Stopping this requires awareness and practice To
perform a passive exhalation all you need to do is let your breathing go limp while you are
exhaling After a minute or two of practicing this you should actually be able to feel the
diaphragm simmer down
Relaxation Exercise  Unbracing the Diaphragm While Exhaling
Perform paced breathing for five minutes Take full inhalations and when you start each
exhalation let go of the diaphragm completely Every exhalation should be a completely
passive form of freefall throughout which all the breathing musculature is relaxed Imagine
the leisurely descent of a parachute You are not doing any work at all and it should proceed
at its own pace The air should be oozing out of your nostrils on its own Once you practice
this for five minutes you should be able to tell that you were holding your diaphragm like a
tense claw during your exhalation before Allowing the diaphragm to go limp during the
exhale is extremely important for its health because just like all muscles it needs periods of
inactivity to regenerate Because you never stop breathing its only chance for such a
microbreak is during the exhalation
Imagine that for some reason you are responsible for driving a car up and down a low
grade hill over and over again For a while you keep the engine on during the descent but
since the descent lasts for a few minutes you realize that you can turn the engine off put the
car into neutral and just let it coast without having to touch the brake the accelerator or the
Chapter  Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy
wheel This is what a passive exhalation should feel like After you finish your inhale just take
the keys out of the ignition
Your inhalation is also braced it is just much harder to notice An inhalation requires the
contraction of the diaphragm down into the gut to create the vacuum that draws air into the
lungs But this contraction is often braced beyond what is necessary like the opening of a
tightly clenched hand This bracing impedes belly breathing and pulls the air into your upper
chest If you can interrupt it during an inhalation you will feel your belly coming uncoupled
from the bottom of your rib cage The passive exhale will help you with this uncoupling As you
learn to sense your diaphragmatic tension during the exhale you can teach yourself how to
lessen the unnecessary tension occurring during the inhale Once you have done this your
breathing will become much more efficient and less labored
It is worth mentioning that aside from bracing the inhale during the exhale many of us also
brace the exhale during the inhale This is when we keep the thoracic muscles responsible for
exhalation clenched while breathing in This is also completely unnecessary Spend some time
trying to notice these effects in your own breathing
After performing the passive exhalation for a few days a sense of irritation in your chest
will dissipate When this discomfort and inflammation is totally gone you will feel a profound
sense of relief The passive exhalation is so important that  consider it the fifth tenet of optimal
breathing Expect it to increase the benefits you get from paced breathing The passive exhale is
such a fundamental routine that it is actually a reflexive response that all mammals use after a
stressor has come and gone Can you guess what it is
Once a stressful episode has resolved all species of mammal exhibit deep spontaneous
breaths They inhale very deeply so that they can then exhale passively to reset and restore
equilibrium in their autonomic nervous system We know this as sighing Even mice sigh and
believe that like us they do it to provide the diaphragm with a microbreak However if you
provide your diaphragm with a microbreak during every exhalation you wont feel the need to
sigh anymore The trick is to learn to exhale limply even after a shallow inhalation Sighing is
very frequent in people diagnosed with panic disorders  used to sigh constantly but after
diaphragmatic retraining  rarely catch myself doing it anymore Master the passive exhalation
because it is highly detraumatizing
Persistent Muscle Tension Creates Trigger Points
Excessive muscle tension and the absence of microbreaks eventually produce knots that can
be felt under your skin They occur all over the body They are often palpable raised nodules
tender to the touch producing a dull aching pain when pressed firmly In the medical
literature these knots are referred to as trigger points trigger sites or spasms and they cause
reductions in muscle mass flexibility strength and endurance They are hyperirritated spots
in taut bands of skeletal muscle fibers created by chronic muscle overload They usually involve
a local contraction in a small number of muscle fibers within a larger muscle bundle
Many scientists refer to these knots as myofascial trigger points The myo is derived
from the Greek word for muscle while fascial refers to the tough outer lining that keeps
muscles in place fascia is a type of connective tissue that forms a continuous scaffold around
all the muscles and tendons in the body Myofascial trigger points are small patches of muscle
and fascia that pull together in an isolated spasm They are different from wholemuscle
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
spasms like a charley horse or cramp which are more transient have a sudden onset and
involve hard contraction of the entire muscle Although they can contribute to cramping trigger
points are different in that they are longlasting have a gradual onset and involve partial
contractions in small portions of the muscle
In addition to their immediate detrimental effects on muscle function trigger points often
cluster together and pull on tendons and ligaments causing joint problems and deep pain
The tension they cause at joints can result in clicking popping and grating sounds Over time
they can contribute to bone spurs pinched nerves and arthritis Trigger points can be seen in
greatly magnified pictures of muscle tissue like the one below They look like bunchedup
distortions in a weblike matrix
connective tissue
Figure  Knot of partially contracted sarcomeres in the muscle fiber from the leg of a dog at x magnification
Compare with the normal sarcomeres above and below it This knot looks like an active contraction but has no
electrical EMG activity and is thus stuck in partial contraction Reprinted with permission from Simons and
Stolov
Dr Janet G Travell MD  is generally recognized as the leading pioneer in
trigger point diagnosis and treatment It has been said that she singlehandedly created this
branch of medicine Travell who was the White House physician during the Kennedy and
Johnson administrations emphasized that trigger points are demoralizing and devastating to
quality of life She called them the scourge of mankind Advancedstage trigger points are the
worst They usually present in clusters are the most painful and involve highly warped muscle
fibers with large numbers of molecular aberrations In reality most people are practically
covered in trigger points from old injuries bad posture poor workout techniques and bracing
Muscle Tension Develops at the Molecular Level
To better understand trigger points we need a little more background on muscles themselves
Muscles are composed of fibers which are themselves made of smaller fibers The thinnest of
Chapter  Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy
those hold sarcomeres in which contraction takes place A sarcomere is a microscopic structure
built from two kinds of filamentlike molecules actin and myosin Actin and myosin form
interdigitating strands that can be activated When active they move past each other quickly
creating contractile force
Fascicle Fiber Myofibril all
I
Ui
ml a a
illustration  A Muscle made of fibers containing sarcomeres B Microscopic view of contracted sarcomeres in
a muscle myofibril An actual trigger point may contain dozens of these tiny knots
Millions of sarcomeres must contract to perform even the smallest movement After they
contract the sarcomeres relax when their actin and myosin strands are uncoupled from each
other and pull apart In healthy muscle actin and myosin wait patiently in a relaxed decoupled
state until an impulse from the nervous system tells them to pull past each other again In
unhealthy muscle they are stuck Many specialists believe that trigger points start to form
when overuse causes actin and myosin to become fixed in an interlocked position This
interlocking puts the muscle into a static state of contracture in which the strands no longer
separate and relax
Relaxation Actin
ele ACTIN
Contraction
Illustration  A Relaxed sarcomere on top and a contracted sarcomere on the bottom with actin and myosin
visible B Myosin curls like a finger pulling on actin and allowing them to slide past each other to create muscular
movement C Human neck and shoulders covered with clusters of trigger points
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Trigger points originate from a few different sources  sustained lowlevel contraction
sudden muscle overload  eccentric contraction when a muscle stretches and contracts
simultaneously and  gross trauma or injury to the muscle Regardless of the cause trigger
points slow blood flow to the muscle and cause oxygen deprivation at the affected site
The reduced blood flow then causes sarcomeres to contract further constricting the
surrounding capillaries Capillaries normally supply the muscle with blood so when they
constrict it leads to reduced circulation or ischemia that impairs many cellular processes
Without blood flow chemical waste products from muscular activity start to accumulate
Eventually the waste stimulates pain receptors in nearby nerve endings sending pain signals to
the brain Active trigger points demonstrate an unusual biochemical mix not seen in healthy
tissue It is an acidic milieu containing increased levels of proinflammatory contractile and
paincausing substances And remember we draw our very breaths with muscles that are
affected by these symptoms
Muscle Shortening and Scar Tissue
A muscle can change its resting length to adapt to the length at which it is habitually used or
positioned Muscles usually become shorter due to prolonged contracture This is known as
adaptive muscle shortening and places the muscle in a state of partial contraction It is another
pervasive clinical finding that affects every person who has ever lived
People confined to long periods of sitting exhibit debilitating shortening of the lower back
and hip muscles especially the hip flexors Similarly wearing highheeled shoes causes
prolonged plantar flexion of the foot which results in adaptive shortening of the soleus
muscles Constant squinting shortens the muscle fibers of the orbicularis oculi narrowing the
eyes Straining the sneer causes the muscles that lift the top lip to shrink making the face
appear hideous When the muscles in your knees and ankles shorten they leave you vulnerable
to sprains and tears Holding a hunched neck posture leads to shortening of the
sternocleidomastoid and other muscles in the front of the neck making it very difficult to stop
hunching because the decreased length of these muscles pulls the head down As Chapter
will explain bracing the muscles surrounding the genitals may play a role in sexual dysfunction
There are examples of adaptive muscle shortening in muscles all over our bodies
The pressure from prolonged contracture pulls on tendons straining them and distressing
the joints when they move Next ligaments and joint capsules retract These changes perturb
nerve endings within the muscles and joints causing deepseated pain Muscle shortening also
increases wear and tear contributing to inflammatory and degenerative changes such as
tendonitis fasciitis bursitis and osteoarthritis Many different tissue types are damaged by
strain including articular cartilages connective tissues tendons fascia menisci ligaments and
spinal disks
Adaptive muscle shortening can be made worse by the accumulation of scar tissue Scar
tissue is a very tough inflexible fibrous material that binds itself to strained muscle fibers
attempting to draw the damaged fibers together The result is a bulky mass of stiff tissue
surrounding the site In some cases it is possible to feel and even see this mass under the skin
When scar tissue adheres to muscle fibers it prevents them from sliding back and forth
properly limiting the flexibility of a muscle or joint
Chapter  Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy
Scar tissue tends to shrink and deform the surrounding tissues diminishing strength and
making the body feel heavy It tends to adhere to nerve cells leading to chronic pain Existing
research has found that scar tissue is weaker less elastic more prone to future reinjury and
up to  times more painsensitive than normal healthy tissue This results in chronic pain
that under most circumstances lasts a lifetime In people who brace the most these effects
create visibly apparent postural distortions
Excessive Tension is Debilitating and Constrains Your Physique
Muscles encumbered by trigger points and adaptive shortening can be conceptualized as
dormant muscles This is so because they are difficult to recruit dont move with the rest of the
body and are starved of blood Dormant muscles cannot recover adequately after a workout
and are resistant to growth and strengthening because they can never fully relax and thus can
never fully heal As long as they are under constant selfimposed strain they will continue to
grow harder more fragile and decrepit Scrunchedup muscles crumple your body and cause it
to buckle under every movement
Pregnancy itself does not necessarily adversely affect a womans physique Rather it is the
months of prolonged bracing absence of postural variety and limited range of motion that can
accompany the later stages of pregnancy for some women that have prominent longlasting
effects Moreover although some of the natural variation in physique between humans is due
to exercise genetics and exposure to testosterone much of it can be attributed to differences
in dormant muscle that arose due to bracing during stress
You have significant untapped reservoirs of muscle in your body that correspond to areas
you brace and have been bracing for decades For example think about the hunch you probably
have in your neck Starting at birth you had a natural tendency to straighten the cervical
vertebrae in your neck stacking them in a straight line That straightnecked upright posture is
optimal But social pressures can affect how we carry our heads and necks the less safe stable
or welcoming your childhood environment was the more you were conditioned to hunch over
communicating modesty or submission The standard submissive neck posture is to stoop over
jut your chin out and tilt your head back All of those changes reduce your height and help you
appear guarded But they also introduce a slant in your neck which is an inefficient way of
stacking vertebrae against the force of gravity The excessive tension that develops leads to the
proliferation of trigger points and those in turn cause muscle dormancy in your neck
shoulders and chest and from there on down the spine
Chapter  will detail exactly how to reclaim your neck and regain its flexibility and full
range of motion But the neck is just one example of a reservoir of muscle that has been
suppressed that you can tap into These reservoirs can be found all over our bodies Take your
clothes off and look in the mirror Any body parts that dont appear nubile and supple have
great potential If all of our muscles were brought completely out of dormancy we would have
the physiques if not bulk of elite athletes
Injuries Lead to Muscular Bracing
Injuries contribute to and interact with bracing After getting hurt individuals often try to avoid
experiencing pain by tensing the area surrounding the site of injury When someone sprains
their ankle they unintentionally contract many muscles in the ankle setting it in a fixed
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
defensive position This is intended to protect the injury In fact it is known as splinting
because it acts as a splint to immobilize the joint Unfortunately it also deprives the muscles of
the rest oxygen and nutrients they need to heal As a result splinting worsens the pain in the
long term by overtaxing the muscles involved This happens partly because we tend to breathe
extremely shallowly whenever we injure ourselves because as you know shallow breathing
causes bracing This is why whenever  experience an injury  pull out my breath metronome
immediately
Injuries almost always result in some form of persistent muscle tension Even major
medical procedures can contribute atrogenic pain is a term referring to pain caused by
medical treatment and is especially common with the use of braces slings casts and surgeries
Immobilizing a broken forearm with a cast can easily lead to frozen shoulder syndrome in
which a group of deltoid muscles is barred from moving through its normal range of motion as
tension gradually mounts
had a melanoma removed from my shoulder blade in my midteens and  recently found
that  have a series of muscular knots under the scar from bracing the area My brother
received a large shot in the quadriceps during his appendectomy  years ago and he says the
same area troubles him often Think conscientiously about past injuries medical procedures
and other forms of trauma identifying how they might be causing you to brace or tense
muscles even today
Stress and muscular tension also make us more susceptible to physical injury because tense
muscles fail and tear under excessive force whereas relaxed ones are more resilient The
muscles strained by sitting in a fixed position at a computer for eight hours a day are the most
susceptible to damage from a fall or car accident Thus injury can lead to bracing and bracing
can lead to reinjury
Tense muscle tissue can be conceptualized as an injury or as a trauma even if there was no
precipitating accident The word injury is defined as physical damage to a biological organism
The word trauma is defined as an abnormality in an organisms tissues usually caused by
injury By these definitions any form of persistent bracing and the trigger points stemming
from it are both injurious and traumatic Unfortunately once they get bad enough they can
poison us emotionally
The Link Between Tension Pain and Negative Emotion
These mountains that you are carrying you were only supposed to climb  Najwa Zebian b
Physical pain is an adaptive evolved mechanism The pain from a cut or burn informs us that
our bodies are suffering damage It gives us builtin motivation to withdraw from the source of
harm and learn to avoid it in the future But what about muscular pain also known as myalgia
In contrast to physical pain myalgia has more to do with restricting movement It compels us to
refrain from specific motions that might be damaging or harmfulit tells us not to overstretch
a strained muscle not to bend a weakened joint too far It also tells us when we approach the
limits of our healthy range of motion giving us important feedback about what our bodies can
and cannot do This would have restricted aging huntergatherers from movements that had