Introducing The Body Loop
Resiliency is our ability to bounce back after a stressful life event or a deep stretch. Increasing flexibility without creating the support structures around our joints and strength through the entire myofascial system leaves us more vulnerable and less resilient, less able to bounce back. Along with the myriad of benefits that we derive from yoga, there is the risk of becoming unstable from too much flexibility and not enough strength.
Diane Bruni and Riki Richter, two longtime yoga and movement teachers and educators, are on a mission to find accessible ways to improve physical resilience, strength, body awareness, prevent injury and increase vitality. Together they have created the Body Loop: a resistance and support device that enhances proprioceptive input while improving coordination, breathing biomechanics and posture.
The Body Loop is reminiscent of a yoga strap, except it stretches and bounces back just like your tissues. The 3 inch wide woven elastic feels good next to the skin, the 3 sizes can be configured via Velcro fasteners into 24 sizes making it adaptable for any yoga pose, pilates or rehab exercise.
The Body Loop is an incredibly versatile tool for movement teachers and rehab practitioners. It can be used to:
Retrain your posture:
By providing sensory feedback from mechanoreceptors and fascia, the Body Loop retrains posture across the kinetic chain. We can’t think our way to better posture, especially if we don’t have hands on assistance or feedback. The Body Loop becomes that postural awareness feedback loop for us.
Improve proprioception:
The pressure of the Body Loop on your skin helps you orient to where your body is in space by activating the receptors in your fascial system. You will feel more confident exploring more diverse movement with increased proprioception.
Down regulate your nervous system:
The gentle compression of the Body Loop on your body create a sense of a container around you. This creates a sense of safety, a more embodied boundary. We move better and with more grace and ease when our bodies feel safer. Your breathing softens without effort.
Create more joint stabilization for hypermobile joints:
The body loop will help you feel more at the end ranges of motion you have created by letting you when you don’t have the strength to support end range movement. You have to engage muscles to get into those end ranges of motion.
Find resistance in your practice to improve strength:
In addition to being a support and feedback device, the Body Loop can be used like a resistance band with the added benefit of being adjustable to many different lengths.
Recruit more muscle fibres:
We often only access a limited number of muscle fibres thus limiting our strength and resilience potential. The pressure from the Body Loop stimulates mechano receptors increasing recruitment.
Improve breathing biomechanics:
Quite often we aren’t aware of fully mobilizing our diaphragm and might be creating even more dysfunctional breathing biomechanics as we strive towards improving breathing. The Body Loop provides immediate feedback as to whether the diaphragm is moving efficiently.
Increase somatic awareness:
Creating a sense of safety, containment and support in our bodies can increase our capacity to be fully present in our body. The Body Loop allows us to find deeper levels of body awareness and deep rest.
