glossary

Here's what we mean when we say

  • deep tissue

    Your body weight creates pressure in your tissues sandwiched between the (un)Block and your bones. 

    The pressure creates heat, helping to melt gluey hyaluronic acid. The temporary restriction of blood flow causes a surge of fresh blood and oxygen to the area.

    Holding each unwind position for at least 3 minutes works slowly and deeply (you're in control of depth, always) to unblock stuck fascia and muscle knots.

  • fascia

    Fascia is our largest organ. A strong, continuous, system-wide network providing form and function to your entire body. 

    According to Johns Hopkins Medicine: "fascia is a thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds every blood vessel, organ, bone, nerve, joint, tendon, and muscle in place." 

    When it is unhealthy it gets tight and stuck, impeding our range of motion, causing pain, changing our posture, and impacting the function of everything it touches.

  • somatic

    Derived from "soma" the Greek word for body, a fancy way of saying body-based. especially as it relates to your perception or experience of the body. 

    The state and position of your body strongly informs the state of your nervous system, your mind, and your body chemistry (think: power pose vs slumping over). 

    Somatic practices - like unwind - use your body to help make shifts on purpose.

  • vagus nerve

    Our vagus nerve is a cranial nerve. It is the main actor in our parasympathetic nervous system, controlling involuntary functions like our heart rate, digestion, and immune system. 

    unwind supports the vagus nerve in several ways, directly and indirectly. The practice is also trauma-informed by what I continue to learn about Polyvagal Theory, signaling the vagus nerve to help create safety in the body. 

  • nervous system

    Our nervous system sends messages between our brain and our body, down the spinal cord, through the fascia and into nerves all over our body. 

     It is most well known for signals delivered to our nervous system under stress (fight, flight, freeze. and fawn) and regulation (social, rest, digest).  

    Our nervous system controls our thoughts, our feelings, our actions, and even our memories, which vary wildly depending on our state of activation or regulation.

    unwind helps our nervous system come back to calm-alive states from stress.

  • nervous system attunement

    Attunement is noticing what's happening to your body under stress. Simply put: you can't think your body out of nervous system activation.

    Attunement is the process of feeling what's going on and somatic or other practices to work with your body. Not ignoring it, or using your mind to try to force it to calm down.

    unwind builds attunement and helps you learn the signals your body sends you every day, all day

  • embodiment

    As a type A intellectual, your body is probably the taxi to carry your big brain around. You value your thoughts and doing but ignore your body until it yells with inconvenient demands like hunger, anger, illness, or pain.

    Recent science and ancient wisdom agree the body has a wealth of information for you to live a successful, happy, healthy life.

    unwind helps you reconnect to your body's signals, unlocking more of your energy and untapped potential.

  • passive recovery

    You power through your work and work outs. You know rest is needed for peak performance but it feels so lazy. Ice or salt baths don't really get to the aches.

    unwind classes are a different kind of "rest". Almost zero effort with a less is more approach to results.

    Classes are mostly done lying down, using the relaxed weight of your body to increase blood flow and oxygen to the tissues.

  • sleep hygiene

    A wonky way of saying pre-sleep routine. 

    Quality sleep impacts our brain health and all our bodily functions.

    A good nightly power down promotes better sleep and less time to fall asleep.  It involves less stimulation (light, screens, food, booze, caffeine), time to unwind (see what we did there?), nothing but sleep or sexy time in the bedroom, and only going to bed when feeling sleepy.

    unwind is a great pre-sleep practice.