I’m Exploring Human Garage

Some of you already know of my journey with arthritis in the knees and becoming a cyborg. Well, a couple of months ago, I started having back pain for the first time in my life. After some xrays, I found out that I have kyphoscoliosis and there has been some bone loss and misplacement. So begins more orthopedic adventure. Meanwhile I am trying out some techniques for reducing the pain, stress, and strengthening my core in a non traumatic way. This brought me to look into Human Garage.

Okay, I know that hearing the name, some of you out there are bracing already. There are unfortunately those out there selling Human Garage like the cure for everything. Yes, this raises some red flags, but what I’ve learned just from browsing around their community a day is that most would rather it not be sold this way. Aside of the ableism of this kind of sales pitch, it minimizes the good that has been done by making it look like yet another fitness fad.

Personally, I’ve been hearing two different sides of this for some time. On the one hand, I’m being told that it’s a kind of a mix of the best of Hatha and Prana Yoga with some Pilates thrown in, and that despite this patchwork it does work. They’re also thankfully at least respectful enough not to invoke any of those traditional or copyrighted terms.

On the other, what made me uneasy aside of the anxiety producing sales pitch a minority of practitioners use is that I wasn’t seeing enough of a variety in representation. What this looked like to me was yet another fad of watering down traditional practices to be palatable.

And I’m not gonna lie, for some of them it probably is that. For most though, it is something else entirely.

The first thing that shifted my perspective of the movement was being referred by a practicing Hindu. I wondered why though she had access to the original and many iterations that didn’t come with some of the more restrictive aspects of the religion, she’d bother with Human Garage. So then I followed the link and understood immediately.

Much like when I found the Fediverse, I felt right at home in the community. Though some quackiness exists in the form of people who did bring some of their eugenics and ableism with them, it is not well tolerated. I started to understand that the quacky sales pitch is starkly incompatible with the community side. It is something that will probably fix itself in time simply from people trying it, seeing what it does, what it doesn’t do, and finding themselves happier and stronger. The happier and stronger and functioning better as a human with a will is worth strengthening your fascia and getting that vagus nerve sorted as well as possible, no matter what it doesn’t do.

The community is very friendly and helpful without being overly pushy or culty. These are mostly people with some form of depression or other disabilities who are helped by movement exercises and breathing techniques working on the fascia and vagus nerve. These are not people who’ve never seen anything or been through anything preaching and judging. These are people who have been through hell and decided to be the heaven to themselves and for others. I haven’t been to a meeting yet, because there are none in my area, but I might get some friends on board.

So you’re going to have the people who treat it like an aerobics class socially and spiritually, and fail at selling it because that’s the same thing folks can get at the gym they don’t go to because they’re made to feel broken or ugly. You can’t contain love though. So once you teach people how to heal themselves, the cat is out of the bag. You give them a tool to love themselves and share love with others, and that’s going to spread. Unloving and shady messages will fade behind the real life of people getting real benefits.

A day in, and I’ve done the 15 minute Full Body Stress Reset.

I couldn’t do it exactly as the video, but having some experience in martial arts, I adjusted from understanding what the exercises are supposed to do. They’re good. If you’re short on time, can’t do a long workout, or just need some release of built up stress, this helps to get you loose, or at least less wound up.

So far, so good. If anyone has any experience with Human Garage or other fascial maneuvers, let me know in the comments.

Blessings and Ashe!