6 Tips To Build Gravity Resilience & How You Can Benefit From It
Gravity is the invisible force we rarely think about, but it profoundly shapes our bodies, minds, and emotions. Most of us take gravity for granted, yet its effects are with us every moment—impacting everything from how our blood flows to how our joints feel and even how our mood shifts throughout the day.
When we struggle against gravity—whether from too much sitting, poor posture, stress, or aging—our bodies can feel heavy, sluggish, or “weighed down.” That’s why learning to build gravity resilience matters: it can help relieve pain, boost energy, improve circulation, and support emotional balance. Whether you're dealing with chronic pain, seeking stress relief, or simply looking to optimize your well-being, building gravity resilience could be the key to relief. Here are a few practical techniques to help build your ability to work with, rather than against, the gravitational forces that constantly influence our well-being.
Want to hang out?
Try dead hanging, which involves gripping an overhead bar and hanging freely. This simple exercise improves grip strength, shoulder mobility, and spinal decompression, enhancing overall gravity resilience and health. By stretching and strengthening muscles, dead hangs improve posture and reduce injury risk. But remember that dead hangs can be challenging, so start slow and try not to overdo it.
Time to invert?
Inversion therapy, such as using an inversion table, helps decompress the spine, relieve back pain1, and improve flexibility. However, it's not suitable for everyone, so consult a doctor before starting.
Would yoga help?
Yoga poses like Headstand and Downward Dog offer similar benefits to inversion tables, improving circulation and mental clarity. These poses are also thought to aid digestion and thyroid health. Consult a health-care provider before attempting these poses.
Need more oxygen?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber, enhancing healing and recovery. It's beneficial for chronic wounds, diabetic ulcers, severe anemia, and more. However, it has potential side effects, so it's reserved for specific medical conditions.
Want to float?
Floatation-REST therapy involves floating in a sensory deprivation tank, reducing stress and improving mental clarity. It lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels, providing a space for introspection and relaxation2.
Does your vagus nerve need a boost?
The vagus nerve is like a release valve for serotonin in the brain and the gut. And serotonin, in turn, can help elevate mood, an “antigravity” psychological effect, while boosting your body’s ability to stand up and stay up through enhanced circulation and lymphatic flow. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) involves sending electrical pulses to the vagus nerve to promote relaxation, reduce inflammation, and improve mental health. VNS can be done with implanted devices or less invasive methods like ear or neck devices. It can help in epilepsy, depression, and possibly inflammatory bowel disease3, enhancing serotonin production and overall well-being while increasing heart rate variability (HRV).
Building gravity resilience isn't about conquering the force that keeps us grounded—it's about learning to work harmoniously with it to enhance our physical and mental well-being. Start with one or two of these techniques that resonate with you, listen to your body's responses, and remember that small, consistent steps often lead to the most profound transformations in how you feel and move through the world.
From PULL: How Gravity Shapes Your Body, Studies the Mind, and Guides Our Health by Brennan Spiegel, M.D. Copyright (c) 2025 by the author and reprinted with permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group.