Biohacking - optimizing one's own body through tools and measurements is often presented as a new trend, but we humans have been doing exactly this for thousands of years. We asked ourselves what exactly is meant by the term and found someone in Marco Grosch who answered our many questions about biohacking and acupressure.
Man as biohacker
Our ancestors did not have capsule food supplements, DNA analysis or ways to concretely measure the quality of sleep. But the idea of perfecting one's own organism for a longer and more pleasant life has been carried around by mankind for quite a long time. Why else would we have built houses to protect ourselves from the weather? Medical aids discovered, tested, discarded and further developed?
Some techniques of biohacking are particularly old. For example, the targeted drying of fruits with many valuable ingredients for meager times, quasi the precursor of supplements (nutritional supplements) or the manipulation of physical well-being through targeted pressure - for example, a nail board. The precursor of today's acupressure mat and thus our ShaktiMat. Here we are the experts - but biohacking is so much more nowadays that we got biohacker Marco Grosch on board for an interview to give you an insight into what's behind it.
Dietary supplements, acupressure and co. - biohackers use all kinds to optimize the individual body.
Minimalist biohacker Marco Grosch in interview
Marco Grosch works with entrepreneurs, executives and the self-employed to regain control of their bodies and the way they feel as they go through their daily lives through biohacking methods. I Photo: Marco Grosch
Marco, you are the face behind Minimalist Biohacker. Can you tell us how that came about?
As is often the case in biohacking, I became interested in the topic because I struggled with some health challenges in my youth and found no help in conventional approaches.
By training, I am a pure business economist and never intended to deal with topics such as body and mind. I wanted to do business! And because I am a very curious person, I was before and during my studies often for longer periods abroad, where I then also more and more the ambition has grabbed and I knew that I want more. Achieve more, reach more, do more.
After the part-time master's degree, I then worked as an international sales manager for a large clothing brand, which involved a lot of flights within Europe, but also to New York, in the USA. A lot of work, a lot of travel, a lot of meetings, a lot of stress - just as it had always been since the dream of "more" had driven me. But as far as my health was concerned, I was way behind and often took antibiotics up to 4x a year to get infections in the ENT area under control. I was very susceptible, ever since I was a teenager. The doctors opinion was usually "too much stress" and the solution was antibiotics or medication. I also noticed in the environment that many high performers, such as CEOs, entrepreneurs and other managers, gradually became weaker.
Is that the fate of professional life? That you start out with energy and then just continue to decline? Yet there are people who run several companies, have a family and complete the Ironman at the same time. How do they do it? And so I started to educate myself and take responsibility for my health.
I have analyzed and tested, for example, my DNA and what foods harm me, what allergies I have, what chronotype I am (day-night rhythm) and much more. I used modern trackers to monitor my vital signs (especially HRV*) and optimize my sleep. I learned numerous techniques and methods to stabilize my immune system, get more energy, recover faster and focus better.
And the approach is still best described as "biohacking", because it's always about analyzing, measuring and optimizing. The only thing is that I have also learned over the many years that numerous things that are advertised as useful have done nothing for me. That's why I only use the few things that really bring something. I test a lot and like to try new things, but in the end only a few proven "hacks" stick in everyday life. That's Minimalist Biohacker.
*Heart rate variability = variations in heart rate from beat to beat.
I want to explain to my grandparents what biohacking is. Do you have an easy to understand short formulation for me?
In today's world, we can measure a great many things, such as the speed of our car, the oil level or the fuel gauge. We know exactly when we need to refuel our car so that it doesn't break down. We also know our account balance and can read exactly how much water and electricity we use in the household.
But do you know how much energy you currently have in your body? Do you know how strong your immune system is right now? How many times did you wake up tonight? How much deep sleep did you have? Unfortunately, most people don't measure all these things and only occasionally rely on measurements from the doctor. Biohacking is about collecting this data and taking a self-determined approach to your own body and mind.
Information is the key in biohacking: once you know exactly where your body stands in terms of health through measurements and observation, you have the chance to change something for the better. By the way, biohacking has no age limit - whether you're 20, 60 or 80, you always have a chance to get started! I Photo: Elsa Péhe
You offer TEK training (emotional skills training) for your clients. What is this and does acupressure play a role here as well?
TEK training is about improving stress, self-esteem and emotion regulation by learning how to deal constructively with stressful feelings. Which also means that sometimes we should and must endure negative feelings. Another important step is to learn to observe thoughts, sensations and feelings neutrally, without reacting to them immediately. In this way, we can prevent them from building up. However, a prerequisite for the successful use of TEK is regular and intensive practice. And these exercises can be learned much better in combination with an acupressure mat.
How do I know if biohacking is right for me?
Here's a question: Are you doing well every day, achieving your goals and living exactly the life you want to live? If the answer is yes, you don't need biohacking. If the answer is no, and you have some challenges in life that you just haven't been able to overcome, then biohacking is a possible approach for you.
Many mental problems, such as concentration problems, lack of motivation or discipline, or even sleep disorders, have their origin in the body. Often we are exposed to strong environmental stresses or toxins (e.g. allergies, intolerances, immune reactions). We don't sleep or recover enough, we don't eat the optimal diet for our DNA or metabolic type, we exercise too little or incorrectly, or we don't get enough nutrients. If we can figure out what's good for us and what's bad for us, some other problems disappear into thin air.
Can you give a few examples from your experience of how biohacking has helped people with pain?
One of the best examples here is cryotherapy, or cold exposure. This application helps people with chronic pain extremely well because it inhibits inflammation in the body. And many physical ailments are due to inflammation. Anything that inhibits them helps the organism. In fact, many methods of biohacking are also designed to do just that, whether it's the cold shower, certain foods like turmeric, light therapy, or certain diets.
Part of flourishing is taking a closer look at how we organize our daily lives. How much time do we actually use to do something for ourselves that feels good? This could look like this, for example: Instead of sitting in the bathroom with a cell phone in front of your nose for longer, just let some music play and take care of your body with full awareness. I Photo: Chris Abratzis
Do you feel the ShaktiMat can be helpful in biohacking?
Biohackers often use the latest technology and scientific findings, but also fall back on old knowledge, traditional and proven methods. Between you and me: many things that are proven today with the help of studies have been practiced for a long time, just without scientific proof. A good example is the humming or humming in many meditation techniques, the "Om". We now know from experiments that this increases the concentration of nitric oxide and therefore the absorption of oxygen in the body. This can also be felt in the body if you pay attention to it. The study does not change the fact that the technique provides a benefit, and has done so for many decades or longer.
It is the same with the topic of acupressure. There are now some studies on the effectiveness of acupressure, but the feeling you get when you lie down on the ShaktiMat, for example, needs no additional proof. It works immediately and has a relaxing effect for me. So absolutely, the mat helps both physically and mentally for me.
How do you use your ShaktiMat for yourself?
The ShaktiMat mainly helps me with minor tension in my back, neck or feet. Our lifestyle is no longer what our bodies were made for. We sit a lot, walk little and don't use our bodies nearly as much as our ancestors did. Unfortunately, this is still often the case for me and I like to lie down on the mat for 10 minutes in the evening. It helps me to get into a relaxed mental state and I almost always combine the mat with a meditation or breathwork session and a red light. This way Save I save time and still have all the benefits.
In your experience, which dietary supplements / supplements help a lot of people with sleep problems and frequent lack of energy in everyday life?
In general, it is important here to have the basics under control first. These include mental techniques to switch off and relax, the consistent optimization of the sleeping place and the sleeping rhythm, a varied and high-quality diet and sufficient exercise, especially outdoors and under the light of the sun (without sunglasses!). With these basics, one already achieves very good results. I know, you want to hear about quick-fixes, shortcuts and alternations here, because then it's "easy". But the truth is: a supplement is a "supplement", as the name suggests, and in case of doubt only masks the symptoms. The basics attack the cause.
If the basics fit, help me for a good night's sleep especially:
- Optimal hardware by the bed (Samina)
- Optimal light in the evening (also Samina, the lamp is called Candela).
- Blue light blocker glasses (Wizion)
- Magnesium
- Collagen or glycine
- Financial and material stability
For more energy, but this is often related to sleep:
- High quality multi-vitamin and mineral
- Natural Shilajit
- Sufficient protein (in case of doubt as a supplement)
There is so much more to tell here, but these are the first things that come to mind.
If you could pass on three short pieces of wisdom about the body to everyone from your personal experience, what would they be?
- Every person, every body, is individual and has individual needs.
- It is up to each individual to find out what are the needs, what helps him/her and what harms. Everyone is responsible for his/her own health! One should always question oneself and learn instead of simply believing others (incl. myself)
- Extreme tendencies of any kind, whether in diet (vegan vs. carnivore), exercise, or lifestyle, are rarely the truth or "right" for most people
And perhaps one last bit of "wisdom":
"No one should settle for a status quo that he/she is not happy with. There's always something you can do. Taking control and responsibility is the key."
We hope you were inspired to look at what you can do for your body in your everyday life. If you want to share your own tips or questions about biohacking and acupressure, as Marco mentioned in the interview, feel free to leave us a comment or visit us on Facebook.
Your Shakti Mat Team
About the author
Antje Wickboldt is a freelance writer from Berlin. She has been working with the body's self-healing powers for over 10 years and, as a lecturer, explains in interactive presentations for companies and offices how tension can be released with the help of acupressure and massage.
Sources for this article:
- Robbins, Tony and Peter Diamandis and Dr. Robert Hariri, Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life & Those You Love, Simon & Schuster HB, 2020.
- https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/6/25/18682583/biohacking-transhumanism-human-augmentation-genetic-engineering-crispr (Einsicht am: 12.04.2022)
- https://www.minimalist-biohacker.com/ (Einsicht am: 13.04.2022