Everyone sat still as they watched Chris Hemsworth attempt to walk across a beam jutting out of one of the world’s tallest buildings. Marvel’s God of Thunder wasn’t on a movie set; he was 700 feet in the air relying on Columbia Business School’s Professor Modupe Akinola, an expert on stress, to coach him through this real-life feat.
In National Geographic’s newest docuseries, Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, six experts guide Hemsworth through a series of extraordinary challenges to help us understand how to unlock the body’s superpowers to live better for longer. Relying on their extraordinary library of scientific research, the experts shatter conventional wisdom about the human body and offer new insights into utilizing our own mind, body, and heart to fight illness, age better, and perform at our best.
In episode one, ‘Stress-Proof,’ Professor Akinola trains Hemsworth to remain calm under pressure and harness his stress to enhance his performance. Here, she shares what life was like on-set and offers techniques she taught Hemsworth that can be used to fight everyday stressors.
Why Study Stress?
“I come from a family of immigrants. My family immigrated to the U.S. in the late ’60s, and as an immigrant you bring stress—it’s stressful starting anew in a different country and being away from your family. So, I watched their stress and carried some of it, too. I wanted to be able to deal with that stress in a way that was helpful, not harmful. My colleagues and I often say, ‘research is me-search,’ so I study stress because I wanted to understand how to change my responses to it.”
Why Would Chris Hemsworth do this to Himself?
“He agreed to be featured in Limitless because he really wanted to address the question, ‘how do I live better longer?’. His schedule is nuts, he wants to spend time with his family, and he is getting older, so to him longevity really matters.”
Stress on Set
“I wanted Chris to feel empowered to rise to the occasion, so that made me stressed as I wanted him to feel like he had the tools to conquer the final challenge of walking across the beam. He’s a competitive guy who is up for any challenge, so after he completed the drown-proofing exercise and we debriefed, I felt confident about his ability to the cross the beam calmly. He wants to do well at these types of things. He wanted to adopt the skills.”
Akinola’s Top Tools and Techniques
Practice Your Breathwork: To lower his heart rate and rising levels of stress, Professor Akinola taught Hemsworth the box breathing technique, a powerful yet simple breathing exercise. To begin, breath in for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of four, exhale for a count of for and hold for another count of four. After a few rounds, visualize the breathwork as taking on the shape of a box to help you focus.
Date Your Stress: Professor Akinola suggests dating—or acknowledging—your stress to understand your triggers and learn the techniques that work for you. “The first step is acknowledging and noticing—ask yourself, ‘when I’m stressed, what am I doing; how am I behaving toward myself and others; what is my mind telling me; what is my body saying?’ If you understand what those signals are then you have started to date your stress.”
Mindful Meditation: For her own stress, Professor Akinola does vipassana mediation. “In 2018 I realized I needed to slow things down and still my mind, so I started taking my mediation practice more seriously. I do 10-day silent meditation retreats every year. They get me to a place where I’m able to focus. For me it’s about being present and appreciating each moment.”
Seek out a Support System: Finally, Professor Akinola recognizes when it’s time to call in trusted friends and family for help. “We need to recruit those around us to call us out when we need to be called out, but also in giving us the help we need when we’re stressed.”
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