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Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP)
Reawakening the Body Through Sound and Music

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​What is RRP?  The Rest and Restore Protocol is a holistic, clinical-grade biofeedback-based listening program designed to help reconnect your body to its natural biological rhythms. These biological rhythms are responsible for maintaining your health, sleep, and digestion, as well as helping to regulate emotions and recovery, both mentally and physically. RRP is informed by decades of research studying the physiological rhythms of the body, including heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and gut health, alongside deep knowledge of advanced sound technology. RRP helps by gently guiding the body into more parasympathetic states that better balance the body and mind, while simultaneously leveraging the healing qualities of the autonomic nervous system.

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Human digestive system model in the laboratory for education model anatomy and physiology.

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How does it work?  

RRP uses technology that goes beyond traditional sound design by integrating scientific knowledge of biological rhythms with the nervous system's potential for entrainment. RRP offers music that facilitates a new type of co-regulation — the one that exists between the brain and body, rather than with another person or the environment. This type of co-regulation, when stimulated, helps heal at the organ system level and correct feedback loops from the viscera to the brain. RRP helps you foster and leverage this level of communication in your body, called interoception — the acurate awareness of internal bodily sensations. By directly engaging with these sensations, you are more easily able to target and address physical discomfort, fatigue, and gut-related problems. By incorporating RRP into comprehensive wellness and clinical plans, we can leverage your body's natural resilience and unlock greater healing potential.

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Who is RRP for? 

RP works for ages 18 months to adult. It is especially effective with children. Children often describe RP as the 'feeling music,' given its ability to help them more accurately notice the sensations and feelings in their body following listening experiences.

No diagnosis is required, and many disorders, illnesses, diseases, or conditions that involve an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system have the potential to benefit. Those who may benefit specifically include:

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  • Children and adults with physical symptoms related to stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma.

  • Individuals with high-stress jobs or burnout (e.g., first responders, healthcare workers, corporate professionals) looking to reduce stress and improve recovery.

  • People recovering from trauma or burnout who need to restore emotional balance and develop greater resilience.

  • Athletes or artists who want to enhance recovery from intense physical or mental exertion.

  • Anyone looking to improve mental well-being and emotional regulation through biofeedback and heart coherence practices.

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Research demonstrates individuals withy physical symptoms related to anxiety, depression, and trauma will benefit. Chronic stress, insomnia, gut related disorders, autonomic nervous system disorders, and other mental health-related challenges that often cause brain-body disconnect and difficulty feeling normal sensations due to adaptive body responses to threat such as "numbing" and dissociation all have potential improve with use of RRP.  RRP works especially well when combined with therapy and other somatic-based exercise..

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What Is The Music I Will Listen To and What Will Happen When I Listen?
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The musical theme used is the same throughout; however, the music has different levels that modulate sound and change during your listening experience. The music is dynamic and progressive throughout its themes, gently changing and shifting the sounds as you listen. This allows the nervous system to continuously be stimulated and then return to its "home base." This pulse-like behavior, transitioning between states of familiarity, reassurance, and gentle stimulation, allows the body a natural way of recovery. When this happens, it triggers a reconnection process between the brain and body systems, allowing these biological rhythms in your body to strengthen and work for you, not against you.

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The program is designed to be used gradually and allows you to select different levels that ultimately resonate best with your body and its responses. By honoring your body's responses and not pushing beyond what is safe with this listening, you will quickly learn which areas and levels best fit your needs to achieve the most optimal effect when using RRP. Your therapist will help guide you through this process.

Young beautiful woman listening to music with headphones.jpg
Mother and Daughter Having Fun

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Can I Listen To RRP at Home or Have my Child Listen at Home?

RRP is designed to be used with the monitoring of a clinical professional. However, this listening experience can also be enjoyed at home once you are familiar with its use. Many people listen while comfortably sitting with an easy activity, lying down, or gently swinging/rocking back and forth. It is also fine to listen while engaging in other non-cognitively taxing activities that support co-regulation, such as playing catch or rolling a ball back and forth.

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For younger children, doing RRP in the presence of a therapist can provide an added level of safety and comfort and helps to support the work they are doing in therapy to improve their nervous system and body. If you're a parent who wants to provide RRP to your child at home, we will first try it out at our studio to determine how to best apply when at home and with your childs therapy program. We will also discuss how to monitor the experience together to get the most optimal effects. 

 

What are some children and adults experiencing with RRP?  

Effects can often be seen quite quickly with use of RRP.

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We have seen the following effects reported

  • Ability to "feel" the music

  • Greater awareness and accuracy with describing bodily sensations

  • Easier autonomic self-regulation

  • Improve gut function

  • Reduced bodily responses

  • Increased feelings of calmness

  • Improved Sleep

  • Feeling less anxious and depressed

  • Greater access to and emotions

Little Music Fan
Child Wearing Glasses Without Lenses

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What equipment do I need to do RRP?
We are able to provide equipment onsite when using RRP in our clinic. To do RRP remotely or on your own you will need: 
 

A device to access the Unyte app that will play the RRP music.  Suitable devices include: Smartphones (either iPhone or Android); Tablets (either Apple or Android); newer Machbooks that have the M1 Chip; or Chromebooks.

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Headphones. The headphones should be over the ear, that is, have the big padded ear cups that completely surround the ears rather than sit on top. We do not recommend noise canceling headphones (or that feature can be turned off and without bass enhancement). Bluetooth or wireless are fine; but earbuds should not be used for RRP.

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Inexpensive headphones that meet these criteria are: OneOdio A71, OneOdio A70, or Audio-Technica ATH-M20x. For children that do not like headphones we recommend Cozyphones.  

 

Some headphones may also require an adaptor for your device if you device does not have a 3.5mm connector.  
 

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How often do I need to do RRP?  

We will help youo to determine the most appropriate level of delivery when using RRP. Some individuals may benefit from listening to RRP for up to 30 minutes per session over a 10-day period. Other individuals with histories of stress, trauma, or strong histories of difficulty regulating physical symptoms may use as little as a few minutes weekly over several months. Each person is very different and we will help to tailor specifically to your systems needs. ​​

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I Had Tubes Put in My Ears, or I Use Hearing Aides. Can I Still Use SSP?

Yes.  Individuals with these histories can still use the headphones for listening. Hearing aides may need to be taken out if you feel there are any feedback issues. Cochlear implants can be left powered on with the headphones placed over the implant microphone.

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What Happens When I Am Done Listening? 

This program is very unique in the sense that it is adjusted to fit your body's responses. For some you will complete the entire program at all levels. For others, there may be points or levels you reach within your listening experience that allow you the maximium benefit. We will help guilde you work with your body's responsesto best determine how to get the most benefit when using RRP. It is one of our favororiate tools we use in addition to our therapy iterventions to help support thus far and we are happy to share with you. Please reach out and let us know if you may be interested in starting your listening experience today. 

Listening to Music

© 2023 Creative Pathways Physical Therapy, PLLC. 

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