You mean all I have to do to move better is stare at my finger?

I'm teaching my third "Brains and Balance Training with Coach Kelly" session at The Retreat in a Del Webb community.  As with all my classes, I love getting to know the participants, their struggles, their strengths and mostly watching their balance improve.

In this class, I'm blessed to have an older couple in their early 90s.  My youngest participant is 66.  That's quite an age span as well as a difference in ability levels but that's the challenge facing older adult fitness instructors like myself.  Having different ability levels in one class is definitely a challenge but this is a manageable class size and overall, everyone is near the same ability.

Brain-based training is definitely trending right now; anything "neural" is a hot item due to the science of neuroplasticity.  Neuroplasticity proves that the brain can change and adapt to become more efficient.  The question is HOW do I train the brain's neuroplasticity?    As an Exercise Therapist and Brain Practitioner, I use proven methods to 'reduce threat' to the brain for improved performance.

After two weeks of brain-based training, the entire class is doing amazing, especially the older couple.  I love when people come to my presentations and are 'dis-believers"or 'naysayers'.  I love it because change happens at the speed of the nervous system (immediate) so when I have them do a vision drill and then reassess, they cannot believe the difference!

The other day in class,  Bob, my 91-year old participant, said rather loudly, you mean to tell me that all I have to do to move better is stare at my finger?  We all laughed and said, yep!  The power of  visual input is beyond amazing.  My tag line, "it's not magic, it's neuroscience" is true.  It's absolutely amazing to see how the body responds after a 'high payoff' drill.

Another gentleman, age 66, chimed in, "I was a total disbeliever until we did the pencil push-ups; now I believe what you're teaching".  Another gentleman, age 83, said, "I consider myself logical, even linear in thought but I do not understand how this is happening so I"m just going to trust you Kelly" and then he smiled.

That's golden to me!  Trust me friends, this is good.  This is real good.  I've pretty much dedicated my entire life to improving balance and reducing falls among older adults because there is hope; movement is life.  As an evolving neuro-practitioner, I am even more passionate about sharing the techniques I've learned about the brain and improving movement, balance and vision while reducing pain.

I'm not going to change who you are.  Brain training doesn't make you a different person but it does help you gain control over your body and mind which only helps you live better longer!

ABCs of Balance workshop at Woodland Senior Center

Last week I presented my "revamped" ABCs workshop at the Woodland Community and Senior Center to a group of about sixty mature adults who wanted to know more about aging and balance from a brain perspective.  Well, at least I hope that's why they were there because that's what they got!

Center Director, Dallas Tringali not only welcomed my progressive workshop about brains, balance and fall prevention but also provided a nice-sized room for my presentation.  For the first time in a long while, I was nervous.

As I prepared my notes, I realized that I couldn't talk about aging and balance without mentioning the brain and the nervous system due to the fact that everything we do and how we move through life all begins in the brain!

People packed into the room and I asked them several times if they were ready to learn something new about the brain and balance.  I was answered with smiles, nods and  Yes, yes, we sure are, I hope so.  One lady joked, is that what you're going to talk about?  LOL.

Over the next 90-minutes, I tried my best to interpret and explain neuroscience in easy to understand words and concepts.  I think I did pretty good but I know that I spoke ENTIRELY too fast; especially after a kind woman told me, "I believe in all my heart what you're doing but you need to slow down for us old folks.  You can't talk as fast".

I appreciate honest feedback because we're all in this together and I'm learning, too!  Honestly,  I think I came up for a breath about forty-minutes into my presentation.   The audience nodded, smiled, did the drills, smiled some more.

As I checked the time, I realized that I would finish my 90-minute workshop in 70 minutes if I didn't slow down!  I took a deep breath and realized I did it; I explained an entirely new way of looking at training in a decent flow of relate-able terminology.

If talking too fast is the only critique, I'm happy!  That means that they understood or at least appreciated the content.

Woodland Senior Center is a great group of people who are genuinely interested in learning how to take control of their body and mind through brain activation.

Brains and Balance with Coach Kelly classes start the first Tuesday in April.  Every Tuesday and Thursday in the month of April we will meet for 90-minutes from 1-2:30pm.  Classes are progressively challenging so participants should plan on making all eight sessions.  Class size is limited to 15 participants.

There will be more classes!

Have you ever tripped over your own toes???

If you've ever tripped over your own toes, you want to do this ridiculously easy exercise, seated rather than standing!

In this video demonstration, Kelly (aka, The Fall Prevention Lady) demonstrates how to strengthen the muscles responsible for picking up the toes!  This muscle group atrophies with age (meaning it naturally gets weaker and less able to function with the aging process), so it's crucial that you USE THIS MUSCLE OR YOU WILL LOSE THIS MUSCLE.

Vimeo link:  Don't Trip Over Your Own Toes!!!

I just turned 50 in January and even though I'm a 'youngster' compared to my clients, I'm still at risk of falling with each passing birthday.
My message to you is that you're never too old or too young to start doing these maintenance
exercises if you want to remain independent and able.

IF you don't want to trip over your toes, pick them up!!!!

The Fall Prevention Lady.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday mornings starting in April for
"Coffee Talk with The Fall Prevention Lady"!
7am, PST
9am, CST
10am, EST.

Don't trip, pick em up!
The Fall Prevention Lady

If you don't want to fall, STAND UP!

Lower body weakness is one of the leading causes of falls for people over the age of 60.  Due to sarcopenia, the natural loss of muscle mass associated with aging, weakness is a part of aging.  The good news is that muscle loss is NOT INEVITABLE!

Engaging in a consistent muscle strengthening or resistance training program is enough to maintain what you have and depending on training intensity, you can gain muscle!

In this video, I demonstrate the Stepping On evidence-based balance exercise, the Chair Stand.  I explain how to do it, how to make the exercise easier or more challenging and how to keep track of your progress.

IF you don't want to fall, stand up! from The Fall Prevention Lady on Vimeo.





Remember to focus on what you are able to do today; do not compare yourself to younger years.  We all change over time and the best choice you can make TODAY is to do something about your situation now!

Best of luck!
Join me on Facebook for an interactive chat about falls, fall prevention, balance, aging, you name it...
Tuesday mornings in April; 7am PST, 9am CST, 10am EST

Coffee Talk with The Fall Prevention Lady

If you want to learn how to fight the affects that aging 

has on your balance and quality of life,

Mark your calendars: 

Tuesday mornings, April, 2018!  

7aPST/9aCST/10aEST

I'm proud to announce my Live Facebook show, "Coffee Talk with The Fall Prevention Lady!".

Starting April 3rd, I will be hosting a question/answer, exercise demonstration, and informal educational discussion on all things aging, balance and fall prevention!

Every Tuesday morning (7am west coast, 9am central, 10am east coast), I will be online to offer any advice or suggestions to help you improve balance and reduce the risk of a fall.

Where:  FACEBOOK.  My page, The Fall Prevention Lady.  Click here to like my page so you can be a part of the weekly coffee talk with The Fall Prevention Lady!
My Facebook page link:  Join Coffee Talk Discussions
My Facebook page address:  www.facebook.com/thefallpreventionlady

Feeding Pattern of the Brain for Better Balance and Performance

The brain is a remarkable organ that uses approximately 70% of your daily caloric intake to function.  The better the fuel source, the better your brain can function.  The anatomy of the brain is such that the "old" brain, where the sensory and autonomic regulators live, get fed first and the "new" brain, where you make decisions including all voluntary movement and feel emotions, gets fed last.

The feeding pattern of the brain follows blood flow; back to front, bottom to top.  Oxygenated, nutrient dense blood enters the brain from the bottom, back region and flows up and to the front lobes of the brain.  Bottom to top, back to front.

What does that mean to you?  Sensory input to the brain has a powerful effect on how you move. Your vision, vestibular, and skin/joint/muscle receptors all get fed before your 'voluntary' movement; before the decision making part of the brain gets fed.  Sensory before motor.

In order to function optimally, your brain needs fuel and activation.  Stimulating the sensory receptors activates different parts of the brain so the "use it or lose it" principle applies to neurons in the nervous system more importantly than muscles.

Fuel sources for the brain are oxygen and glucose.  Breathe and Eat.  Feed the back of the brain before you feed the 'human' part.  Make better decision and move better if you feed your brain the nutrients it needs.

If you want to improve your balance, feed your brain accordingly.  Eat sugar.  Enjoy juicy fruits.  Orange juice is your new staple.  I'm not a nutritionist but I am studying neurology.  Research demonstrates that the brain needs quick absorbing sugar; fructose is wonderful.

Eat often enough so your blood sugar can supply the ENTIRE brain with the fuel it needs to function and stay away from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).   PUFAs prevent the absorption of glucose.

In other words, PUFAs do not allow your brain to access the sugar in the blood.  The result?  HIGH BLOOD SUGAR.  Not because you're eating too much sugar but the PUFAs block the absorption of sugar.

What contains PUFAs?  Think nuts, nut butters, nut oils, grains, chickens and cows that eat grains.  Your brain needs fuel and activation.  Fuel is oxygen and glucose.  Yes, sugar is good for the brain.  Nuts are not.
Ray Peat Resources: LINK to LIST

Absorb that information, breathe and eat some fruits and chocolate.  Like all things in life, moderation.  Your brain will function better and you will ultimately think and move better.

Feeding pattern of the brain:

Back to Front, Bottom to Top

The Fall Prevention Lady™

Pain Is Your Brain's Way of Saying Stop

Nothing will stop you from doing the things you love quicker than pain.  In fact, pain has been identified as the biggest obstacle to any behavior change.  For example, no matter how much you want to start exercising, if your knee hurts with every step, you cannot and will not exercise.

In order to understand pain, you must know how the brain works.  The brain is divided into two sections, the "old" brain located in the 'back' of the brain and the "new" brain, located in the front.  The only thing "old" brain is concerned about is your safety.  Is this movement safe?  Is this situation a threat to my safety?

The old brain determines if something is safe through input data from billions of sensory receptors and prior experiences in similar situations.  The old brain is only concerned about survival.  If the old brain does not feel safe, the brain elicits an output; something that will stop you from current behavior so you remain safe and are not killed.   Pain is a protective output of the brain to force a change for your safety.

Please understand that I am in no way diminishing any pain that you feel but rather, I hope to explain pain in such a way that gives you hope; a way out of the misery of dull aching and constant pain.  

Neuroplasticity proves that a person can "train" the input systems and train the interpretation of data to improve prediction and thus improve performance while reducing pain.  The more safe your brain feels, the better your movement and the less your pain.

In a prior blog,  I explained that the nervous system is a loop of input, interpretation/decision, and output.  This constant feedback process determines how we move through life.  Our sensory systems provide data about the environment and the brain (aka, cerebellum) monitors how the body is interacting within the environment.  Based on input data and prior experiences, the brain initiates a motor response.  The quality of the response is determined by the quality of the inputs, speed of interpretation and accuracy and timing of motor response.

If all systems say "safe", movement is smooth, fluid and pain-free.  If prior experiences in same situation were 'safe', movement will be strong.  Conversely, if the brain does not feel safe, the brain's  output is going to be PAIN, nausea, poor movement, decreased strength or flexibility or even a loss of balance; anything to get you to stop what you're doing.

How do you make your "old" brain feel safe?  You practice drills that improve predictive capability. In other words, you practice the Brains and Balance class drills regularly with accuracy and coordination.

The pain theory is outdated.  Listen to your body.  Train your brain.  Don't fall down.
The better the input, the better the output!

The Fall Prevention Lady, aka, Your Neuro-Performance Coach!