Brain-based Covid Remedies

As a brain-based fall prevention specialist, I train the nervous system and the organ that determines everything in life.  The brain has two primary jobs; survival and movement.   During this Covid pandemic, our brains feel threatened because our survival is at risk.  If you're over 70 years of age with multiple chronic conditions, you're high risk and your brain is freaking out.

One way the brain keeps us alive is through prediction or the ability to predict what might happen so it can respond appropriately.  When the brain cannot predict what will happen, it is on high alert.

Brain-based Covid Remedies with Coach Kelly

Weeks and weeks of unpredictability take a toll on the brain and the result is pain, fatigue, anxiety, falls, and difficulty breathing or sleeping, poor vision and other inconviences.

The neat thing about making the brain feel safe is you don't need drugs.  There are holistic drills that activate areas of the brain that calm you down!   

Simple ways are: Nasal breathing and humming on the exhale, gargle for 30+ seconds and doing my favorite, the cheesy grin and swallow.  These brain-based covid remedies activate areas of the brain to increase immunity and decrease threat.

I specialize in applied neuro-anatomy and applied neuro-physiology.  In other words, I know anatomy of the brain and what each area needs to be healthy.   This is important if you want to life the life you want.

Education credit: Z-Health Performance Solutions

If you're interested in a brain-based approach to the prevention of falls, express your interest in my new book.  Education is power.

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Stay Engaged Brain Teasers and ABCs of Balance

Everything we do begins in the brain.  Preventing falls begins in the brain.  Knowing that, a healthy brain is essential for an independent life.  Unfortunately we are stuck in our homes and most of us are not engaging the brain as much as needed.

"The brain needs two things to be healthy; activation and fuel".  I'm sure you are intimately familiar with the "use it or lose it" principle but that applies to the entire nervous system, not just the muscles.

Here are 5 easy brain teasers that improve working memory :  Brain Teasers

Enjoy and Stay Engaged.
Kelly

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Walking Can Reduce Risk of Alzheimers

The hippocampus is a region of the brain responsible for our ability to learn and to remember.   As the incidence of Alzheimer's continues to rise, people are scrambling for ways to keep their brain sharp.  The good news is that exercise increases blood flow to the hippocampus which can help sustain new neurons.

Check out this link and the study that demonstrated that walking reduced Alzheimers by 48%.
Get out, get walking.

Stay Engaged,
Kelly
The Fall Prevention Lady



Here's the article:
 Hippocampus and Exercise for Better Memory 

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Brain Exercise for Better Movement

Grab a spiky ball and roll it on your body!  See how you feel.  Try standing up or touching your toes.  Then roll only one side.  Retest.  Roll the other side and retest.  See which one makes you better.

If it was easier to move, keep doing it!  The increased sensory input will wake up your brain and your movement, flexibility,  strength and/or balance will improve.

Give it a try!!!
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Coronavirus Wellness at Home Tip #3: Nasal Breathing

Breathe in and out of your nose to reduce risk of coronavirus infection!

I'm not a doctor.  I'm not an infectious disease specialist.  I am a nervous system specialist and I've been reading a lot of government and medical suggestions to help you stay healthy at home.

I'm here to share simple, holistic practices that you can EASILY incorporate into your daily routine.  This one is as easy as it gets; breathe through your nose!

Why?

• Nose hairs trap pathogens.  
• Nose hairs increase carbon dioxide (good gas needed in blood/gas balance).  
• Nose hairs increase nitrous oxide which has been shown to defend against airborne viruses.  Nitrous Oxide is produced in the paranasal sinuses.
• Nasal breathing is the body's first line of defense against infection

I suggest breathing in AND out of the nose.  If necessary, exhale through the mouth.  Try to breathe in and out of the nose.  I have a "Relaxator" in my mouth in this video.  A Relaxator is a respiration training tool that forces you to breathe in the nose and long, strong exhales through the mouth. 

The more actions you take, the safer you will be....after all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

From Conscious Breathing (Relaxator maker), 

another important reason why you should breathe through your nose:

1. A COLD NOSE WILL INCREASE THE RISK OF VIRUS INFECTIONS:  Our nose can be compared to a highly efficient heat exchanger that warms up and moistens the air. 

When inhaling, our nose becomes cooled and dry as it moistens and heats the inhaled air, which is usually cooler than our body temperature. 

When we exhale, the temperature inside our nose is raised, and the area is moisturized by the 37 degree Celsius (98.6° Farenheit) temperature and 100% moist air being returned from the lungs. 

If we, on the other hand, breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth, the nose will not restore it’s warmth and moisture upon exhalation. And if we breathe both in and out through our mouth, our nose will be constantly cold and dry.

Research shows that the rhinovirus, which is known to cause colds and infections in the upper respiratory tracts, will multiply when the nose cools down. The colder it is in the nose, the more the immune system is suppressed, which will create a favorable environment for the rhinovirus to reproduce (ref 2). Now, we do not know exactly how the coronavirus behaves, but it is not inconceivable that a cold nose offers an environment that is favorable for this virus to also propagate.substance.

CoronaVirus Prevention Daily Routine Tip #2: Bag Breathe

Hi!
I hope everyone is doing well during this stressful time in history.  As we "Shelter in Place", I wanted to share a very helpful breathing tip to help calm you down and give your brain the nutrients it needs for healthy function.

I explain what's going on when you bag breathe in the video but in a nutshell, we need carbon dioxide for healthy blood.  The medulla monitors our blood gas balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide. When it's off balance, the kidneys are stimulated, the lungs are turned on and hormones are turned off/on to balance it out.

The take home:  You need carbon dioxide because it is a messenger molecule that takes the blood oxygen INTO the cell so the brain can use it.  Carbon dioxide gives the brain energy.

We're a bunch of shallow breathers and do too much mouth breathing.  Overoxgyenation stresses your brain and body out.  In times of stress like now, we're shallow breathing, mouth breathing and not doing enough exhaling!

Start breathing into a bag to DE-STRESS YOUR BODY AND BRAIN.  Carbon Dioxide dilates blood vessels, allowing more blood flow, especially in the brain.

Watch video to see how.   Then practice breathing into a bag 30-45 seconds, 4-5 times per day and calm down.  Exhale longer than you inhale.  Be aware.  Exhale.

The 

Nervous System 101 meets Fall Prevention

Here's an exerpt from new book, ABCs of Balance; Aging, The Brain and Coordination 

The nervous system does three things:
1.  Receive sensory input messages
2.  Interpret those messages and decide what to do
3.  Send a motor output

This continuous flow of communication is how we move through life.  The quality of the input messages directly affects the quality of the motor output.  A motor output is anything muscle-related.  Muscles get their information from nerves.  Neural impulses and hormonal responses are motor outputs.

Simply put, the better the input, the better the output.  Having your brain make decisions regularly improves the efficiency of the system.  These three steps must happen quicker than one-quarter of a second or you will fall down.

An efficiently running nervous system is the goal if you want to live life to the fullest while having a minimal risk of a falling down.  Heck, I want an efficient nervous system so I can move better through life, so my brain can function at it's highest potential and so I can feel and be the best me possible no matter what age I am.

Kelly Ward, Z-Health Practitioner  & Balance Expert

As a Z-Health Neuro-Practitioner and Nervous System Specialist, I believe maximized brain function requires active training of the brain structures; not passively thinking about life and envisioning the best me possible.  Your thoughts definitely influence brain patterns but I want to activate the entire nervous system and it's three functions.

Logically thinking, to improve nervous system communication I would think increase speed of the three functions of the nervous system; increased input message transmission speed, increased brain interpretation and decision making speeds and increased motor output speed.

To prevent a fall, training for speed only makes sense because the quicker the response, the less likely you are to lose your balance.

In order to increase reaction speeds, you need to know how to train the three components of the nervous system.  Personal trainers, strength coaches, yoga instructors and group fitness instructors teach motor output training techniques and classes.  ZHealth Brain Practitioners train the sensory inputs and the brain's interpretation and decision making skills in addition to motor outputs.

Motor output is only one part of the nervous system.  While it's important to maintain the muscles, tendons and ligaments,  if you want to reach your maximum potential, it's time to train the entire nervous system; not just one component.  It's time to start training the inputs!

1.  Input.
2.  Interpretation.
3.  Output.

That is the basis for everything we do.  The basis for how we move through life,  how we respond to environmental signals (both internal and external) and how we react to life's imbalances.   And as a nervous system specialist and Z-Health Brain Practitioner and Neuro-Performance Coach, I train the entire nervous system.

Next level training with the Brains and Balance Lady.  2020.  Neuro-Balance Training begins with the ABCs of Balance so you can understand what aging does to your body, your brain and
mostly, your balance so you don't Fall Down!

TO maximize the potential of your nervous system, supplement with collagen protein.   I recommend adding clean, grass-fed source of Collagen Protein to your diet.  Collagen is the building block for your nervous system and connective tissue.

Order your Great Lakes Collagen Protein today for the health of your nerves and nervous system.   Here's $5 off your first order: $5 Off Great Lakes Collagen Protein for Nerve Health

Don't just get your vision checked, train your vision!!!!

Every Tuesday I get a highlight of articles published nationwide about fall prevention, senior balance and mobility and senior exercises.  Week after week, I read the same messages; "fall-proof" your home environment, watch your medications, exercise, and get your vision and hearing checked.

I totally agree with these suggestions however, things need to change.  As science unveils more about the brain and balance, professionals need to update the message to older adults about falls and prevention of falls.

The number one fall prevention message to older adults should be train your vision.  Don't just get your vision checked and be told by some doctor who hasn't read a neuroscience article in the past ten years that 'you're getting old",  "your vision is going to get worse and there's nothing you can do about it", or "you cannot improve your vision".  FALSE.  This is FALSE information!

Vision is a skill and like all skills, it can improve with practice.  Yes, there are diseases of the eyes (macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts) that will cause loss of sight but get those eyes moving; especially if you have one of those diseases.

I'm not a doctor, I'm not an optmologist but I am a nervous system specialist, a brain exercise therapist.  Each eye has six muscles.  Those muscles are innervated by three cranial nerves that go directly into the brainstem.

If you want to activate your brain and have an immediate and profound effect on your life, move those eyes.  Learn how to train the four components of vision and your vision will get better.  Your thinking will get sharper.  Your balance will improve tenfold.

Vision is the #1 input to the brain.  Training your eyes is the quickest way to improve your brain health.  So in those same messages to older adults, I want to add, Don't just get your vision checked, TRAIN YOUR VISION and watch your life change.

In honor of the new year and the new decade, 

I'm offering a "Starter Pack" special;

90-minute consultation + (4) sixty-minute sessions for $525

Book today:  info@thefallpreventionlady.com

Change the way you see, change the way you move, change the way you feel.  Get those eyes moving.

Brainstem training normalizes blood pressure

Everything begins in the brain and everything in your body is controlled by your brain.  Your brain is responsible for your blood pressure, your breathing rate, your anxiety, your fears, your balance, your posture, your strength, your vision.  EVERYTHING BEGINS IN THE BRAIN.

A lot of people don't understand that blood pressure is controlled by the brainstem.  If you don't activate your brain, your blood pressure can skyrocket or plummet, depending on the health of your brainstem.  Conversely, if you consistently train your brainstem, blood pressure can normalize.

The biggest mistake most people make is not measuring BOTH sides for blood pressure.  This is a huge problem when one side of the brain is less healthy than the other.  The difference between the sides is due to years of inactivity or overactivity on one side only.  This has nothing to do with right or left-handedness.

My oldest client is 93 years old.  When I first started with Cesar, his right side blood pressure was considerably higher than the left.  This is because his right cortex is underactive and needs more activation.

His training for the past 18 months has consisted of brainstem activation, cerebellum training and cortical training.  As a result, over the past month, his blood pressure readings are within 5 on the right and the left.

Not only are his blood pressure numbers fantastic (126/78 average) but they are the same.   One side of his brain and therefore his heart are not working harder than the other.  He is in fantastic health and his cognitive ability is improving everyday.  At 93 years old, this man can now throw the ball better left handed than his dominant right hand.

If you're on blood pressure medication, check both sides.  If one side is considerably lower, you may not need blood pressure medication, you might need brainstem activation.

If you want to know how to activate your brain for immediate results SPECIFIC to your needs, contact me.  No brain activation program fits all.  You need your own program.

Contact me to schedule your session.  Online consultations available.  TALK TO ME.

Parkinson's Group in Lincoln Touched Their Toes Today!

I was the guest speaker at the Parkinson's Support Group in Lincoln today.  I love public speaking and am honored whenever I am invited to give presentations for various support groups.  Now that I have been studying the brain and how to activate the brain for better balance, movement, vision and less pain, I have so much to share that I have to customize each presentation with the audience in mind.

I had prepared a Parkinson's-specific presentation for the Carmichael Parkinson's Support group earlier this year however that was one of my worst presentations ever.  I did not read the audience's needs and should have stopped talking 30 minutes earlier!  I feel I did better this time however the amount of information I have to share can be 'overwhelming' which is why I encourage private training sessions (repetition is king).

I've attended several Parkinsons Association of Northern California's (PANC) one-day trainings and with my brain-based training, I feel confident presenting to people living with Parkinsons Disease.

Today's audience was blown away with the vision drills.  As always, I had everyone do an assessment.  In this case, reach down to touch their toes (while seated.  Needless to say, over half the room needed longer arms to touch their toes during the initial assessment.

Then I showed everyone how to do pencil push-ups.  After the group did about 5 pencil push-ups, I had them reach down and touch their toes again.  All I heard was, "what in the world just happened", "how did she do that", "oh my gosh".... this is because almost everyone could reach their toes this time!

I laughed and said, "it's not magic, it's neuroscience"!  I kept talking about the power of vision and that it is the #1 input to the brain and if you train the four components of vision, your vision will get better.  Then I had them do another vision drill that targeted eye movement.

After doing a drill, I had them reach down and try to touch their toes again and once again, exclamations, laughter and smiles as the entire front row touched their toes.  These are people who haven't touched their toes in over 20 years and today, after two vision drills, they were able to touch their toes.

We did some exercises that activated basal ganglia and the frontal lobe and I had everyone stand up.  No stuttering, no hesitation, people stood up easier and without thought.  Big smiles.

If you are living with Parkinson's Disease and you know there's more than Rock Steady boxing, contact me!  I will come to your home for private sessions to discover what your brain needs for healthy movement.  I can't cure the disease but I can make living with it more tolerable.   I will give you tips and holistic options to make your life better.

info@thefallpreventionlady.com

Legally blind student drops chronic pain with vision drills

One of my students in my Brains and Balance Training classes at Sun River Church is legally blind.  His macular degeneration is advanced and he can only see in the peripheral field.

On the first day of class, his pain level was a 10 which he attributed to chronic spinal stenosis.  As a Brain Practitioner, I was thinking otherwise.  His posture was stooped forward with a slight bend to the right.  His sense of equilibrium was off center which was evident in his posture.

I had him do specific eye drills to activate PAIN INHIBITION CENTERS in the brain.  His challenge was that he could not  actually see the pencil that I was asking him to follow with his eyes.  This is where brain science gets AWESOME.....

By ENVISIONING the pencil moving (eyes following pencil while in his hand), this gentleman who is illegally blind, activated the same neurons and neural pathways as if he could actually see the pencil.  Envisioning the target has the same powerful effect on brain activation as actually seeing it.

After two weeks, four sessions of brain-based training and lots of homework drills, this legally blind class participant's perceived level of pain is a 4 out of 10.  His eyes are moving 100% better and he's standing up straighter;  shoulders are level and his scoliosis is less pronounced.

You want to know what the best thing I've noticed?  His mood change!  Although he's not 100% pain-free, his mood is lighter, he's more engaged and exudes more confidence.  In fact, he got up and did the walking drills with the rest of the group!

WOW.  Just think about that....legally blind and living in a world of darkness and pain.  Through specific vision training drills and envisioning the target during precise vision training drills, this guy's pain has decreased significantly, his posture has improved dramatically and his mood is happy and hopeful.

What is going on?  Why are these changes happening?  Vision drills activate different parts of the brain; parts of the brain that are directly responsible for posture and pain.  Each eye has six muscles and those muscles are innervated by nerves that go directly into the brainstem.

The processing of all visual information (assigning meaning to visual data) activates all the lobes of the brain.  Vision is a brain-wide event.

And an activated brain is a happy brain because as you know, a healthy brain needs two things:
1.  Fuel  2.  Activation.

Is your vision getting worse each day?  Are you in chronic pain?  Do you feel unsteady and live in fear of falling?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are the perfect candidate for brain-based Balance Training with Coach Kelly.

Your Brain's Movement Maps

Your brain controls how much each joint moves.  Our joints have receptors in them that tell the brain about things like location, pressure, and temperature.  This joint-receptor input forms a three-dimensional map of the body.

This 3-D map is located in the brain and this is known as the third sensory system called proprioception.  This spatial awareness is how your brain knows where your body is in space at all times.  The better your brain's map of the body, the better your movement.

Conversely, if you don't move a body part, the brain's map for that area is "blurry".  If you were injured and didn't rehabilitate 100 percent (which is defined as the ability to move a joint in all ranges of motions at all speeds), then your brain's map of that injured area is blurry.

As a result, when your brain has to move the previously injured area, movement might be choppy, ratchety, spastic, or rushed.  These types of movement indicate poor mapping, an indication that your brain doesn't know how to move an area.

The better the brain's map of the body, the more smooth and efficient the movement.  Think about a highway.   You can go fast on well-traveled roads.  Similarly, when you repeatedly practice a movement, your body (and brain) get really good at that movement.  

Practice makes perfect but you need to practice perfect.  That's because your body gets good at whatever it does, exactly how it does it.  This is known as the SAID principle or specific adaptations to imposed demands.  You get good at whatever you do, exactly how you do it.

For that reason, you want to practice all movements in good form or your body will get good at bad movement.   Your brain's mapping of the body is dependent on many other neurological factors but for this blog, just know that all movement is planned and controlled by your brain and your brain depends on receptor input to know where the body is in space.  

Take-aways:

• Your brain can forget how to move a body part if you don't move it.   
• Practice moving each joint in all directions at all speeds.  
• The better the brain's map of the body, the better your movement

Why Your Eye Doctor Doesn’t Give You Vision Training Drills

We are a vision-dependent society.  In other words, we heavily rely on input from our eyes to help us navigate through life.  This is because vision is the number one input to the brain.  Our brain relies on visual information to decide how to move and where to go.

Each eye sends over 1.2 billion bits of information per second to the brain.  That is an enormous amount of information per second, per eye, flooding the brain.  The brain has to decide which information is accurate in order to act quickly and appropriately.    Appropriately means safe.

Each eye has 6 muscles!

What's interesting is that vision is brain-wide event; it's not just the transmission of information on the optic nerve.  Vision includes the occipital, temporal, parietal and frontal lobes and there are four components of vision necessary for good "vision".

As Z-Health Neuro-Performance Specialist, I implement brain-based drills to train the four
components of vision.  What's awesome is that every brain is different and therefore, each brain needs different types of activation.  Through assessment and reassessment practices, you learn the types of vision drills your brain craves and responds well to.

What's fascinating is that vision is a skill and like all other skills, it will improve with practice however you must train all four components regularly if you want to improve your vision.  

Clients are blown away with instant results and often ask, "Why isn't my doctor telling me how to do this?

One simple answer:  the applied neurology training techniques I use are cutting edge, neuroscience-researched practices based on the science of neuroplasticity.  Neuropolasticity is the science of hope.  Medical doctors can't give you hope or they'll get sued if it doesn't work.

Eye doctors sell glasses, eye surgeries and medications.    Physical therapists sell costly treatments covered by insurance and are driving up the cost of Medicare for conventional approaches to movement.  

The medical community, doctors and physical therapists included, are going to have to go back to school to learn the applied functional neurology training techniques that I am teaching because more and more evidence proves new things about the brain and nervous system

Brain-based training is the future of fitness.  If you want to move better and see better, you have to train the systems involved, from the brain's perspective.   Find a trained neuro-performance specialist (Z-Health Trainers) and learn how to activate parts of your brain that need activation.

If you've tried everything and nothing has worked, it's time to try something different!!!!
Train your eyes for better vision.  Train your brain with better visual input.

Get those eyes moving!

Your brain: Use it or Lose it

A participant in my Brains and Balance Training class at The Club at WestPark in Del Webb asked a valid, common question...."Why do I need to do this vision training"?  

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM'S USE IT OR LOSE IT:
TRANS-NEURONAL DEGENERATION

The answer is simple: USE IT OR LOSE IT.  

We already know that if you don't move a body part, you lose the ability to move it. 

You know if you don't strengthening your legs, your legs get weak and you're more likely to fall. 

The same "USE IT OR LOSE IT" principle applies to your brain and nervous system called "TRANS-NEURONAL DEGENERATION"

A healthy brain needs fuel and activation.  If you don't activate the entire brain, neurons die.   

Activating your senses is the only way to "use" your entire brain.  Not playing crossword puzzles and brain teasers.  You need to stimulate your senses.

 

Vision is the #1 input to the brain and vision is a brain-wide event.  In other words, when you do vision training, you activate all the lobes of the brain in order to see and process what you see.  

The cool thing about sensory training is the neurology rule, "Neurons that lie together, fire together".  This means that as neurons die because of lack of fuel and/or activation, the dying neurons influence the ones next to it.  The good news is this lie together/fire together principle works the other way, too.

As you activate neurons through sensory input, the neurons positively influence the neurons next to it.     "Hey, I'm moving, move with me", said the vision neuron to the pain inhibitor neuron.  IN other words, when you activate the visual neurons, they activate neurons that turn off pain!

If you're in chronic pain, get your eyes moving.  

As for improving your balance, the eyes muscles are innervated by nerves that go directly into the brainstem; areas of the brainstem that affect posture and balance.  It's complicated but what you need to know is that training the eyes activates neurons that DIRECTLY influence upright posture and balance. 

The moral of this blog: 

"If you don't train the sensory systems, half of your brain is dying"~ Kelly Ward

 

If you want to move, stay balanced, prevent a fall, have great vision and live independently, you'll do drills to activate the most neglected and least understood part of the brain; your sensory cortex.

Simply neuroscience. Simply Fall Prevention.

If you can't explain is simply, you really don't understand it.  Albert Einstein.

Balance is complex.  Learning how to train it doesn't have to be.  As a Z-Health Neuro-Performance Coach, I am constantly trying to explain complex neuroscience and neuro-anatomy concepts in easy to understand phrases and analogies.

The science of neuroplasticity (any structural change in the brain to enhance performance so you will survive) is the science behind Z-Health.  I study the brain, both structure and function, and I am amazed at the results people (including myself) get when they activate underactive parts of the brain.

A guy in class asked me, why are we doing all this vision training?  I paused and explained the brainstem, cranial nerves, eye muscles and functional neuroanatomy in an easy to understand yet logical explanation.

A mentor of mine said study, study, study.  Write down potential questions and come up with a scientific explanation and an easy one.

My message today:  improving balance and preventing falls is not standing on one leg or following some outdated Balance Manual.  It's about training the muscles and senses involved in balance, particularly the brain's GPS system.

Keep it simple.  Train smart.

Time to try something new in fall prevention

Should we do what we've always done?  Maybe?  But, what if they way we had always done it was wrong?  Lee Cockrell, Creating Magic.

Great quote that every personal trainer, group exercise instructor and program coordinator should consider.  Things change.  Research studies unveil new methods that work and explain why old methods don't work. NOTHING IS FOREVER.

Unfortunately, government agencies only accept evidence-based programs for funding.  This is a disservice to older adults everywhere because by the time the program is approved, it's already outdated.  Newer, more efficient methods of balance training and fall prevention exist.

If you've been following the same program for years, or months and you're not getting results, it's time to try something new.  It's time to open your mind and do something different.

Change and growth occur outside of your comfort zone.  Brain-based training is the future of fitness.  Training your vision, inner ear and joint receptors are the future of training.  If your trainer isn't training your vision, ask why not.

I'm not a eye doctor but I am movement specialist.  Your eyes have muscles, six for each eye.  I train the eye muscles for better eye movement and better vision.  You will be amazed at the results you get when you learn how to move your eyes.

Time to try something new.
Brains and Balance Training with Coach Kelly
Balance Training 101 with Coach Kelly.

Science of Breathing for a Healthy Brain

A healthy brain needs two things; fuel and activation.  The two types of fuel your brain needs are glucose and oxygen.  You need to eat and breathe.  Eating for a healthy brain is an entirely different blog so in this post I'd like to talk about breathing, particularly carbon dioxide.

Growing up, we were taught to believe that oxygen is good and carbon dioxide is bad.  That's half true: carbon dioxide is also good.  In fact, carbon dioxide drives respiration.  Movement produces carbon dioxide.

This is not good news if you don't move.  If you don't move much, you're not producing carbon dioxide.  You're over breathing, meaning you're taking in too much oxygen, but without carbon dioxide, your cells cannot get the oxygen you need.   The oxygen gets stuck in the bloodstream.

In all simplicity, carbon dioxide is a messenger molecule.  It attaches to the oxygen molecule and takes it into the cell.  100% blood oxygen is NOT GOOD.  95-97% Oxygen saturation is good.

Here is an excellent article about carbon dioxide:  Science of Breathing. Truth about Carbon Dioxide

How to you increase carbon dioxide?  You move.  You exercise.  Nasal breathing. And most important, you bag breathe.  Not like you're hyperventilating but slow and controlled.  In a bag, 30 seconds, 3-4 times per day.

Just breathe.

Lucky 13 students in Holiday Brains and Balance Session

I am thrilled to have 13 eager students enrolled in my holiday session of Brains and Balance Training at the Woodland Community and Senior Center in Woodland California.  A diverse group of men and women between 49 and 86 years old decided it was time to do something about their failing balance skills.

As I completed pre-assessment senior fitness testing, the small group got to know each other as they played balloon volleyball and called out things associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The first day is a healthy balance of movement and learning and everyone is assigned homework.

The second class focused on proprioception and walking gaits.  Students laughed as they tried simple movements in both directions and tried to remember which walking gait was #3.  Reaction speeds got better as threat was reduced.  Nervous smiles were wiped away with laughter.  Movement is life and relearning how to move should be fun!

Everyone brings their unique challenges to balance and movement because we all have lived different lives and made different choices in that lifetime.  Some of us were dealt a rotten hand.  We're all trying to get by the best we can and for some, that's harder to do.  

I'm so excited about working with this awesome group who has taken time out of their busy holiday schedule to invest in themselves.  These people are giving themselves the gift of independence.  Gain control of their body and learn to move again with sensory input activation.

Brains and Balance Training.  These people are learning how to activate parts of their brain that contribute to good movement, stable balance, better vision and less pain.  All through sensory activation drills and muscle activation exercises.  

You've got to give the brain what it needs for healthy function.  Let me show you how!  Join a brains and balance training class or enroll in my online balance training program!
Gift yourself.  

The Two Types of Fuel a Brain Needs to be Healthy

In this day and age, we all want a healthy functioning brain.  With the risk Alzheimers and other dementias increasing with age,  people who are willing to go to great lengths to keep their brain healthy.

Scientifically, a healthy brain needs two things for survival.  Two simple things that don't cost tons of money.  A healthy brain needs activation and fuel.    Your brain and the entire nervous system function on a "Use It or Lose It" principle so activating the entire brain is necessary for optimal performance.

  Brain SuperFood:  OJ & Salt

In my small group classes, I teach mature adults how to activate the different areas of the brain, including the sensory systems.  For those who cannot attend a live session,  I've created an online balance training course, Balance Training 101, to teach you how to activate both the sensory and motor components of the brain.l

When it comes to fueling your brain, the two type of 'food' your brain needs for healthy function are:

1. Glucose
2. Oxygen

You need to eat and you need to breathe.

If only it were that simple!  Nutritionally, we are a mess.  We've been fed untruths about what's good and what's bad for us from the leading agency in our country, the USDA and as a result, we don't know what to eat.  The foods your brain needs are exactly what government agencies are telling us NOT to eat.

Your brain needs SUGAR!  Your brain needs glucose to function.  The brain superfood is Orange Juice.  Orange juice with sea salt in it.  OJ is quick digesting and provides instant burning fuel.   Give it a try: 4-6 ounce OJ/sal shots throughout the day, especially before class or sensory training!

For more brain-smart eating, check out Kate Deering's book, "How To Heal Your Metabolism".  Quick read with lots of easy to understand scientific facts.  Highly recommended. 

Your brain needs OXYGEN!  If breathing wasn't an automatic function, half of us would be dead!  We are a bunch of shallow breathers.  We take in shallow breaths and don't exhale enough!  The result is a build up of oxygen in the blood.  We need to exhale.

I'm going to teach some breathing exercises in the next few weeks but in the meantime, practice the diaphragm stretch!  

Here is a demonstration of me doing the diaphragm stretch for you:

Diaphragm Stretch from The Brains and Balance Lady on Vimeo.

Western Peripheral Neuropathy Celebrates 20 years

A disease diagnosis a personal journey.  Your choices are personal and entirely up to you.  Having the support of people living the same diaganosis is extremely beneficial.  Knowing you're not alone as you journey through the unknown is comforting.

Brains and Balance Lady

Support groups start by the vision of one person.  The visionary for Peripheral Neuropathy is Bev Anderson.  It all started b/c of an un-mowed lawn..  Bev is an amazing leader who made possible the emotional support and sharing of scientific research and best practices among people who are living with Peripheral Neuropathy.

Last Saturday, the Sacramento Chapter of the Western Peripheral Neuropathy Support Group met at Cattleman's for the 20th Anniversary Luncheon.

Old friends reunited and new friends chatted. Delicious food and stimulating conversation were celebrated by people who share the struggles of peripheral nerve damage.

During the meal we shared stories and talked research.  I  shared some holistic bran-based strategies to help with peripheral neuropathy.  

I reminded everyone that nerves need two things to be healthy: blood supply and movement.   Then I told them to rub their feet and breathe into a bag.  

When you've tried everything and nothing works, it's time to try something else.  I offered holistic, brain-based fitness techniques that will optimize the function of the nervous system; peripheral nerves included.  

Foot Flow for Peripheral Neuropathy Coming Soon!

If you're interested in learning how to take care of your nerves, contact me for a private session that could transform the way you feel and move.

Brains and Balance Lady,
Formerly known as The Fall Prevention Lady