Nervous System Rule #2 for Better Balance and Prevention of Falls

The better the input, the better the output.

This is the language of the nervous system and I explain how to put the words together in my new book, "ABCs of Balance: Aging, Brains and Coordination.  A brain-based approach to the prevention of falls".

Education is Power:  
ABCs of Balance Book now available

The nervous system has three functions; input, interpretation and output.  Balance is an output.  If you want better balance, it's only logical that you need to train the inputs.  You cannot jump straight to the end product without addressing the first two steps.

Dr. Rose of FallProof™ introduced me to three sensory inputs and how to train them for improved balance and mobility.  She offered basic vision, vestibular and proprioceptive approaches to reduce falls.  Dr. Cobb of Z-Health taught me how to train these three systems from the brain's perspective and the results are life changing.

The better the visual inputs the better one's balance.  The better the vestibular inputs, the better the one's balance.  The better the sensory receptor input, the better one's balance will be.  Unfortunately, traditional fall prevention programs only focus on outputs. 

If you want better balance, you have to train the vision, vestibular and proprioceptive inputs and the brain's interpretation of them. 

I explain all of this in my new book, "ABC's of Balance: Aging, Brains and Coordination".  If you want to know why your balance is getting worse as you age and what you can do about it, this is a must read.  Everything begins in the brain.  Brain training is the future of fitness.  

Education is power.  Order your copy today. 

Nervous System Rule #1 for Better Balance

The nervous system is a complex function that processes over 64 quintillion bits of information each day.  Although every brain is different, there are several unspoken rules that apply to everyone.  In my new book, "ABCs of Balance: Aging, Brains and Coordination", I explain how to age successfully from the brain's perspective.  I've included three unspoken nervous system rules.

Nervous System Rule #1 for better balance

Nervous system rule #1: "Neurons that wire together fire together".  What this means is that you can improve balance by doing drills that activate neurons near the balance nerve.  

Do you know where the brain's balance nerve is located?  It's in the brainstem and it's connected to the brain's equilibrium system.  As mature adults responsible for your well-being, this is important stuff to know!!!

The entire nervous system runs on the use it or lose it principle including balance.  To maintain upright against gravity,  a person must activate cranial nerve #8 and the nerves next to it.

In my new book, "ABCs of Balance: Aging, Brains and Coordination", I explain how the brain works and what the nervous system needs for better balance.  I explain  things in an easy to understand manner and give sample exercises for the reader to try at home.

If you've tried everything and your balance is getting worse, it's time to do something else.   I offer a brain-based approach to the prevention of falls because everything we do begins in the brain. Everything.

My book explains all of this.  If you're like to sign up for the first release of my book, complete the form below.

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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

Holistic Hip Pain

Nagging hip pain, low back pain, shooting sciatic pain in hip and side of leg; if you have or had it; you have, or had, a nerve problem.

In essence, because of the way we are built, we are really just one big nerve with lots of branches. When one of the 'branches' of nerve get compressed in high nerve density cramped spaces, communication within that nerve is cut off and pain results.  

Sometimes space is an issue but we can relieve pain by creating more space for nerves to move.  If you move poorly, that can cause pain at the joint.   Poor spinal movements can place unnecessary pressure on the dorsal or ventral nerve root. That’s the bulk of chiropractic adjustments.

Poor tissue health can cause nerve pain which is why you want to take Great Lakes Hydrolysed collagen protein for improved nerve health and function.   

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

Our nerves transmit urgent data to the brain. The brain interprets the information and sends an response to nerves that run to the body.  

Keep your nerve highway clean and functioning with holistic drills that give the brain what it needs for healthy function.

Brain-based Balance Exercises Are Simple, NOT EASY

"These exercises aren't easy", "This stuff is totally different than anything I've done", "I can't believe how tired I get just by moving my eyes".....these are just a few of the comments I've heard from clients about their brain-based balance exercises.

"These exercises aren't easy".  While nodding your head may seem simple, it's not always easy if you have a balance problem.  If you have a nerve dysfunction or part of your brain needs more or less activation, doing these specific brain-activation drills can be hard!

"This stuff is totally different than anything my doctors or physical therapist have me do".   Neuroscience is the thriving, evolving science changing due to constant discoveries about the organ that runs the entire body.  New discoveries not yet published in textbooks are changing people's lives.

Your doctors and physical therapists have not read these recent studies or learned the skills because they do not specialize in functional neurology.  Mostly, our current healthcare system is an insurance-fraud scheme.  Doctors are death prevention specialists; they prevent death.  They are not in the business of curing patients because a patient cured is a patient lost.

"I can't believe how tired I get just by moving my eyes".  I hear this time and time again.  If I don't hear it, I see it.  The eyes are the #1 input to the brain and the eye muscles burn through fuel.  Following a pencil with both eyes requires specific eye muscle activation which stimulates specific areas of the brain.  When decreased areas get activated,  the results are instant.

THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL.  DO THE WORK.

Results may be instant but in order for those changes to stick, you HAVE TO PRACTICE THE DRILLS.   The science of neuroplasticity proves that the brain can and will change structure, at any age, in order to survive.  But like all things, you have to work for it.  Research studies show that you must practice 20-40 hours for neuronal change to become permanent.

I do not offer any magic pill, no paid medical treatment using a big fancy machine.  I teach holistic, brain-based drills that stimulate areas of the brain.  It's nervous system activation.



When doing brain-based training, prepare to do some different things; things that may seem silly but drills that activate specific muscles, which activate specific nerves which stimulate specific areas of the brain.

For the brain to thrive, you have to learn new skills.  You have to engage the brain.  Make these changes last.  Improve your brain, improve your balance.

INFO@THEFALLPREVENTIONLADY.COM

No such thing as coincidence

I just started a new class in a gated community for mature adults in Rocklin, California.  We were almost finished introductions when a lady walked in asking for the high intensity interval class.  I told her I didn't know about aerobics class but this was a Brains and Balance training class.  She quickly asked if she could watch and then decide if she wanted to join.

She and her husband are new to the area and the students, her neighbors, welcomed her.  Turns out she is a stoke survivor and is always somewhat concerned about her balance.  After introductions, we did a joint mobility warm-up, some vision drills and then some sensory balance activation drills.

Our newcomer had one main compliant; her right shoulder.  She couldn't raise it over her head, it pinched if she moved it certain ways.  As a nervous system specialist, I immediately thought a pinched nerve, the axillary nerve to be exact, and stopped the class to guide her through a nerve glide.

She hesitantly followed along and struggled with some of the step-by step instructions.  She struggled because she didn't know how to move her shoulder blade the way I was asking her.  We slowed down and I coached her through the movement.  Suddenly she smiled with the newfound, pain-free movement she could do with her arm.

At the end of the class she came to me and said she wasn't sure about joining until I 'fixed' her shoulder.  She had been struggling with nagging shoulder pain and limited range of motion since her stroke six years ago.   She was amazed and decided she wanted more!

There are no coincidences!

Learn and Do

I just attended Perform Better's one-day "Learn by Doing" workshop in South San Francisco.  This is an annual event for me and this year's presenters were interesting.  I really appreciated the opportunity to learn from one of the fitness industry's best, Mike Boyle; a renowned Strengthening and Conditioning Coach.  

As a lifelong learner and a movement specialist who is constantly striving to learn more about the human body and movement patterns, I keep an open mind when listening to fitness professionals.   However now that I am a Z-Health Movement Re-Educator who specialized in brain-based movement and performance, I find it difficult to listen to misinformation about the nervous system and brain function.

It was refreshing to hear two presenters encourage forced exhalation.  The reasonings were different but the message is the same:  BREATHE OUT THROUGH THE MOUTH.  Strong.  And long.  Feel your lower stomach contract as you reach the end of the exhalation phase.

The Neuro-Revolution is here.  Brain-based training is the future of fitness.  I guarantee it.  Don't wait for mainstream trainers to get the message; find a Z-Health Practitioner and get started today!

Everything beings in the brain; all thoughts and movement.    Learn how to train your brain for better performance in daily life.  HINT:  Crossword puzzles are not the way to a healthy brain. 

Number 1 rule of brain-based fitness: Sensory Before Motor

 Brains and Balance Nugget #1:  Sensory Before Motor

I was at the Western Peripheral Neuropathy Association's 20th Anniversary and told the group to rub their feet.  Paint their affected areas with light touch, stroking the skin, paying attention to the feeling.  It's time to touch your feet.  
Rub the toes. 

For people who can't feel a body part, like feet, or only feel pain or tingling;  touch your skin.  Gently rub the body part. Wrap it and rub it.  Feel the touch.  Pay attention to the body part so your brain remembers it's there and how to move it.   

Sensory before motor.  Focus on feeling your body before you try to move it.  Re-introduce your brain to your body.  One joint at a time.   It's a brain thing! 

The fascinating thing about the brain is that the half of the brain is dedicated to sensory processing.  Half of your brain.  If you're not stimulating the senses that the brain relies on in order to move safely through life, then half of your brain is dying.  

The two things a healthy brain needs is 1.  Activation 2.  Fuel.  Use it or lose it, especially sensory neurons of the brain.  One of the golden rules that Dr. Cobb of  Z-Health Performance consistently talks about is sensory before motor.  Skin stimulation. 

Simple.  Subtle.  Strategic.  

Holistic life care through specific brain activation techniques.  Simple.  Try them.  Rub your feet.  Rub your skin.  Then move.  

Sensory before motor.  It's how your nervous system functions.  Trust me.

Brains and Balance Lady,
also known as the Fall Prevention Lady

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

92 year old loses 20 pounds and 6 inches with Brain-Based Training

I've been working with a 92-year old client for roughly six months.   He trains three times a week for one-hour.  As his trainer, I've seen progressive changes in his performance and every once in awhile, I'll look at him and notice the big changes like his posture.

When I met him, he was bent over with kyphosis and scoliosis, shuffling and easily winded.  Over the past few month, I've seen him stand taller, stand straight, pick up his feet and lengthen his walking gait, practice getting up and down from the floor, crawl on the floor and control his breathing.   He's an entirely different person now; stronger, more confident and his slight dementia is even less.

His family is thrilled with his progress.  His son wanted his father to lose weight.  I told him that as his father gained control over his body through brain training and built muscle with resistance training, weight loss would be a natural by-product.

Well, his son sent me his personal measurements that he'd been keeping of his father and I was so proud of his progress, I had to share this:

				Left Side  (inches)		Right Side (inches)
Date	Time	Weight	BP	Foot - Ball	Ankle	Foot - Ball	Ankle	Waist (inches)
3/17/2018	8:15 PM	232.4	145/84					51 1/2
3/18/2018	7:10 PM	230.6	138/80	11 1/4	11	11 3/4	11
5/5/2018	5:30 PM	223.8		10 3/4	11	10 3/4	11	49
10/13/2018	1:00 PM	210.8		10.25	9.5	10.5	10.5	45.5

The man is 92 years old and he's lost 6 inches in his waist and 22 pounds of fat!  The swelling in his feet is down and his blood pressure measurements are now between 111/69 and 128/74.

This man is NOT on any medications and I've convinced his family to feed him whole foods that feed his metabolism; orange juice with hydrolyzed collagen protein, ice cream with salt, steak, potatoes, fruits, eggs, dairy, chocolate milk.

And this man has lost 22 pounds.  Praise God.  Brain-based training is the future of fitness and it's never too late to start.  At 92 years of age, you can lose 22 pounds, 6 inches from your waist and get stronger every day!

Glory to God!
Brains and Balance Lady,
formerly known as The Fall Prevention Lady

Train the Brain to Reduce Pain

Are you in so much pain that you feel like you can't go on?  Are you in so much pain that you want to crawl up into a ball and not move?  Is your comfort zone lying on your back with feet elevated?  Does the thought of going on like this another day bring you to tears?  Do you know that there's more to life than the pain you're going through?  Do you know you're too young to feel this way???

My new client answered yes to all of the above questions.  A botched back surgery left her with shooting pain beneath her shoulder blades; it hurt to raise her arms, it hurt to bend forward, it hurt to sit in a chair, it hurt to walk.  Everything hurt.

To top it off, she has emphysema so breathing even hurt.   When I got there her pain level was a 10 out of 10; actually a 15 out of 10 but you get my point.

I could see the pain on her face when I got to her home.  We sat at the kitchen table and I started with the 90-minute assessment.  During this time, I ask a lot of questions and test a lot of different things.  This is a great time to get to know each other and for me to learn what happened before what happened happened.  How did she get in so much pain.

Pain is an output from the brain.  Don't get me wrong; pain is pain and it hurts.  It's valid.  It's real.  But pain is a protective output from the brain to get you to stop doing what you're doing.   Your brain is overwhelmed and something needs to stop.  Pain is the quickest way to get you to stop doing something.

Pain is an output from the brain.  Train the brain to reduce pain.

However it's up to you to change and/or address what's causing the pain.  In my new client's case, her brain wasn't getting enough fuel and her eye muscles needed to be activated.  She also needed to start moving her nerves.  Her nervous system needed a major tune-up!!!  WHAT?

Once we did some breathing drills and vision training drills, there was a smile of relief.  When we did some nerve glides and got the nerves moving, there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes.  She told me that I was her last option; it was either work with me or get back surgery!  I embrace that challenge and left her with some drills to do for homework.

Before I left, I asked her to rate her pain on a scale from 1-10 again.  She smiled and said "5/10".  Yay!!!  My job was complete.

When I returned THE NEXT DAY to review the homework drills with her, a different woman answered the door!  The same client, but she wasn't in nearly as much pain.  She was smiling, she walked lighter and her entire demeanor was different.

When we sat down to go through the homework drills, she told me she was so excited last night that she couldn't sleep!  She felt different and knew this was going to work.  Now I was excited.  I love using brain-based fitness training to help people get out of pain, improve balance, see better and move better.

Once your brain gets the activation it needs, your entire mood will change.  Not in a voodoo/weird way but in the best way possible.  You realize there is hope at the end of tunnel.  There is more to life than living in pain.  You learn how to move your body so it doesn't hurt.  You learn how to breathe so your brain gets the oxygen it needs to function.

I am so excited about working with her and seeing her transform before my very eyes.  I'll take pictures so you can see the improvements along the way.

And hey, if you're like my client and want to get out of pain so you can start living the life you were meant to live, contact me.  Set up a consult.  
Click here to make an appointment:  
I want to get out of pain and live my life!

Trigeminal Nerve Glide for the SAVE!

Today I was out in the field and my last in-home session was with Bob.   When I got there, Bob was on the phone and Bob was bothered about something.  His lovely wife walked me to the porch where we chatted while I setup for our session.

Five minutes later Bob came out swinging.  His jaw hurt, his head hurt, he had these pains and he didn't know if he could do anything.  He didn't do his homework, he didn't do anything.  He said he'd give this one more try.  He believed in what we were doing and was going to give this one more try.  He was upset.

Trigeminal Nerve for the SAVE!!!!

His right jaw was on fire and the pain spread down his neck.  He couldn't stand it.  The pain was constant.  Not shooting, constant.  The area he pointed to is innervated by Cranial Nerve five; the trigeminal nerve; his chewing muscles, behind the ear, upper neck and throat area.  All right side.

As he left the room to get his red glasses and Z-vibe, I prayed for an answer; a clear path based on the neuropractitioner skills of Z-Health Performance Systems Education.  Upon return, in addition to the noxious jaw pain, he complained about swelling in the lymph node area.  I decided to start with right lymphatic duct drainage after some eye drills.

Bob did some fantastic respiration drills to mobilize the lymphatic drainage process.  After a minute or so, I palpated the neck area and started cranial soft tissue mobilization drills.  Pressure checking revealed tight right side temporal, saggital and lambdoid suture areas.   After Bob did the tilting, nodding and gliding drills, his pain level dropped significantly.  He immediately noted greater mobility and ease of movement in the pained areas.

I sat down and asked about the pain level.  It was still there but only when he turned his head a certain way. He had to search for it but he could find it.  Barely.  That's when it hit me...THE TRIGEMINAL NERVE!!!    He needs to do the trigeminal nerve glide!

After following step by step instructions, a smile came over Bob's face.  The pain was gone. "So all I need to do when I start having jaw pain is this nerve glide?" he asked bewilderedly.

Yep.  I video taped him doing the drill and sent it to him at his new email address on his new iPad.
Despite his skeptical attitude,  Bob gets it!  This neuro-stuff is working.   And he's happy!

Neck Flexibility Improves Posture and Balance

The spinal column is the highway of the nervous system.  Billions of neural messages are transmitted along the spinal cord each second; some descend from the brain to the body while billions of other messages take the fast route upward from the body to the brain.

An aligned spine facilitates quicker transmission of messages.
A properly aligned spine doesn't cause pain when moving.

TO improve your posture, sit in lengthened spine. Lengthened spine creates space between vertebrae which enables healthy nerve movement.

We need to make sure that we keep our body joints moving in the range of motion which God created them to move.  Starting your day with this neck exercise routine will prepare you for the day ahead with a smile and better balance.

Align your spine with these brain-based neck mobility drills.
Coach Kelly

Brains and Balance Z-Training with Coach Kelly

Brains and balance; the two things you don't want to lose as you age.  Neuroscience proves the plasticity, or changeability of the brain.  Science and research demonstrate that staying active is the best way to remain independent.  I want to take this a step further and state that when properly activated, the brain can change how you move, how you see, and how stable you are on a daily basis.

In order to function, the brain needs two things: fuel and activation. There are two types of fuel that your brain requires: glucose and oxygen.  Everything you eat breaks down to glucose.  There's no good or bad glucose, at the cellular level, it's just glucose.  Your brain consumes 70% of your daily caloric intake. Think about that.  What type of food are you feeding your brain???

Oxygen.  Just breathe.  On average, a person takes 22,000 breaths each day.  That wouldn't be a problem if we knew HOW to breathe correctly.  Unfortunately, Americans are a bunch of shallow breathers.  On average, we use less than one-quarter of our lung capacity.  Instead, we breathe in, maybe feel a rise in our chest and exhale.  This breathing pattern is not only bad for your neck, shoulders and back musculature but also horrible for your brain.    How do you breathe???

Activation.  How you move through life is a reflection of the efficiency of your nervous system and brain mapping of your body (how well your brain knows your body).  Part of your brain is concerned about one thing and one thing only, "IS THIS SAFE"?   If your brain doesn't feel safe, your movement is poor.  Conversely, if your brain feels safe (with clear, predictable sensory input messages from nerves),your movement is fluid, graceful, all cylinders are firing.  

Think about how you move:

1. Do you move slowly and almost shuffle?  
2. Does everything hurt?  
3. Is your vision getting worse?  
4. Are you stooping forward more each day?  
5. Do you feel unsteady?  
6. Are you constantly fearful of what's going to happen next?  
7. Have you tried everything and been told 'to live with it'?

If you answered yes to ANY of those questions, you want to work with me!  As a certified Z-Health Practitioner, I am trained to improve your neural GPS (better input=> better output), I am trained to increase the speed of brain's interpretation of messages and efficiency of motor output. 

In other words, using research and scientific-based neurophysiology techniques, I train your nervous system in order to make your brain feel safe so you can move confidently through this world.  Time is valuable.  Don't waste your time going to the gym or money on a private trainer if you're NOT getting results.  

With brain-based training, you get instant results

because you have given YOUR brain 

what YOUR brain needs.  

Precise training of the nervous system gives you precise results

Sign up for  

BRAINS AND BALANCE Z-TRAINING WITH COACH KELLY 

for immediate results!