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

PANC Parkinson's Train-the-Trainer Workshop in Lodi

Last weekend, PANC (Parkinson's Association of Northern California) held a train-the-trainer workshop in Lodi, CA for health and fitness professionals who work with people living with Parkinson's Disease.  The room was filled with personal trainers, yogis, massage and physical therapists who work with those living with the neurodegenerative disease.

"It takes a village to raise a child but it takes an army to treat Parkinson's", quoted Dr. Suketu Khandhar, the lead Neurologist in charge of Kaiser's Movement Disorder Program.  He designed this workshop so the hospital-based PTs can offer their patients a more "person-centered", continuous spectrum of services while establishing reliable resources in the community to refer their patients.

Dr. Sarah P....,  the neuro-physical therapist from Kaiser lead an amazing workshop.  Unbeknownst to me, this was the exact same workshop as last year and that was fine with me because I learned several 'golden nuggets' to improve my services.   The stop, sniff, shift technique of dealing with freezing epsisodes were clarified and I learned a LIFE-SAVING technique to prevent backward falls.

As a Z-Health brain exercise therapist who activates the cranial nerves, cortices, cerebellum, vestibular and vision systems not to mention motor control, I am always learning how to better treat my clients with Parkinson's.   There is so much information available on the internet so it's good to get hands-on experience and talk with leaders in the field of neurodegenerative movement disorders.

Great experience and I will continue to attend for breaking neuroscience training techniques to help people improve balance while living with a progressive neurodegenerative disease.

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.

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.

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!

Gain control of your emotions with brain activation drills

We all have those occasional emotional meltdown moments; those times when we feel emotionally out of control.  This "limbic escape" is your brain's way of protection.  The emotional response will get you to stop whatever you're doing and cry, scream, yell, or whatever your emotional response might be.

The "old brain" is responsible for our emotions.  The way to gain control of your emotions is to inhibit old brain function.  That is the number one responsibility of the new brain; to inhibit the old brain.

Of the three training methods to help you gain control of your emotions, frontal lobe activation drills are my favorite.  If you want to learn specific drills to help gain control of your emotions and your body, contact me for private training sessions.

Facebook:  The Fall Prevention Lady
Website:  The Fall Prevention Lady
Email:  info@thefallpreventionlady.com

Your brain can change the way you feel and the way you respond.  Learn how to gain control of your mind and emotions through precise brain training drills.  I'd love to help you.

Your coach,
Kelly Ward
The Fall Prevention Lady

Brain science is real; change is possible

.

Here are some critical definitions I want you to know about your brain, body and balance:

Neuroscience is a form of neurology based on the science of nervous system focusing on brain function and body movement
Neuroplasticity is the scientifically proven fact that the brain can and will change for more efficient function.
Applied neuro-anatomy is the systematic assessment of precise neural inputs on brain function and observed motor output.
Applied neurophysiology considers the results of thorough input assessments and designs an individualized program that provides the highest payoff in movement and skill proficiency and pain control for an individuals.

Neuro-Performance are professional  athletic trainers invest time, money and energy into each level of applied neuroanatomy and applied neurophysiology education.  Professional development that includes four-day certification weekends, hours of pre- and post-weekend study and years of application to learn this highly specialized neural testing and training program.

A program based on emergent research.  Research findings that take ten years to reach the general public.  Get in on it now.  What are you waiting for?  What have you got to lose?

Chronic Pain. Poor eyesight. Dizzy.  Lethargic. Weak.  Slouched posture.  Neck pain.  Poor sleep.  No energy.  Aching pains.  Stiff joints.  Thats' what you've got to lose.

Work with me and learn to gain control of your body.  Feel in control of what's going on.  Connect to your body.  Through comprehensive assessment process, we practice drills that make your brain fire efficiently.  An efficient brain produces efficient movement.  Pain-free, optimized movement is how the brain was made to function.

Work with me to develop your neural highways.  Upgrade your neural software.  Rewire for efficiency.  90-minute consultation: $150.  Special for the rest of May, $125.
I will come to you and work with you in your environment.
Facebook consultations: The Fall Prevention Lady on Facebook

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!

Feed Your Brain If You Want To Improve Balance

The feeding pattern of the brain is remarkable and it is my hope that once you understand what the brain needs to function and how the fuel is distributed to your body for use that you will be able to make more brain-smart choices.

As I progress in my neuroscience studies and neural re-education techniques,  I have had to open my mind to concepts that go against the mainstream; concepts that have been driven into my head as "bad".  In the process, I have learned that a majority of nutrition and movement news is fake news.  This is in no way political but factual due to the ten-year phenomena.

The ten-year phenomenon is that current lab discoveries are ten years ahead of public knowledge.  In other words, it takes ten years for today's scientific findings to trickle down from the lab into the general public knowledge.

Rest assured that the neuroscience information that I am providing is scientific and research-based.  In order for your local doctor to teach these methods would require him/her to return to school and put in time and effort.  We know that's not going to happen.

Let me explain what your brain needs for survival;
1.  Fuel
2.  Activation

Feed your brain glucose and oxygen for daily survival.  Eat and breathe.  Sounds easy enough but thanks to all the conflicting and ever-changing nutrition news, who knows what to eat.

1.  Eat:  Neuroscientists know when it comes to the brain!  Eat glucose.  Sugar is good for you.  Now I'm not telling you to go on a Sugar Binge but I am telling you that oranges and orange juice are good for you.  Your brain needs fruits and fruit juices.

I'm NOT a nutritionist but I have been informed by a nutritional scientist who is also a neuroscientist DO NOT eat polyunsaturated fatty acids.  No nut oils or butters.  Limit nuts and grains.  Chocolate is good. Coffee is good.  Be smart.  Eat like an adult.

2.  Breathe.  Deep belly breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing.  Exhalation-based breathing. Deep breath holds.  I am going for the next Z-Health certification, T-Phase.  This is four days of neurologically based breathing patterns.  I will keep you updated in an upcoming blog.

3.  Activation.  Think "Use it or Lose it" of the brain.  Activate your neurons or lose neurons.  Stimulate nearby neurons and they all begin to communicate.  Close gaps of dysfunctional neurons with stronger stimulus and the whole brain lights up.

Fuel and Activation for Better Balance, Improved Vision and Less Pain.
Eat for control of your mind and body.

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!