Conquer Hip and Knee Pain in Fall Prevention Class

Most improved student described how the four-week brain-based balance training classes taught her exercises to manage her hip and knee pain.

As a Z-health Practitioner, I teach people how to activate areas of the brain that inhibit pain.  In other words, I teach drills that turn off pain.  Based on laws of neurology, opposing joint drills help people manage pain.  

This 66 year old frequent faller explained how many times she had fallen and how worried she was about falling again.  While her goal was to become more steady when walking, she surprisingly learned exercises to take her out of pain.

She doesn't have hip or knee pain anymore.  She learned drills to increase her awareness of surroundings, how to react to imbalances and what to do if she is falling.   Mostly, she increased her lower body flexibility by nearly one foot!

While she was seven inches from touching her toes on day one, she can now reach six inches past her toes!  Her legs are significantly stronger as evidenced by standing up five more times in 30 seconds!  She moves more stable and with greater confidence as shown by her ability to get up and walk around a cone nearly two seconds faster!

Gain control of your body.  Gain confidence.  

Lose your fear of falling.  Lose your pain.  

Enroll in my brain-based Balance Training classes. YOu're worth it!  Your future depends on it.
February:  Woodland Senior and Community Center
March:  Fair Oaks and Rancho Cordova and Rocklin
April:  Woodland Senior and Community Center

Family encourages more Brains and Balance Training for 84 yo Grandmom

Family Encourages Continued Participation in Brains and Balance Training from The Brains and Balance Lady on Vimeo.

Woodland Brains and Balance Training class participant shares how repeating the four-week brain-based balance and mobility training program increased her self-confidence so much that her family wants her to repeat the class again in February.

84 years young and lives independently at home.  Her family adores her and loves seeing her continued engagement at the local senior and community center.  After repeating the class before the holidays, her family wants her to continue with the brain-based balance training program with Coach Kelly.

"Changes in the brain that affect movement and balance, known as neuroplasticity, requires constant practice", stated Brains and Balance Coach Kelly.  "In fact, a person needs to practice specific drills at least 20 hours per week for changes to stick".

20 hours?  That's not much when you break that practice into 5 minute segments.  It's suggested that you do recommended drills 4-5 times per day, 4-5 days per week, for positive changes to occur at the brain level.

Don't worry, you don't have to be a neuroscientist to succeed.  Coach Kelly specializes in teaching drills to activate the brain for desired changes.

Do you want:

1. Increased Balance Confidence
2. Better Balance
3. Quicker Reaction Speeds to Life's Imbalances
4. Improved Posture 
5. Better Vision
6. Steadier Walking Gait
7. YOUR INDEPENDENCE
8. Family's Peace of Mind

These are the things you get from my 4-week 'Brains and Balance Training' program.

Meet twice a week for four weeks.  Eight ninety-minute sessions that will transform your balance, your confidence, your walking gait and the way you move through life.

What are you waiting for????  

Fair Oaks:  

1.  Educational Workshop.  January 8th.  1-2:30p.  Fair Oaks United Methodist Church.  $5.

2.  Brains and Balance Training Classes.  Jan. 15-Feb. 7. 10-11:30a.   Fair Oaks United Methodist Church.  $125.

Woodland:

1.  Educational Workshop:  February 5th.  10-11:30am.  Woodland Community Center.  $5

2.  Brains and Balance Training Classes.  Feb. 12-March 7th. 1-2:30p.   Woodland Community Center.  $125

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.  

Small Summer Class in Woodland has BIG BALANCE improvements

I can't believe it's already the last weekend of Summer 2018.  While it may have been a lazy summer for some, there was a small, intimate-sized group of adults in Woodland who put in some hard work to make some remarkable improvements in their balance skills.  

As you know by now, I teach Brains and Balance Training sessions.  Each training "session" consists of two 90-minute classes that meet for four weeks.  Eight (8) sessions in all.  Short and sweet.  This is brain-based balance training at the next level.  

I just finished an August session at the Woodland Community and Senior Center.  My third Brains and Balance class of this year and although the class was small, the pay-offs were enormous!  

I have to report the two most improved students because these were some of the best overall improvements I've seen in fifteen years.

Brains and Balance with Coach Kelly

Female most improved was a 75 year old lady.  In four short weeks, she;

•  increased lower body strength by 6 chair stands (able to do 6 more stands in 30 second timed period.  This is major!!!!)
•  Increased lower body flexibility by 4 inches
•  Dynamic balance and agility was one second faster.  

73 year old Male most improved was equally as noteworthy.  He:

• Increased lower body by 3 chair stands in 30 seconds
• Gained an amazing 6.5 inches in lower body flexibility.  This is tremendous improvement in walking gait, hip mobility, low back pain and overall posture.
• Dynamic balance and agility was 1.8 seconds faster.  

First... CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH FOR TREMENDOUS IMRPOVEMENTS and to everyone else in the class for their hard work.

These are your everyday, average early 70-somethings who increased lower body strength and flexibility to levels well above average.  Their dedication and hard work paid off tremendously not only in the numbers on the pre-and post tests but also in balance confidence, dynamic postural control and vision skills.

These physical fitness measures contribute to better balance and greater confidence in living an independent active lifestyle.

Please join my final Woodland Brains and Balance Training session of 2018 in October.

Classes meet Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1:30-3:00pm.  Oct. 2-Oct. 25.  $125 for all 8 sessions.

Change your life in four weeks.  Invest in yourself.  You're worth it. 

Brains and Balance Vision Skill Training with Coach Kelly

Vision is a skill and like all skills, it will improve with practice.  Balance is a skill and like all skills, it will improve with practice.  Mental clarity is a skill and like all skills, it will improve with practice.

Are you seeing a pattern?  All skills will improve with consistent practice.  This is based on the exercise science "SAID" principle; the body undergoes Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands (SAID) when practicing or training to improve efficiency. 

In other words, practice makes perfect.  

Your body will get good at whatever you practice however you practice it.  

If you practice bicep curls, your body will adapt to imposed demands (what it's being asked to do) and get stronger to lift the amount of weight with the least amount of effort.  Yay, bigger arm muscles.
If you practice walking with a limp, your body is going to get really good at walking with a limp.  If you sit scrunched over in your chair or on the couch watching TV or playing on your phone, your body will get really good at sitting in a scrunched over position.

Think about what you're asking your body to do each day.  You're unknowingly building skills through habit.  The tricky part of skill training is doing it correctly.  You have to know HOW to train a skill in order to get better at the skill.

That's where I come in; I am trained in the skills of vision, balance and movement for optimized physical performance.  Your performance can be as simple as getting up from a chair, functioning in your daily life or improving your walk through this life journey or as complex as increased precision in your golf game, increased cardiovascular endurance for biking or running or regaining control of your body after a stroke.

Whatever your challange or goal, 

increased brain function 

will catapult your game!

Vision is the number one input to the brain and your trainer MUST KNOW the goal of each vision drill, what warning signs to look for and most importantly, how to train your eyes for optimized performance.

Every brain is different and general training classes are a great place to start before the need for individualized attention becomes apparent.  The basics will get you started but in order to thrive and make substantial changes, it's important to individualize your program.  

Stroke Survivor Support Group Guest Speaker

As a public speaker and health educator,  I've been active in Sacramento and Yolo county communities presenting my dynamic ABCs of Balance workshop and promoting two upcoming Brains and Balance classes; one at the Woodland Community and Senior Center and the other at the Fair Oaks United Methodist Church.

Stroke Survivor Support Group Presentation with Coach Kelly

I love educating people about the power of neuroplasticity and empowering individuals to take action if they want to change their circumstances.  As a Z-Health Neuro-Performance Coach and Brain Exercise Therapist, I am trained to activate areas of the brain that directly impact balance, movement, posture and pain levels.

Last week I finally met Tom Hoag; registered nurse and Stroke Survivor Support Group facilitator for Dignity Health's Neurological Institute.  I say finally because a student of recent Brains and Balance class also attends the Stroke Survivor Support Group in Woodland.  This student is one of the most improved and brain exercise has changed his life so much that he wanted me to speak at an upcoming support group meeting.

The stars aligned and I met Tom at the Woodland Senior Resource Fair.  After laughter and discussion, it's confirmed; I will be the guest speaker at Tom's two stroke survivor support group meetings in June:

1. Mercy San Juan Carmichael:  Wednesday June 13th. 11-Noon.  6501 Coyle Avenue  Carmichael.
2. Woodland Community & Senior Center:  Monday, June 18th.  1-2pm.  2001 East Street  Woodland.

These support groups are open to the public and free of charge.  If you have had a stroke and want to learn how to improve your current functionality, please join us.

I have been working with four stroke survivors on a private training basis and the results are amazing!  They have regained sight, movement, balance and feeling where they thought was impossible.  Precise training gets precise results.

I am so excited about meeting and educating these stroke survivor support groups about the regenerative power of the brain and that with precise training, they can get precise results.

I hope to see you in June.

Woodland Seniors Get Stronger, Quicker and More Flexible From Brains and Balance Training

I just completed a four-week Brains and Balance Training session at the Woodland Community Center and the fitness testing results are some of the best I've seen.  Every one of the 17 participants  improved in either lower body strength, lower body flexibility or dynamic balance and agility; some improved in all three components!  Way to go Woodland! 

As a certified FallProof™ Balance and Mobility Specialist, I perform pre- and post-assessments on all class participants to provide objective data about the effect of participation on their fall risk: I test three fitness components associated with fall risk on the first and last day of class.    

Here are some of the noteworthy improvements from this group of 17 seniors:

• 81-year old gentleman improved lower body flexibility by 4 inches in four weeks!
• 87-year old woman increased lower body strength by 3, lower body flexibility by 1.5 inches and increased her dynamic balance and agility by 1.4 seconds
• 85-year old woman increased lower body strength by 2, lower body flexibility by 3 inches and dynamic balance and agility by 1.1 seconds. 
• 77 year old woman increased lower body strength by 5, increased lower body flexibility by 2.7 inches and increased dynamic balance and agility by 1.4 seconds.  

That’s just objective data.  I don't measure posture, confidence or vision and I can say that every single person in the class improved in all of those areas, too.  

I'm super proud of everyone of everyone in the class and look forward to my next session of Brains and Balance Training at the Woodland Community Center beginning June 5.  

Save your spot and register today!

Brains and Balance Training with Coach Kelly

T/Th, 1-2:30pm

June 5-June 28

8 sessions for $125 

Woodland Community Center

You're worth the investment.