3 sisters in Brains and Balance Training class.

I just started my October session of Brains and Balance Training in Fair Oaks at the Fair Oaks United Methodist Church.  First of all, I want to publicly acknowledge my blessings and thank the Lord for this opportunity to teach my classes at such a beautiful location.  Glory to God.

This month, I have a small, close knit group that is eager to learn how to improve their balance.  I have to say that this is one of the neatest groups I have ever trained because I am blessed to have three sisters, all over the age of 74, in this one training class!

3 Sisters.  One Love.  Movement is Life!  

Coming from a small family that is spread all over the country, it warms my heart to see these sisters support each other in this life saving training.  Each sister brings a different set of skills and different set of stability challenges but all of them are open to the benefits of  brain-based training to improve balance.


Their open-mindedness to 'brains and balance training' is because they all have seen how their younger sister Sue has flourished from this brain-based training.  Their younger sister has turned her life around with brain-based training and the older sisters are ready to give it a try.  Praise God.

Younger sister Sue is a happily married, retired school teacher who is ready to travel the world with her husband.   The only problem is she keeps falling.  She's afraid to move.  She's overweight and her knees are killing her.  She's in chronic pain and scared to walk down steps, especially the ones in her RV.  Her husband is a loving man but she can't keep relying on him to get in and out of the RV.

After attending my Brains and Balance classes, Sue could stand up without using her hands and learned techniques to reduce her knee pain.  She's living her life confidently now and she wants to spread the love to her sisters.  As a result, I have all three sisters and a family friend in this month's session.  Long-time Fair Oaks native Marvin joined us on Monday so we have quite a bunch.

We're all coming from different circumstances but we all have one thing in common:  balance that isn't what it used to be, a body that isn't doing what we want and a body that is showing years of abuse and neglect.

Each one of us is trying the best we can to make it in this life.  We all face different challenges and have different strengths.  Come together on the journey to better balance with others who want the same thing as you:  ability to live the life you have worked hard to enjoy!

Lower blood pressure naturally with brain-based training

I have been working with a 92-year old client for the past five months.  While he is one of the healthiest seniors I've met, his blood pressure on the right side has been notably high this past week.   First of all, if your doctor isn't taking your blood pressure on both sides, FIRE HIM/HER IMMEDIATELY.  Second of all, if your personal trainer doesn't know holistic ways to lower blood pressure, fire him/her immediately.

As a Z-Health Brain Practitioner, I've studied the brainstem which controls autonomic processes such as blood pressure.  As a certified and practicing Z-Health Practitioner, I implement drills that activate the brainstem, resulting in lowered blood pressure, without medication.   In this client's case, I active right cortex to lower right blood pressure. 

Today's measurements are a perfect example.   

Starting blood pressure measurements:

Right:  138/89.  Considered high by medical professionals.

Left:   128/78. Considered borderline high by medical professionals. 

Ending:  After one hour of brain-based training, blood pressure measurements: his numbers were perfect!

Right:  111/74.  Within normal limits, perfect without medication

Left:    114/70.   Within normal limits, perfect without medication.  

As you can see, there is quite a difference between the right and left side at the beginning of the session.  If my client went to his doctor, and they took his blood pressure on the right side, he would be diagnosed as hypertensive and been prescribed high blood pressure medication.

IF they measured his left side, he would be borderline and perhaps given blood pressure medication.  Either way, this man does NOT need to be on blood pressure medication; he needs to be active!

Without any medication, this older guy, over age 90, lowered his blood pressure through brain-based exercises.  I activated his right cortex to lower right side autonomics.  But since he leans right, I also focus on left frontal lobe activation drills.  

Today was a perfect combination of vision, vestibular and proprioceptive drills to activate both the right and left cortex which results in lower autonomic measurements like blood pressure.  The take-home message is ditch your medications and start moving with a trainer who activates the muscles and senses of the brain for better output.  

Brain-based training is the future of fitness.   I am educated and trained to active the muscles and senses involved in balance and optimized performance.  Move better.  See better. Balance better.  

It's real. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Requirements for Brain Change to Occur

The science of neuroplasticity proves the ability of the brain to change; to develop new neural pathways that increase efficiency and optimize performance of brain and body.  Activating areas of decreased brain function can decrease pain, improve vision, improve memory and cure chronic movement problems.  Knowing that the brain has the capability to change is exciting; it means that we can gain control of our body and mind.

While change is possible, there are certain conditions that must be met in order for any neural change to become permanent.  What is necessary for brain change to occur?  What is the ideal environment for neural changes to happen?

First, a trained applied functional neuroanatomy professional must test brain function and identify areas of weakness.  Once identified, your qualified trainer will implement specific drills and record how your brain reacts to specific activations.

In order for the changes brought about through specific activation and/or inhibition, the following conditions must be met:

1.  Pay attention to what you're doing; be present.  This is the most important thing for you as a client; when training the brain you must pay attention to the drill you're doing.  We all have times when lifting weights or exercising in general that we drift off into random thoughts.  Once we've learned "how" to do an exercise,  we often slip into "autopilot" mode and go through the motions without mentally thinking about what we're doing.  

This lack of focus will not cause neuroplasticity to happen.  When trying to form new thinking and movement patterns, you need to concentrate and be present in the moment.  This is not 'autopilot' mode; once that occurs, bad habits sneak back in and no significant change occurs.

2. Short Frequent Sessions:  Length of practice time matters.  Intensity of practice matters.  Frequency of practice sessions matter.  The general rule of thumb to practice is 5 minutes four times a day, seven days a week.  So if you want to improve your vision, you will practice specific vision drills for 5 minutes four times throughout the day.  

3.  Practice. Just do it.  You know what you need to do.  You know how to do it.  But you don't do it.  Why?  Just start with one thing.  Just move the eyes.  If you're depressed, do the recommended eye drills proven to activate pain inhibitors and stimulate positive, feel good chemical changes in the bloodstream.  Once you start moving, the juices begin to flow.  This is not strenuous but subtle.  

4.  Believe that change is possible.  Fundamentally, you gotta believe that you have the power to control your mind and change the patterns that aren't working.   To make the changes permanent, believe you can do this; you change the way you think, the way you balance, the way you see and the way you feel.

Development of Balance System as a Child and Fall Prevention as an Adult

As "The Fall Prevention Lady", a Balance and Mobility Specialist who teaches older adults how to improve balance and prevent falls, the vestibular, or inner ear equilibrium, system fascinates me.  The more I learn, the more I want to help people learn how to maintain upright position and improve daily balance.

Balance is ongoing communication between the brain and the body and  the first neural system to develop in the embryo; even an unborn fetus needs to know which end is up! ⬆⬆  Your vestibular system and reflexive balance skills continue to develop during the first five years of growth and your “reflexive” stability is proportionate to the amount of movement you did or did not do as a child. 

Think about your youth; did you play, jump up and down, spin on a merry-go round, do gymnastics or some type of flipping and flopping, rolling and tumbling on the ground?   I remember doing cartwheels, front and back bendovers, walkovers, and handsprings in the grass with my friends.  

I also clearly remember by mom, old to us then but only in her late 20s, walking outside to check on us and doing three to four back handsprings in a row when asked!  No stretching, no warm-up; she’d walk out and flip flop backwards as long as the yard allowed! 

I thank God I grew up in a time when kids played outside, tumbled, rolled, played on swing sets, ran up and down hills, jumped on trampolines and swam in lakes.  I didn’t know it at the time but I was developing my inner ear balance system and the ability to react timely and efficiently to life’s imbalances. 

Kelly Ward, aka
The Fall Prevention Lady

Of course I fell down but I was a kid and falling wasn’t a big deal; it was expected! That what kids do.  I felt dirt on my feet, the grass between my toes, the heat from sidewalks and the cold from ice and snow.  I smelled mom’s cooking, I smelled the neighbor’s cooking.  I smelled country air. 

I stimulated my sensory systems, which activated different parts of the brain which resulted in healthy neural development.  Being active as a child, I stimulated my vestibular system regularly and as a result, my balance and sports skills were exceptional.  

I went on to become a three-sport Varsity athlete (field hockey, basketball and lacrosse) and earn a full basketball scholarship.  Today, my balance is better than ever because I am “The Fall Prevention Lady” and I practice balance drills regularly!

My question to you, “what was your childhood like”?  Did you play outside?  Did you play inside?  Were you active or sedentary?  If you read a lot and did not get much physical activity, your “balance system” may not have received much activation.  Poor activation results in decreased brain function due to weak input signals.

Does that mean it’s over for you?  Does that mean you have to accept it and deal with it?

NO and NO!  It’s never too late to improve your balance.  There are very specific drills you can do, at your own pace, to train your balance and improve stability.  

I offer Skype (online) training sessions and private sessions within a 45-mile radius of Fair Oaks California.  I also offer partner and small group training and Brains and Balance Training classes.  

You don't have to accept and live with a disorder; you can train your brain to improve balance, vision and movement.  Movement is life.  Time to start living!