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.

Elements of Efficient Movement to Prevent Falls

Professional athletes make movement look graceful, flawless, effortless.  We're not professional athlete's but your brain's ultimate goal of movement is efficiency.  Efficient movement requires less energy and your brain likes to conserve energy.

So how does your movement become efficient?  Practice, practice, practice!!!  Practice solidifies neural pathways with myelin and your brain (and body) get good at that movement.

But here's the kicker;

your body gets good at whatever it does

exactly how it does it.  

What that means is that if you're practicing sloppy, compensated movements, your body will get good at bad, inefficient form.

This is why you need to practice movements in perfect form. Dr. Cobb, creator of Z-Health, has identified four elements of efficiency that must be present in the "PERFECT REP".  And they are:

1. Perfect Form
2. Dynamic Postural Alignment
3. Synchronized Respiration
4. Balanced Tension and Relaxation 

What does that look like?  Well, perfect form begins in Lengthened Spine.  Dynamic Postural Alignment means that all joints are relaxed and properly aligned.  You're sitting, or standing, tall and relaxed.  Feet, knees, hips and shoulders all facing forward.

Synchronized Respiration is relaxed nasal inhale into your belly and nasal or mouth exhalation.  This breathing pattern continues throughout the movements.  It will change as energy requirements increase but you SHOULD NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH AT ANY TIME!

The final element of efficiency is the ability to maintain balanced Tension and Relaxation in your body.  This means no contraction, flexion, forward bending, locking of arms when doing movements, no tension.  This is a challenge when a person is asked to move a joint in directions and speeds they haven't done in....forever!

IT's very common to see people tighten up when trying to move a body part in isolation that has never been moved before.  It takes concentration!  Concentration can rob your body of efficiency because all your brain wants is to do the movement and not look stupid.  This should be easy.  But it's not.

One perfect rep means doing whatever drill with all the forms of efficiency present.  Breathing.  Relaxed.  Postural aligned and perfect form.  In my Brains and Balance Training classes, we practice drills that should be easy. You would think three circles clockwise and three circles counterclockwise would be easy.  But it's not always the case!

Learn how to control your body with the elements of efficiency.  Get good at good movement.  Quit living your life in bad form!  Say goodbye to poor posture and instability.   Learn how to move each joint in isolation so you can move them all together efficiently.

Brain-based training: The future of Fitness.
If you're not training your senses, half your brain is dying.  Use it or lose it.

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.

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

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!

In Brain-Training, NO Protocol Fits All!

People want easy solutions.  A one stop shop; if I do this, then this will happen.   If you follow these three easy steps, you will be cured.  If you do this stretch every day, your hip pain will go away forever.  We like predictability.  We want answers.  That's humanity.

People want answers and people in the helping professions (personal trainers, nurses, doctors, therapists, specialists, experts) are quick to offer solutions.  That's what we do; we fix problems.  We are trained to fix the problem.  Follow this protocol and you will be healed.

Brains and Balance Training with Coach Kelly

Unfortunately, our brains don't work that way.   The brain determines your movement, your balance, your vision.  Your fears, your pain, your habits; it all begins in the brain.  Due to the fact that we've all lived different lives, chosen different paths and faced different obstacles, no two
brains are the same.

For that reason, what "works" for one person may not work for you.  A drill that makes you feel like a million bucks might not even phase your friend.  That's why brain training cannot be mass produced.  The methods to optimize movement and reduce pain for each person is different and as unique as the client.   The community of Z-health Performance Neuro-Professionals recognize that NO PROTOCOL FITS ALL.

Ninety-five percent (95%) of what we do is habitual.  Ninety-five percent.  Unfortunately that means we are cruising through life on auto-pilot; totally unengaged from the moment and the movements we make to get through the day.

In my Brains and Balance Training, I teach neural activation drills that positively impact movement and balance.  It's fun to watch people's reactions after doing a vision drill; some have amazing results others might not feel a difference.  That's because no two brains are the same.

Or one person may not have done it correctly; she might be thinking about dinner and not watching her finger.  Or she may have a weakened eye muscle from an accident twenty-seven years ago and is unable to move the eye in it's full range of motion.  Now that drill becomes a threat rather than a benefit and her movement may not improve.  It's absolutely amazing to apply functional neurology.

I'm science-oriented. I like facts.  I thrive on objective data.  I want data; not possibilities. As a trained Z-Health Neuro-Practitioner, I am trained in the application of neuro-anatomy. There are scientific explanations for every action and reaction however A+B doesn't always equal C.   Discovering the weak link and training for optimized performance is the beauty of what I do;
solving or better understanding the puzzle, the why behind the reaction.

I wish more than anyone that there was one "Improve Vision" or "Cure for Vertigo"  protocol that I could teach in my classes but there's not.  Each person has a history; a unique and valuable journey.   You've earned the body you have today; change is up to you.  It's possible to rewire your nervous system to be more efficient.

Regardless, know that your brain is plastic and can change with specific training.

Kelly
The Fall Prevention Lady
Or The Brains and Balance Lady

Myth: I have vertigo so my balance won't ever get better

Vertigo is an inner ear disorder that is characterized by bouts of paralyzing dizziness, nausea, fatigue and of course, the anxiety and depression due to these unpredictability of life altering episodes.   Some vertigo is situational and disappears while other types of vertigo can last a lifetime.  Needless to say falls are a major concern for people who suffer from vertigo due to inner ear dysfunction.

Train Vestibular Input for Better Output with Coach Kelly

There are other types of inner ear disorders that have the same impact; dizziness, the loss of daily functional ability and falls.  My aunt Betty was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease had to quit line dancing; her favorite activity for forty years.

Although she was able to manage some of the symptoms with medication, her inner ear disorder affected all other areas of her life which negatively impacted her quality of life.

While inner ear disorders can be life altering, there are ways to train the vestibular system for better balance and reduction of the  many symptoms that accompany inner ear dysfunction.

Unfortunately when someone experiences dizziness or loss of balance due to head movement, they subconsciously begin to change body position and behavior to restrict head movement.  Smart brain, huh?  Two classic representations of a person living with inner ear disorder are: 1) Bobblehead or 2) Stiff walking.

Bobble head means the head moves all over the place when walking.   This is done subconsciously because one of the brain's reflexive pathways isn't working.  The other extreme is the stiff walker.  This is also done subconscious to prevent any natural movement of the head that occurs when walking because another reflexive pathway isn't working correctly.  

Here's the best news:  you can retrain your vestibular system and begin to regain control of your life.  I train the vision, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems for better sensory input and less sensory mismatch.  The result is your brain feels "safe" and can better predict what's going on now and what to expect.

Your frontal lobe or human self can tell yourself exactly what's going on but the part of the brain responsible for movement and vestibular integration doesn't communicate like that; it needs consistent, strong inputs for better movement or as I like to say, "all cylinders firing".

Now that I'm a Z-Health neuro-performance coach and balance expert who specializes in vision, vestibular and proprioceptive inputs to the brain, I wish I could have helped my Aunt Betty manage her meniere's disease for better daily function and maybe even get back on the dance floor.  I couldn't help but I'm here to help you.  

Can I cure you?  No.  That's up to you.  I give you the tools and you do the work.
 
I make NO PROMISES OR GUARANTEES but I can offer new brain-based training methods that have been shown to work.  If you've tried everything and nothing has worked, it's time to try something else.  I offer neuro-scientifically proven, holistic neural training to optimize daily performance.

Training Packages available   Skype/Facebook Live sessions.
Please contact me for more information:  info@thefallpreventionlady.com

Respiration Training and Balance

Breathing is an automatic process that is controlled by the mid-brain; specifically the mesencephalon, pons, and medulla.  I tell my classes, 'if breathing weren't automatic, 90% of us would be dead'.  This is because we are a bunch of shallow breathers and do not use a large portion of our breathing capacity.

We all want to move better with less pain.   Everything we do, all movement and thought, is initiated by the brain.  In order to function at optimal levels, the brain needs fuel and activation.  The most essential fuel source is oxygen.  Oxygen gets into the cells via the transport molecule carbon dioxide.  Exercise produces carbon dioxide which helps the oxygen get into the cells for healthy function.  Movement is life. 

Again, if breathing weren't automatic, over 90% of us would be dead because we don't know how to do it.  The first thing I want you to know about breathing is to breathe IN through the nose and out through the mouth. When you inhale, your belly should expand.  This is the exact opposite of what feels normal; I  know because I struggled with proper breathing technique before learning proper breathing mechanics.

I worked with a young 70-year old who was having breathing problems and her doctor told her she would be on an oxygen tank if she didn't do something about it.  She called me and we worked together for two sessions before she went back to her doctor.  Her entire demeanor changed as she practiced the respiration drills and used the Relaxator when we weren't together.

She called me after her doctor's appointment and said he was thrilled with whatever she was doing. She also went on to tell me that she didn't need to use her oxygen and her energy levels were the best they'd been in years.  The oxygen tank sits unused in her living room now!

If you want to learn how to breathe or improve your breathing patterns for better movement, more mental clarity, better vision and less pain, please contact me!!!  COPD, asthma and other breathing disorders are a challenge but it's never too late to learn how to feed your brain the oxygen it needs for optimal daily function.

Everything you do begins in the brain; let's find out what your brain needs for the best performance possible.

Movement is Life; it's time to start LIVING!
Coach Kelly

Improve Your Walking Gait So You Don't Fall Down

Put your best foot forward in 2018!  Be one step ahead of the game; step up to the next level; keep on keeping on.   The new you, progress, growth; it all begins with the first step.  But which step is the hardest?  The first step. 

As an experienced balance and movement specialist, I teach people how to move; how to take that first step.  What is fascinating to me is how the forces transmitted from the ground move through the human body and affect how we move.  These forces pulse through the foot with each step and follow an integrated pathway through the body. 

HUH?  Ground forces?  Has she finally lost her mind?  No I haven't!!!!  It's a scientific fact that the ground, a solid structure, exerts forces when landed upon and these forces travel UPWARD through the body with each step.

Foot to ground.  The power of the force on the foot is directly related to your weight.  With each strike of the heel, forces two to three times your body weight  travel through the foot structures to the toes as you push off to take another step. 

This is the reason why the more you weigh, the greater the forces on your body with each step.

Don't Fall Down; Fall Prevention 101 by Kelly Ward

The pathway of ground forces from the heel upward through the body is:

• From the heel forces run up the outer side of the lower leg
• Outside the knee
• Up the outer portion of the thigh 
• Through the hip socket
• Up and around the backside of the pelvis   
• Cross at the SI joint (Sacroilliac=where the low back and hip meet)
• Up the other side of the spine
• Down the arm OR Up the jaw

If you want to put your best foot forward, take care of your feet!  Engage in regular toe and ankle exercises for the joints.  Use a lacrosse ball on the bottom of your foot to maintain smooth, efficient force transmission. 

If you don't do lower body flexibility and strengthening exercises, your walking gait will be affected.  This not only limits the fun activities you will be able to do but also increases the risk of a fatal trip and fall.

Maintain the foot so you can put the best foot forward.

Brains and Balance training rule #1: Never move into pain

Your brain is plastic.  Your brain can change.  The way you move can change.  The amount of pain you live with every day can change.  Your balance can change.  The way you think can change.  The possibilities are endless however in order to reap the benefits of functional neuro-antomy, aka "brain training", there are a few rules you must follow.

Learning New Method of Getting UP from Floor

The number one rule when training for change at the brain level; never move into pain.  Pain is an output and is the brain's way of saying stop.  In order to teach your brain how to move better, you have to break bad movement habits. 

This means you have to move in ways you haven't moved.  In some cases, it might be the first time you've ever moved correctly and that may feel different.

Different is good; pain is bad.  When I train private clients and teach classes, I guide people through new movements.  The brain loves novelty; it pays attention.   It's fun to watch people move a part of the body for the first time; facial expressions, tense muscles, and absolute concentration fill the room.  This is good!  You can teach an old brain new tricks.

Learning how to move each joint of the body is essential for optimal movement. The better a joint can move in isolation, the better your TOTAL BODY MOVEMENT.  If you want to walk better, you want to be able to control all the joints and body parts in isolation so when called upon to work together, there aren't any surprises to the brain.

Because some body parts haven't moved in full range of motion in years, it can be awkward but it should never be painful!  All exercises can be modified to reduce pain.  The way to reduce pain and still be able to move is to:

1. Slow down the movement
2. Make the movement smaller

Joints, muscles and nerves were made to move!  We already know that if you don't use it, you lose it.  Start slow and get bigger.  Stay out of pain as you learn to control how your body moves, both in isolation and integrated movement.

The Fall Prevention Lady

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!

Feeding Pattern of the Brain for Better Balance and Performance

The brain is a remarkable organ that uses approximately 70% of your daily caloric intake to function.  The better the fuel source, the better your brain can function.  The anatomy of the brain is such that the "old" brain, where the sensory and autonomic regulators live, get fed first and the "new" brain, where you make decisions including all voluntary movement and feel emotions, gets fed last.

The feeding pattern of the brain follows blood flow; back to front, bottom to top.  Oxygenated, nutrient dense blood enters the brain from the bottom, back region and flows up and to the front lobes of the brain.  Bottom to top, back to front.

What does that mean to you?  Sensory input to the brain has a powerful effect on how you move. Your vision, vestibular, and skin/joint/muscle receptors all get fed before your 'voluntary' movement; before the decision making part of the brain gets fed.  Sensory before motor.

In order to function optimally, your brain needs fuel and activation.  Stimulating the sensory receptors activates different parts of the brain so the "use it or lose it" principle applies to neurons in the nervous system more importantly than muscles.

Fuel sources for the brain are oxygen and glucose.  Breathe and Eat.  Feed the back of the brain before you feed the 'human' part.  Make better decision and move better if you feed your brain the nutrients it needs.

If you want to improve your balance, feed your brain accordingly.  Eat sugar.  Enjoy juicy fruits.  Orange juice is your new staple.  I'm not a nutritionist but I am studying neurology.  Research demonstrates that the brain needs quick absorbing sugar; fructose is wonderful.

Eat often enough so your blood sugar can supply the ENTIRE brain with the fuel it needs to function and stay away from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).   PUFAs prevent the absorption of glucose.

In other words, PUFAs do not allow your brain to access the sugar in the blood.  The result?  HIGH BLOOD SUGAR.  Not because you're eating too much sugar but the PUFAs block the absorption of sugar.

What contains PUFAs?  Think nuts, nut butters, nut oils, grains, chickens and cows that eat grains.  Your brain needs fuel and activation.  Fuel is oxygen and glucose.  Yes, sugar is good for the brain.  Nuts are not.
Ray Peat Resources: LINK to LIST

Absorb that information, breathe and eat some fruits and chocolate.  Like all things in life, moderation.  Your brain will function better and you will ultimately think and move better.

Feeding pattern of the brain:

Back to Front, Bottom to Top

The Fall Prevention Lady™