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.

Posture begins in Lengthened Spine

Studying Z-Health functional applied neurology, I have learned more about balance and the brain than I had ever imagined.  The brain determines not only how we move through life but also how we see, balance and think.  This information is so good, I have to share tidbits that will help you move better, balance better and see better.

Today I am going to talk to you about posture. Posture is a reflex and posture is controlled up to seventy (70) percent by your vision!  Wow, think about those two statements for a minute.  Posture is reflexive. And posture is driven by your vision.

The Fall Prevention Lady's Lengthened Spine Demo

First, posture is a reflex.  For those people (and I used to train people this way) who throw your shoulders back, stretch chest muscles, strengthen neck flexors, hold your head level and even get massages to reduce tension in upper back, you know that the minute you walk out of the training session, your posture goes back to the way it was when you walked in.

That's because posture is reflexive.  In other words, your brain is focused on a level horizon and despite life circumstances (accidents, bumps and bruises) and occupational hazards (poor posture from a desk job), your brain is going to keep the horizon level for balance purposes.

As a result, your head will tilt, bend and turn to keep vision level.  The body will adapt physically to whatever is necessary to keep the horizon level.  If you slouch your shoulders and stick your neck out all day to keep the computer screen level, then your body will adapt to forward head, shoulders slouched and whatever is necessary to keep the horizon level.

The scientific phenomena known as the SAID principle states that your body gets good at whatever you do, however you do it.  If you look at the floor while practicing your drills, you will get really good at doing drills while looking at the floor.  Look up and your balance won't be good.  Cracks me up when I see people wasting money on 'balance manuals' that demonstrate people staring at the floor while doing the drills.

If you want to improve your posture, your balance and your vision, I suggest that you get into lengthened spine.  I start all of my classes discussing how people are carrying their head on their shoulders.  The average skull weighs between 8-12 pounds.  When perfectly aligned, your vertebrae are aligned and the spinal cord is lengthened.  When the head is jutted forward, the neck muscles have extra strain and weight of the skull.

Let me explain how to attain lengthened spine since how you carry your head directly impacts your vision, balance, posture and strength.

Lengthened spine: Sit or stand tall; both feet on the floor facing forward, top of the back of your head extended up toward ceiling, chin level and tucked back.  Here's the kicker, tilt your front teeth SLIGHTLY down toward collar bone.   NOT EXCESSIVELY but down where you see a level horizon.   Keep your chin tucked back and yes, you now have a double chin but you're in lengthened spine!!!!

Every time you so much as think about your posture, get into lengthened spine and keep your eyes on a vertical target in front of you at eye level.  Practice lengthened spine for every vision drill and try to maintain lengthened spine during balance challenges and all dynamic joint movement drills.

Posture begins with your eyes and is a reflex to life's imbalances.  In my classes, I teach vision drills, balance drills and movement drills designed to activate the parts of your brain that crave activation in order to move well, balance well and see well.

It all starts in lengthened spine; shoulders are down, chest is lifted, pretend you have a string on the back of your head lifting toward the ceiling, your chin is slightly down, and your eyes are focused on a vertical target at eye level....NOT AT THE FLOOR.

Do this exercise throughout the day. Anytime your even think about your posture, immediately get into lengthened spine.  Your spine and your posture will thank you.  So will your brain.

Cerebellum: Home of Accuracy, Balance and Coordination

How’s YOUR Balance or Neurologically Speaking, How's Your Cerebellum?

The other day in my Brains and Balance class, I talked briefly about the cerebellum because the cerebellum is a vital part of the nervous system necessary for accuracy, balance and coordination; things we all need to get through this life gracefully or at least remain on our feet!

The cerebellum, also referred to as the “little brain”, is the brain’s integration center.  The cerebellum is involved in all movement; it responds to the cortical signal for movement, relays that message to the appropriate body parts and then gets feedback from the skin, joint and muscle receptors about the accuracy and coordination of the ongoing movement.

If the movement is poor, the cerebellum corrects the inaccuracies in order to produce coordinated, balanced movement.  

Movement is a dance between the sensory and motor systems and the cerebellum is a key player in the activation and inhibition of muscles.  Good balance, accuracy and coordination requires a healthy, well-functioning cerebellum.

In order for the cerebellum to be healthy, it must get consistent, timely input from our eyes, inner ear, skin/joint/muscle receptors as well as other parts of the brain.  Simply said, the better the input, the better the output.

Minimal to weak input signals result in no movement or ratchety and uncoordinated movements.    Poor input equals poor movement.  If the sensory inputs the brain don’t get activated on a regular basis, the input signals become weak and defective.  Your brain doesn’t trust weak and dysfunctional signals.  In other words, use it or lose it. 

Think about walking in the dark with little to no visual input; movement is slow, uncertain because the vision inputs are unreliable.  A cerebellum that isn’t activated regularly becomes dysfunctional and the consequences are evident; either in your balance, stability, coordination or all of the above.

In class we did some quick cerebellum tests.  First we did rapid toe taps.  Was the left as quick and timely as the right?  Then we did rapid hand rotations on the opposite palm.  Fingers and thumb straight and clasped together, we hit the back of the hand then flipped over to hit the palm of the hand against the open, flat palm of the other as fast as possible for 5-10 seconds.

Some inaccuracies in coordination and rhythm were immediate while others showed up after about 3-5 seconds.  For a few, this didn’t seem to be too difficult, at least for one hand!  That is completely "normal" finding however I suggest that you get your cerebellum activated! 

How do you train your cerebellum?  There are lots of ways but to keep things simple, to improve cerebellar function, train the inputs and practice circles and figure 8s. Accuracy, balance and coordination.  Activate your little brain to improve balance, accuracy and coordination.

Your Brains and Balance Coach~
Kelly
The Fall Prevention Lady

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Neurology 101: the better the input, the better the output

I vaguely remember learning about the brain in high school.  I recall lobes, dural matter, grey matter, action potentials, synapses; the basic science of it all.  Over thirty years later, I am fascinated by the nervous system and how the brain works.  In fact, the science of neuroplasticity gives old dogs like myself hope for a renewed future.
As a movement specialist and balance expert, I help people break poor movement patterns and re-learn how to move more efficiently with less pain.  I study under Dr. Eric Cobb, creator of Z-Health Performance; a brain-based approach to movement.   I love his teaching style and have learned amazing things about the brain and how the health of our brain is reflected in our postures and movement patterns.

Neuro101:
Input data from sensory systems travel to brain where the messages are interpreted and the brain sends an output.  Input.  Interpretation.  Output.  1, 2, 3.   Our nervous system works in a loop; the better the input, the better the output.   In order to prevent a fall, this process has to happen in less than one-quarter of a second.

Everything we do is an output of the brain; strength, balance, flexibility, pain.  Movement specialists train the outputs.  Experts train the inputs.   Dr. Debra Rose's FallProof™balance and mobility program introduced me to the three sensory inputs and my Master's studies focused on how to train the muscles and senses for better balance and mobility.   I"ve been teaching multi-sensory balance training for over ten years.  I've witnessed the fact "the better the input, the better the output".

My doctoral level studies in Z-Health Performance Solutions have taught me how to train the inputs in order to optimize performance, enhance balance and confidence while feeling less pain.  It's a scientific fact that once your "old" brain feels safe, you will move better, see better and feel better.  Simply said, the better the input, the better the output.

Why would a health professional train the outputs if the message going to the brain and the interpretation of the data is the source of the problem?  Because they don't know; this is cutting edge applied neuroscience.  New scientific research demonstrates the neuroplasticity of the brain and how precise training of the brain give you precise results.

Don't waste your money on outdated "Balance Manuals"; you can do the same exercises over and over but without training the inputs, the outputs will only improve as much as the brain allows.

Give your brain what it needs and get the results you want.
Kelly

2018 Brains and Balance Z-Training has begun

Two things people don't want to lose as they get older; their brains and their balance.  Thanks to medical technology, we're living longer but many people would rather have quality years not quantity.  Also thanks to medical technology, we now know more about the brain and that with proper training, we can change neural structures to make movement more efficient and pain-free.

Today I started my second "Brains and Balance Z-Training" session at an independent living community; The Clubhouse at Del Webb.  Nineteen eager adults between the ages of 69 and 84 signed up for five weeks of intensive balance and brain training.  I'm as excited as they are because I love seeing the progress and hearing improvements.

This session is going to be better than the last session only because I've gotten better.  I listen to feedback and learn from it.  Not to overwhelm and to make homework drills as clear to follow as possible.  I listened.

Precise training gets precise results.  Training the inputs to the brain improves your motor output.  Change the way you move.  Train the inputs.  Movement is life.  Get moving.

Brains and Balance Z-training with Coach Kelly.
The Fall Prevention Lady