1 – Compensations
For example, our shoulders can round forwards.
2 – Stress or Tension
Comfort & Safety to Restore Balance
Doing vs. Feeling
Exercise is generally considered a good thing.
R.O.M. vs Q.O.M
8 Somatics Tips for Balance
1. Move with the least effort
2. Breathe with your movement
3. Move as a system not as a muscle
The big muscle–the brain–sends messages to the muscles. Then the muscles sends back a message to the brain. This feedback loop is full of information to be aware of and use.
4. Thoughts can affect movement and impact our body and balance
Sit and think.
5. Comfort is king
6. An exercise can’t hurt us
Get Back to the Fundamentals & Quality of Movement Itself
So to repeat, it’s both what you do and how you heed the quality of of the feeling of what you do.
7. Imagination is the least effort
Imagine This
Do this slowly using your imagination.
Unleash Your Imagination
Success
8. Pain is our greatest teacher and gives us back our body and balance
Somatics Body and Balance Movements
Our approach was initially designed to help:
* 2017 ACP (American College of Physicians) Guidelines to Relieve Pain
Differentiated movement patterns provide a key to unlock yourself from whatever repetitive, compensated motions, exercises or the lack thereof you no longer engage in.
Since no two people have the same structure, let alone movement patterns, history of injuries, etc. We find ourselves subject to the very movement habits we’ve learned and continue to practice.
Without changing those patterns, you can just run yourself into the ground.
Running or lifting more, doesn’t do anything to increase the intelligence of your movement. Challenging the diversity in your movement changes the nature of how well you can articulate your joints or move your spine.
Somatic Exercises work with your brain since your brain thrives on novelty. It’s in this novelty that we approach this system of movement with differentiation or diversification of your movement portfolio.
If you think of movement as a system, your brain needs different stimulus until it finally integrates the work or explorations of your movement into a more cohesive movement system which can be changed or updated at any age.
Somatics moves into the specificity of your motor-sensory system so that you’re able to re-program your capacity and potential to move as effectively as you can.
At some point, you have to create and plan your movements, then you practice until they get stored as learned patterns so you no longer have to think about it.
Think About This
If we stop playing in this natural realm of evolving our movement patterns, are we bringing the entropy and decline within ourselves at a greater rate?
As children, no one had to tell us to move.
As adults, we are a nation of overweight, couch potatoes ever limiting our movements to a desk, office, room, automobile, and possibly sitting in front of a television set for hours at a time.
Your brain is getting wasted in terms of its capacity to grow via movement and the conscious use of the motor-sensory system. We are putting the brakes on our own evolutionary process in terms of the ability of our joints, the movement of our muscles, and the usefulness of our bones.
How are we going to improve our movement portfolio?
You can’t get there by sitting there, nor can you improve by repeating the same patterns over and over.
OK, you could visualize movements or do them with incredibly subtlety in the manner of many somatic traditions which focuses on sensory awareness and different ways to move.
When you have to closely pay attention to your movements with a conscious awareness, then you are engaging in the process of voluntary movement which is rather complex.
Look at how these muscles are grouped as a system.
This system and the overlapping systems need to used, refreshed, and rested appropriately for long term health.
With injuries (small and large) or the same posturing day in and day out, this can continue to further our decline and decreases the value of your movement portfolio.
We can keep moving the way we always have or you can pay attention to your movements with a keener awareness which affords you a glimpse into the many different ways you can manipulate yourself and do so comfortably.
If you don’t, your brain will just check out and leave the possibilities in the dust bin leading to an eroding value in your movement’s funds.
Creating and recreating new neural pathways leads your brain towards health, vibrancy and it’s need to continue to learn.
You’ve got 600 muscles which require use or some attention among the various levels even if it means simply giving attention to your hamstrings and how they relate to the various layers of your muscles and movement system.
Can this be done on your own?
Yes! If you’re paying attention as you once did as a child by sensing your movements and being delighted by the sheer feelings of movement itself.
It’s a shame and a sham that many adults can no longer feel truly comfortable for any length of time.
I often hear of the aches and complaints of why I can’t do this or that or I gotta get in better shape. The answer is simple and lies within us.
So if you go back to the well of where things began, that is on the floor and go back to the natural process of restoration. Your brain can re-wire, re-adapt itself, and you can continue your evolutionary process of well-being even if things have gone a little south over time.
Who knows? You may even increase the value of your movement portfolio so you won’t remain sedentary, desk-bound, home bound, injury ridden and add to decay.
Evolve, Evolve, Evolve Otherwise Decay at Your Own Peril
You can utilize the brain in a conscious, differentiated manner so you can move easily and freely with patterns your brain is perfecting and changing.
Diversify your movement portfolio and imagine the wealth and vitality you can live with since the brain is changeable.
Somatics exercises uses a natural movement process (that we’ve known about since the time of Aristotle) in which today you play with conscious differentiated movement patterns that we’ve mapped out. It may be just the thing you can do to remain vital.
Diversify your movement portfolio and find out for yourself what can happen.
When our back is out of whack, we can use the brain and our conscious attention to release held tension to restore comfort.
A simple differentiation of the spine where we pay attention to the feelings or sensations – along with the quality of a simple targeted movement – can set us up to relieve morning stiffness and ready the back for the day.
Plus, it’s a great way to free things up later on if we feel it’s necessary.
The spine is designed to extend and flex so it’s vital to remind the spine of its capacity so the rest of our body can move more easily.
When things are tight, stiff or off kilter in the middle (the spine), then certain muscles get pulled one way or the other — and this lower brain program can hold us in check.
Listen and follow along to this tuning into the spine and simple intentional movement.
Was it easy for you to feel your spine in the manner described?
If we don’t check in every now and then, the brain is very clever and begins to shut down which is why it might have not been easy for some of you to get a clear picture or set of feelings.
That’s ok. With a few reminders and a little practice, you are waking up the brain’s command center.
If you did feel a little fidget or jerky quality that is very useful in order to regain control.
If you felt a twinge of pain or discomfort, then it’s time for a tuneup so your back can feel good and in control.
We do that using what is called somatics exercises which are generally done in such a lazy, easy and yet focused manner so that brain’s motor cortex is targeted.
When you get it down pat, the upper brain frees up the lower brain program of keeping things held in check so you can feel comfort and natural flexibility restored.
Simple differentiation to wake up both the brain and body
That easy movement (which may not always be easy if the spine isn’t cooperating) is part of a movement pattern to help wake up the brain’s cerebrospinal fluid so that brain bucket gets a little movement hello.
That Sitting Thing
If you’re in the unfortunate position of having to sit all day long, for instance, at work.
No matter if you do regular exercise, that may not be enough to change the known ill counter effects of sitting for too long.
See, certain muscles are getting programmed to be switched off and the brain will go – ok I’ll turn that department off.
Later in the day you might feel that gnawing sensation creeping in.
We can get so used to those sensations that we can bury them since we gotta do things in life – until they remind us once again.
Standing up is a simple differentiation which can help
Simply standing up every 20 minutes when you sit, will wake up the muscles so they don’t get used to checking out.
If you have a job where you can’t – like being a driver for instance – then you can mindfully do the easy spinal differentiation movement seated to remind the spine that it can extend and flex.
Otherwise, certain back muscles can go to sleep and begin to be trained to be useless and the brain can start to give us the signal of pain
Good news is.
Just get up and stand or be aware of how you are sitting and adjust your position consciously.
To further vary that – stand on one leg or walk around for a minute or so. Then you can sit back down.
Differentiate Your Way to Comfort & Freedom
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Even as I type a blog post such as this, I too am mindful of how sitting for too long in the same way can have the brain and body go to sleep even while I am sedentarily active in this manner.
This is why I will vary the sitting position or move mindfully to keep things fluid.
If you’re gonna keep sitting, then at least sit differently or be mindful of how you can shift your spine around.
Maintaining Comfort
All that tension we keep taking on in life, can be remedied with simple mindful movements to disperse, renew and refresh both the brain and body.
Yep, it’s really, really that simple to maintain life long comfort.
By refreshing the spine with your awareness, you can reset your muscles throughout the day, especially when they get amped up with too much tension.
At the same time, you improve the function of the brain by taking a full-brainer of a moment where you tune into movement done with awareness.
Simple differentiation movement classes
Life is movement and movement becomes easier when you can do any number of simple conscious differentiations with the central part of yourself, your spine.
And if you can get enough of these on a daily basis, then sleep becomes easier so you wake up feeling refreshed and not wiped out getting back in the grind of life.
We’d love for you to join us to learn as many simple differentiations as you’d like to remain comfortable for life.
Let me know what you thought of the movement and how your body responded
Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA) is a term used to describe a loss of control, feelings or sensations around certain muscles.
It’s as if we no longer remember how a certain area feels or we’ve lost touch with the feel for the length of a muscle since we can get used to the body we are in (for better or worse).
Some muscular connections can seem fuzzy or murky as if it is lost or forgotten when we check-in with the control center in the brain.
You’ll get a chance to find out if this is so for you in the SMA test.
SMA – Stiffness, Pain, Tension
While SMA will not kill you, it is often evident when there is stiffness or pain.
Higher than normal tension or stress in the muscles generally goes along with SMA.
Oddly enough, we can get so used to it, we don’t know the SMA exists since this may lie underneath a certain consciousness that we might not have tapped into for some time.
When SMA happens
Sensory motor amnesia happens when our muscles are activating without conscious control or there is no activation so we’re not clear as to the feel of it anymore.
For instance, our spines can compensate.
We can get so used to it – or if pain or stiffness interferes – where we’ve forgotten what an upright normal comfortable spine feels like.
What that means is that there can be a certain level of tension being held as a program in the lower parts of the brain (sometimes referred to as the brainstem).
Like a car which can idle in neutral, in this case, the car is idling in 1st, 2nd, 3rd or higher gears on account of the program or compensation.
Our muscles can stay stuck and our spine may not get back to neutral as if we’ve forgotten how.
As you can imagine, this can wear out an engine and is not ideal for our spine and muscles since that can impede our ability to move easily.
Plus, the energy drain of continual tension or stress – when it stays on just beneath our level of every day awareness – remains to keep us at bay.
SMA – the Disconnect
SMA is also a reduction of neuro-muscular control and function at the same time.
Our quality of movement and the feeling of freedom in movement is generally hampered.
Neurologically speaking, the flow of information continues without an awareness of what is going on underneath the surface.
Information about the position in space (proprioception) of your muscles, the length of the muscle, and the feelings of resistance or tension are also housed in the lower parts of the brain.
Regain Control of SMA
You don’t have to think about it since certain sensors feedback this information.
Your body is going to adjust for whatever position you move yourself into. Most of this is on autopilot as the subconscious parts of the brain respond accordingly to the known program.
The upper part of the brain is where we learn and create new programs (for better or worse) where it eventually gets moved down to the lower brain as learned (been there, done that).
Interestingly, these lower brain programs are powerful enough to assume control where we can lose our connection to the control center in the brain’s motor cortex, if we don’t check in.
Sensory-amnesia can happen as we lose control or forget about the control center over time
In a sense, there is a disconnect between the higher part of the brain which can affect the muscles and movement system.
The 1 Thing
See, muscles do one thing.
They receive a command from the brain to contract.
This way you can bend your arm at the elbow and move your wrist towards your shoulder.
The other side of the equation is that in this case of bending the arm, the back side of the upper arm can relax enough to move the wrist closer to the shoulder.
Some people will say that muscle is stretching, when in fact it is simply allowing for its length to the degree it can lengthen under whatever tension levels have been programmed or adapted.
Out of Balance
However, tension levels can be held or fight the other side so — another form of SMA due to an imbalance in tension.
This is a neurological event.
Our feel of balance or its loss along with the ability to know (or feel) which muscles are held in states of tension or are chronically tight can be useful information.
The ability to relax muscles, however, can be lost or temporarily out of control.
The feelings of tension can be hazy when we can’t pinpoint it – even though we know or feel some parts of our self are held stiff.
If this continues long enough, then certain discomforts or pain can become noticeable when the brain has gone haywire with its programs.
Guarding SMA
When we are injured or have some type of bodily trauma, the muscles and movement system tend to recoil away from the area in order to protect us from further injury.
This can then be set as an on going lower brain program since other muscles can take over such when we compensate (for an injury) and then rely on other muscles to do the work.
We can get really good at guarding an area so certain muscles can tend to forgot what their role or job since the recoiling reflex & former guarding mechanism may still be held on at subtle levels.
This is where then the cascade of muscular imbalance can occur and we might increase our risk of injury or seem to have the same types of injury happening all over again.
Muscle Out of Control
Down the road, this can lead to muscles either:
• being or feeling weak,
• having poor coordination,
• or they no longer remember to relax.
The muscles remain stiff or at levels where tension is higher than normal (though we can get used to it and “learn to live with it”).
Pain or discomfort can ensue at some point as the brain is sorting it out or going haywire since the area or areas are now in states of tension held at higher than normal with ongoing muscular contractions preventing a full relaxation.
Crossed up signals
These crossed up signals keep things held in check without any relief of the holding tension.
So normally we ought to be able to let go and relax.
When the connection to the brain’s control center – through the communication of signals – aren’t being processed or meeting their destination.
Then things like a limited range of motion of happens or begins to set in. Slowly over time this becomes the program of what we might call aging.
…
Getting to Know SMA
SMA isn’t something we feel when we are simply sitting there.
The sensory-motor system of feeling and moving is what is at stake so…
We can’t feel SMA, unless we begin to tune into our movement at a cortical level – and you’ll get your chance soon to find out.
What SMA Looks Like
Generally there is a noticeable or subtle feeling of your body:
- hesitating
- misfiring,
- jerking,
- glitching,
- stuttering,
- or shuddering as you release tension.
SMA Test
You can try this simple movement – but first – let me warn you that if you bump into pain or have a restricted range of motion – move well within your comfort zone.
Plus, you need to move slowly to stay in the control center of the brain.
If you go too fast, then things shift to the lower part of the brain. So go s-l-o-w to play along.
First, read this first before you try.
Sit with your arms resting comfortably along your sides.
Turn your head/face to the left. You will keep looking to the left throughout the entire movement. Make sure you are in an easy comfortable range. The point is not to strain at all.
At the same time, you are going to look up towards the ceiling while you bring the right shoulder up towards the back of your head.
Then at the same time, you slowly release back to where you started.
Got it – now go ahead and do the movement slowly and feel as much as you can. This is more about feeling what is happening rather than going for the range of motion.
OK. Were you able to release slowly and smoothly?
Try it on the other side and feel if there is any difference.
Did either side feel – a little jerky, glitchy or stuttering? If so, you’ve been SMA’d.
Welcome to SMA
When this type of loss of motor control happens, this points the way to regain lost control since you are now more clued into where possible areas need a tune up.
It’s also possible that you may not feel certain movement actions taking place or you don’t feel a connection or an area as well as you could.
This is ok and normal with SMA.
Normally when we move, we are moving with our learned programs stored in the lower brain. It’s when we go back to the control center of the motor cortex to check-in that we can begin discover how much or little SMA we have.
SMA – altering it unconsciously
SMA can happen when we alter things unconsciously, say when we sit slumped over time.
Our muscles will respond to the demand or lack thereof on them.
Our particular position or repetitive motion grooves in as a program so it becomes less conscious.
Which can be good since we don’t always have to think about how to use the remote once we’ve figured it out.
Good Sensory Motor Amnesia
Good news is SMA can be adjusted since the brain can change and the body will follow the commands of the cortex as you use your awareness to what is taking place.
This wake up to the brain’s command center of the (forgotten or amnesiac) link helps to undo compensations and imbalances so certain positive feelings, sensations and control can be restored.
So sensory-motor amnesia is a both a useful tool and marker to discover if muscular control is off a little
With this knowledge, you can feel how to self-adjust and self-correct to improve the vital and necessary function of the muscles for lifelong control and comfort.
Regain Control of SMA
Find out what to do to help injuries, pain, and stiffness leave.
Clear up the SMA and Feel Free All Over Again
Back pain or stiffness is quite common over the age of 40.
So what can us older stiffer duffers do about it?
Tuning into the brain will actually help.
Easy, simple movements where you tune into the quality of movement or the nature of movement itself enhances your brain and body.
Today we know more about the brain and how it can change which means that our brain can change feelings of stiffness or reverse pain.
Rigid tension or harmful stress can be melted so we can feel more pliable, flexible and a return of pleasurable feelings.
Here are 7 tips to help us get the back… back to feeling great.
1. Use it consciously or lose it unconsciously
Many of us take our back for granted since we’ve mostly forgotten about tuning into the spine (unless it’s stiff or aching).
This unconscious behavior happens over time since we aren’t tuning in enough, until there is an issue.
The spine’s ability is enhanced when you give it some attention with your conscious awareness.
All it takes is just noticing whatever activity you are doing for a few movements and hone in on your spine.
Notice how your spine feels when you move around.
If feeling the spine is fuzzy or isn’t clear, simply tune in from the top of the spine to the bottom or vice versa.
This is just sensory information to be aware of and will wakeup the brain and body.
2. Move your spine in a variety of directions
Sounds reasonable, but who is actually thinking it through and then doing it afterwards.
If we keep using the spine the same way day in, day out. Then we set a program in the brain of what muscles are being used and others which are not.
The brain grows when you give it something different such as tuning into your spine when you move.
You up the level of the connection when mindfully bending, flexing, and twisting in a variety of ways.
3. Being sedentary or sitting too long works against us
You’ve probably heard that sitting for too long is the new smoking. Well kinda sorta since you can sit comfortably for long periods – if you are aware.
Go team!
Sitting for long periods can undermine us since we can be unconsciously programming the brain and muscles to certain contractions, tension patterns or pulls of the spine – and before you know it they are held in check.
A key is to vary how you sit.
Plus, get up more often than you think, especially if you feel stiff or tension creeping in.
With back pain, mindful movement and awareness is paramount since this can free us while you cheer to your heart’s delight.
4. Wake-up your spine with gentle mobilizations
Easy, gentle small movements helps to rebuild and maintain the capacity of the spine.
The more gentle you are, the better you can tune into both – the how of how you are moving – and what the feelings in your back provide as feedback.
Certain neurological feedback loops can be targeted to enhance your ability to free up the back.
So let your back warm up easily and gently – and feel as much as you can in terms of how your spine can adjust (or not) before going full bore with the rest of your day.
5. Update the movement software
Our computers and devices can get bogged down if the software isn’t updated.
By paying attention to your feelings and awareness, you can change the structure of the brain through a movement software update
This way you can enhance the memory and the information to the muscles, tendons, joints and fascia – which has many sense receptors .
A conscious movement update can smooth out the kinks and let us remain flexible
This will help maintain the spine’s ability to function when you need it most.
6. Floss your back joints
Your spine is a series of joints where you can take the plaque out of it.
Feel both sides of the spine and notice if you can feel each segment or notice if there are any blank spots in terms of feeling each segment.
Gentle movements joint by joint (or in each group) from top to bottom and on each side helps to maintain comfortable freedom.
7. Breathe as you move
Consciously play with your breath as you move to add in another level of difference so the brain can enjoy the novelty of different ways to breathe and move.
Or don’t breathe and feel what happens to your ability to move your spine.
A Comfortable Back
Mindfully paying attention to the little movements you can do helps build and maintain a foundation for overall comfortable, easy, effortless movement.
Getting in tune with the building blocks of movement helps us become more familiar with the nature of movement itself.
It is here to serve you to feel free and in control.
In nature, healthy vertebrate animals have the good sense to program and reprogram via the act of pandiculation.
For the human animal, we’ve made it simple to naturally move easier with a conscious mindful 3 step method where you delve deep into the nature of movement.
So go ahead and explore small, minute adjustments which can make all the difference to keep the back feeling good.
Ever feel like your body, brain or mind is close to the tipping point when it comes to pain?
Small injuries or minor physical setbacks might not seem like a big deal when they happen.
Yet your brain might go haywire and instead of helping, it begins to work against you.
See, your personal history of injuries (big and small), infections, emotional set backs, and traumas of all sorts can lead a brain to over respond even as a small injury heals.
The brain can go hyperactive and keeps sending chemicals of inflammation to the rescue, after the fact.
Cells called microglia acts as the immune system of the central nervous system.
To protect the brain, they swell up to create a buffer while they take care of the bad cells.
The good cells, however, can keep turning “on inflammation”, which is what we see happening in anxiety, chronic pain, headaches, fibromyalgia, etc.
In other words, when we keep getting stressed, tensed out or we repeat certain physical activities with no relief, the microglia show up and create negative inflammation.
Not nice at all.
Minor or major stress can magnify the situation and get activated.
Not a Big Deal
Even what we might think is not a big deal such as “I was standing there, holding a piece of paper, not doing anything and I moved a little – and felt a little pinch”.
Initially, this may not be a big deal, but then throughout the course of day, this little thing starts to get worse, gets tighter and tighter and become more painful.
Even to the point of later preventing us from doing a little movement.
This period of activation can remain “on” for extended periods of time.
Then this can get set as a program which can lead to medical conditions such as chronic pain becoming the norm.
Press Play, Rewind
It’s no wonder some of us struggle with discomfort, injury or stiffness longer than we think it oughta be around.
Each week I see and hear athletes telling me about how they have to stay in the game, otherwise if they are substituted out and then go back in, they’ve re-tightened up by simply cooling down for a few minutes.
Unfortunately, this has been accepted as normal – when clearly it is not even though many deal with this program replaying itself over and over.
As the program continues to go haywire–say an accident happens–followed up by surgeries, pain medications and having to cope with the stress of getting it together undermines our ability to completely get over it.
Even though we think we oughta be able to handle it, we aren’t addressing the physiological mechanism to change and reverse the course back to our more comfortable self.
This can further make us feel down and bums us out.
Getting Pushed Past the Tipping Point
One by one. An slight bump here, a little bruise there, a sprain, a spasm, groaning to get up out of the chair, feeling old before we’re there, getting old and grumpy, a knee gone bad, stress on the job, tension at home, divorce, and the internet goes down (yeah not a big deal though it could stress us out), and so on.
The sum of our life experiences add up one by one to push us past the tipping point so the brain replays its response.
We get our negative experience yet again to the point of being chronic in many ways.
Can the tipping point be reversed?
Yes!
When we go back to what mother nature affords us to restore and revitalize in our central nervous system, then we have a chance to reverse the tipping point and successfully climb out.
In many cases, you can reprogram both the brain and body so it can create comfort instead of amplifying pain, discomfort or stiffness.
How To Reverse the Tipping Point
This can be done via the sensory-motor system and a conscious reprogramming act called a pandiculation.
This works with the central nervous system to reset tension levels so you can feel more relaxed, comfortable and in control of your well-being.
This is facilitated by simple to do mindful motor control exercises done where you regain control of the brain and body while at the same time, you get to feel and experience deeper states of relaxation and how your muscles coordinate more easily for freer movement overall.
Recently, the American College of Physicians have come on board and are saying “this is the first to do to relieve pain“.
So when we go about this systematically, then we can re-right the ship and help get things back in order and in balance.
Then we life throws us another curve ball, we can rebalance readily.
The reverse on-off switch to turn back the tipping point
You see, you have the inherent ability to decrease stress and lower tension by increasing it consciously using your awareness.
This concept may sound backwards or counter-intuitive, yet in practice – physically speaking – this is how you turn what is negatively “on” positively “off”.
By consciously turning “on” the central nervous system by waking it up.
You change the painful, stiff or discomforting “on” signal “off’ by detuning or fine tuning it down so you can idle more in neutral and restore tension levels back to the comfort zone.
Similar to how a thermostat works to regulate the air temperature, your nervous system can be programmed to aid you rather than keep the on going program working against you.
The Shift
While it isn’t easy to live in pain, constant stiffness or with high stress levels and chronic discomforts, there is a way out.
When our normal relaxed attention and focus is taken away, you can feel it shift or you can get used to it over time even though in the long run that is undermining our ability to restore ourself.
So if you can consciously tune into what it is you’ve either become accustomed to – or what is not healing in the way you think it oughta – like taking a little no big deal tumble or not being able to sit comfortably…
That very signal is the clue and target to tune down the brain and body going haywire.
Comfort Zone
Since force won’t help, a more laser focused and mindful use of the power of the brain and body lets us reach a personal comfort zone which can be secured with a little conscious practice to hit the target of feeling better.
By dialing into the haywire signal, you can fine-tune the pain activating signal or mechanism so it can reverse course.
Reset
The resetting and recalibrating begins to happen with what some have called conscious micro-movements or professionally known as motor control exercises where you move with minimal effort while dialing into the subtle tiny adjustments and feelings or sense perceptions so change happens readily.
There is both an art and practice to get back to your former happy pain-freer self which nature has set up for you to access at any minute.
Through a series of trial and error easy, gentle movements and a systematic approach, the ability to feel relaxation returns.
The fact is you can tune down what is turned negatively “on” because the switch has been activated to inhibit and end the pain, stiffness and discomforts by starting small in order to get back to living more fully.
Afterwards the nervous system acts to continue to decrease the output or charge so relaxing feelings return. It’s like giving yourself a hot tub treatment using your brain and body.
Nature
In nature, this is how all healthy animals with a spine self-regulate to remain agile, comfortable and nimble.
Use the brain and body together to move well with daily reprogramming that most of us aren’t aware of, even though it is built into our living system to tap into.
When the human animal gets back to tuning in and restoring this lost art or natural process to calm the system, you get the:
relief,
relaxation,
and the knowledge you can replicate feelings of comfort.
You can do this as often as you need or when necessary to take out stress and tension from everyday life events which accumulate in the course of our busy lives.
While you can’t escape stress, you can take control of your central nervous system as best as you can and further the possibilities of a comfortable felt-sense of living.
When you remember how to do this – you can let things roll off of you like a duck ruffling its feathers.
You’ll have what appears to be an uncanny ability to regenerate.
This is how nature sets it up for us to learn how to wield this ability and not be held outta control by feeling how control needs to be regulated to move well.
Evidence
Since there is evidence that your microglia cells “remember” prior assaults and turn things up painfully when necessary. They can stay on and fire up more quickly.
Same goes in the opposite direction.
The better you get at using the brain and body, you can bank on turning on those chemicals of relaxation on much faster too.
The American College of Physician have finally recognized that progressive relaxation, mindful-based stress reduction and motor control exercises are the way to go where you can even drop the acetaminophen for back pain.
According to Dr. Gary Kaplan, these 3 things seem certain:
√ The source of inflammation are tiny cells called microglia.
√ Your history of physical & emotional assaults add up and increase inflammation.
√ Chronic pain and depression are neurodegenerative conditions.
How to Reverse the Tipping Point Yourself
Knowledge is power. When you have the self-help tools to learn what to do for yourself. You can self-regulate the brain and enhance the nervous system to work for and with you.
Fortunately, we’ve systematized an approach to use both brain and body with gentle, small micro-movements (motor control) along with mindfully fine tuning coordination with a certain level of awareness to take you into deeper states of relaxation which restores the nervous system and your body’s basic feeling of comfort and well-being.
Now that you have a better understanding of the tipping point, you can choose to naturally heal, self-protect, self-learn, and have the self know-how to prevent and maintain your healthy state of living.
Can too much sugar wreak havoc on the best of our efforts to remain healthy?
From coast to coast, the New York Times and Seattle Times recently reported on how dietary recommendations have been formed to guide us in what can appear as conflicting information.
So we may have to clear our way through the maze of 30 years of nutrition misinformation to get back on track.
Those efforts pay the dividends of living an easier life.
At the heart of our practice in Somatics Exercises is the notion of self-regulation to ease discomfort and regain comfort so it can be maintained.
While our main focus has to do with the application of conscious brain-based movement towards refining our self-perception and the subtle feelings which can flow as a result of natural processes.
This intimate knowledge gives you a leg up on how you feel and how your body responds to life.
When we eat, our senses can be fooled and we can simply overindulge without knowing why since the brain is getting tricked.
So our healthy efforts are like moving 1 step forwards, 1/2 a step back or more.
It’s no wonder the majority of us are weighing 25 lbs. more than 20 years ago.
Look at this about our fat intake (from the Bitter Truth).
Our brain’s are having to deal with food-beverage trickery and our body, well you know the story.
Heck, when I won a t-shirt for winning intramural sports at the University of Texas in the late 70’s, I was given a large.
A couple of years ago, I was given a Wall of Fame large t-shirt to commemorate the past.
Wouldn’t you know when I compared the present to the past t-shirt. The large got larger.
Doing the Right Thing
So, at sporting events for young and older duffers like myself, I continue to see how athletes (and many people in general) are moving backwards, though they “think” they are doing the right thing.
Having kids hydrate with Gatorade is not in their best interests for the long run since their brains too can begin to form a stubborn habit to change.
Our subtle senses, which serve us through feedback mechanisms, can go through an ongoing temporary battle over a longer run causing a disarray and host of unhealthy problems.
Self-regulation
Self-regulation is about learning and tweaking to live the fully healthy life you deserve. So some of those best efforts and right things to do have to change.
Plus, it can be fun where we come to understand how sometimes the simple things in life are quite powerful.
When it comes to regulating sugar – which can be difficult in these times – watch the Bitter Truth below.
This is heady stuff so you can watch the long version below
Not nice to have our brain think it is starving and take us on that path.
All that sugar consumption is helping to continue a downward spiral in healthy activities. Bummer!
For a another and shorter version, watch this.
Learn more how we self-regulate and bring the brain and body up to speed so you can stay on a healthy track.
Seen this or done that before?
This is something we do – in this country – if we feel pain, are sore from an injury or we over do it.
If you watch tv sports, been at a local kids soccer game, seen runners, softball players or know people who’ve had injury or experience pain.
Icing seems to be part of the game (of life) in the U.S and has been a big part of sports medicine.
How did this become our way?
Rice stands for:
• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation
This has been a mantra on playing fields since Dr. Gabe Mirkin came up with this formula back in 1978.
Since then he has changed his tune for this earlier “misinformation”.
Rest is out.
Now there is evidence ice can even delaying healing.
This might come as a surprise. It’s more than likely better to avoid icing.
Using ice does not fix the problem other than numbing an issue in our tissues. It may even do more harm than good.
Since many people use ice to block pain.
It’s likely they don’t know how to effectively relieve or control pain on account of ice being the prevalent cheaper alternative.
The Rest of the World
Interesting to note that most of the rest of the world does not use ice to manage injuries.
When I mention using ice to many of my foreign soccer playing friends, they simply shrug their shoulders and give me that “really” look.
Recovery & Performance
Since ice is still the accepted method and highly popular among recreational athletes to help recover, relying on this method is at best a band-aid approach.
There is usually little benefit derived from post exercise icing as well.
During an event, you may actually numb yourself and then push through pain rather than using this signal to begin to turn things around. This can increase the risk of injury.
Even performance can be altered since it is likely that icing interferes with the information highway of the nervous system.
The info can get slowed down and can change how our muscles respond. Not a good thing when you are either trying to do some work around the house or participating in one of your favorite activities.
Inflammation
People might think inflammation is a bad thing, yet is part of the normal restoration process.
While we can have a pain in the knee for instance, have you ever seen someone’s knee swell up or experienced this yourself?
Swelling is a normal part of the body attempting to get back to square one or homeostasis in this case.
We might think the swelling is too much or keeps snowballing, so of course, a lot of people will think ice is the solution.
What’s going on?
The lymphatic system helps reduce swelling.
So when we see or feel what we consider an excess of swelling, the drainage of the lymphatic system is kind of clogged and is in slow-mo mode.
Going backwards
To use ice to speed it up is counter productive.
Thawing out of this mindset may not be easy.
So you can check out the illusion of the ice age.
What Speeds Up Healing?
Since the lymphatic system helps to reduce swelling, it’s when we begin to contract, tense or mobilize the surrounding movement system.
M.I.C.E stands for:
M = Mobility
I = Ice
C = Compression
E = Elevation
M.I.C.E. has replaced R.I.C.E.
Now given what we’re discovering with ice, we can drop our freezing ways.
A conscious use of the muscles helps to push the fluid back into the cardiovascular system.
Movement System
The movement system is not just the muscles, it includes the nervous system or highway of information which can be altered.
It’s also the fascia which surrounds the muscles and is connected in a variety of patterns throughout the body.
The muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and bones have sense receptors where we can change the output through mobility and where we can change the offending output to our muscles and movement system.
When we apply mobility in a more conscious manner, then the myth of ice can fade like the ice age.
Is is time to give up the myth of icing?
Give up the Myth of Icing
Find out what to do to help injuries, pain and stiffness leave.
Click here to access Conscious Mobility
… and chuck the ice to feel warmer too!
When you play with the brain in a mindful way, the body can get a boost.
Targeting the brain’s sensory-motor cortex can help relieve stiffness, stress, ease pain, and improve the body and mind.
The brain’s motor cortex sits atop the brain adjacent to the sensory cortex.
The motor part is where you can “turn on” the motor of movement. The sensory part lets you perceive or feel a variety of sensations or feelings about the quality of movement itself.
This feedback loop of information can help you in effect, move well and be freer to move around.
This little guy is called the homonculus, the little man.
This represents how our body parts are reflected in the brain in terms of how we use them and sense them.
As you can see from this representation:
The hands and mouth have the largest areas in terms of how we sense ourself.
In order to help both the brain and body as you age, you can zero in on your sensory-motor cortex so both a movement in and of itself and the quality of how you move your body is addressed by paying attention to the information you can perceive or feel.
Plus, you can do this in a playful type of manner without a lot of hard work.
You see, the brain functions better with a variety of movements which opens up the possibilities of new neural connections since the brain itself can be changed, formed, and reformed.
Brain Exercises
Normally, we think of brain exercises like doing a crossword puzzle or doing some type of cognitive training. Any number of ways can sharpen us mentally such as learning to play an instrument, trying new recipes and good old fashioned doing math in your head.
Regular exercise itself, is good in general, and can help the brain too.
The brain thrives on novelty and our 600 muscles and 17 layers of muscles and fascia (which surround the muscles) can be used in a unique un-exercise approach by focusing our awareness on the conscious nature of movement itself.
This wakes up the brain and body since we can tap into the flow of information in our nervous system.
This non-traditional approach can augment any traditional type of exercise and can actually let us exercise pain free or be able to do the necessary movements you engage in with less tension and a different felt sense of ability.
Less Tension
The brain can be used to lessen tension through a natural process of updating our movement software.
When we have less tension or when we can sustain more neutral levels of tension, then we can move easily and agilely over the long run.
So when our brain gets challenged with paying attention, our body can actually feel the difference. Even when small, easy, gentle micro-movements are used to help set up or be the foundation for the moveable building blocks of overall coordination of movement.
Slow movements help brain functions
Watching someone do small movements, is similar to watching grass grow.
We might think not a lot can be accomplished by little or slow movement.
When you shift upstairs to target your motor cortex and do conscious specific types of movements slowly, gently and with as much awareness as possible – the brain can help the body make a number of changes.
A slow movement practice is about how you pay attention to a number of areas of the body.
The conscious application of movement done slowly forms the system of somatics exercises which is essentially brain based.
9 Advantages of a Brain Based Practice
1 – Pain Relief Using the Brain
Since the brain thrives on novelty, the brain and body can be used in unique ways to affect the flow of information in the nervous system.
This is set up with simple movements that can be done in a lazy, gentle manner where the mind is highly engaged.
One of the brain functions of the motor cortex is that it can reset the resting levels of the muscles. The muscles are left more relaxed.
As the muscles become more relaxed, the brain creates more feelings of relaxation and pleasure.
2 – Improved Memory
Movement is memory.
The lower part of the brain, the cerebellum remembers much like a programmed computer program which does our quick, fast movements. We don’t have to think about it, we get up and go.
Using the brain’s motor cortex allows us to change the program by noticing what is happening in our overall quality of movement as well as the actual movement.
By improving the quality of how well we can move at any age, the brain functions at a higher level since the brain’s software is getting updated.This helps us remember and experience our former youthful movement.
3 – Gain Strength
Normally we exercise our muscles to get stronger.
Strength is also resiliency and flexibility.
So rather then a brawn approach, you can use the brain to lose excessive or amped up tension and stress.
Our body becomes more balanced. We remain strong like animals in the wild who reset their muscles naturally since the slow movements are done along certain chains of connections which help us move more effectively.
4 – Posture Changes
We can change our shape.
By losing compensations such as a curved spine which has our belly hanging over or the reverse when we’re too slumped.
Our new appearance results from letting go of the tension which held us in place by the lower brain and its programmed ways.
Change Posture, Gain Strength, Improve Memory and Find Pain Relief – the Easy, Brain Way
When the brain remembers to reset to neutral, the brain functions much better and now we appear more easily upright and relaxed.
5 – Natural Stress Alleviation
The brain can create powerful chemicals of relaxation.
Healthy animals with a spine tap into this natural source.
They do this through the act of pandiculation as they target the brain and body.
You can zone in on the brain in a similar conscious manner to create natural chemicals of relaxation so you’re left feeling content, relaxed and in control.
6 – Regain Natural Flexibility
Regaining flexibility is not about getting longer or going for range of motion.
Simply being able to squat is one thing, getting up is another.
When we let go of the binds of stress, tension and long held-injuries and compensations, the body knows where to reset to neutral so it can in effect move easy and be in comfortable positions.
You can move more freely and naturally by reprogramming the brain so a natural flexibility can be easily maintained.
7 – Improve the Immune System
When we’re constantly triggering flight or fight response in our busy lives, we’re not giving our self the chance to calm things down.
Resetting our brain and body so we can ramp it up and then back it down, allows us to live more easily with a nervous system which can be reset so our immune system is less burdened as the inflammatory response is cooled down.
This allows more good feelings to flow through us so it can aid in healing, for instance.
8 – Sleep Better
Tuning down tension levels using the brain relaxes our body.
The body and brain functions much better when we can rest easy so our tissues can repair.
Resting easy happens when we feel calmer and can let go of the body and the mind.
9 – Greater Sense of Peace and Tranquility
When you use the brain to reset the entire body system of movement, you can move with greater ease and comfort like any other healthy vertebrate animal.
As our earlier sense of freedom returns, movement can nurture us towards more tranquil states.
This also brings us a vibrant sense of confidence to move, relax and have a calm mind.
As you use the brain and target certain functions, you can return again and again to levels of comfort where you can fully understand or appreciate the mind and body connection.
Better brain functions
When we go back to the well of movement itself and harness the power of the brain to tap into our very awareness.
The brain’s intelligence is aroused (with a little practice) so you end up with a better brain and body.
When you reset yourself with a certain level of conscious awareness, the brain functions at levels which may continue to delightfully surprise you as you age.
Get the Brain and Body on Your Side
Feeling good is your natural birthright.
Yet as we age our share of aches, bumps, dings, stiff feelings and various types of pain can add up depending upon our circumstances and the activities we choose to do or not.
To reverse the accumulation of life’s hurts and recapture the full pleasure in your body on a daily basis can happen when you remind yourself to…
Move Like an Animal
You see, all the healthy animals on the planet with a spine, tap into the brain to reset tension levels so they can move with comfort, agility and grace.
The human animal can too with a simple conscious 3 step plan to get the brain, body and nervous system revitalized to restore feelings of confident comfort.
So whether we feel stiff from everyday life, work or even the games and activities you enjoy or grind our way through.
There is a natural way for the brain & body to reverse stiffness and pain so we won’t have to beat on our muscles, ice, heat or use any of those balms just in order to be able to move a little easier in the first place.
Given our present understanding of the brain and how it’s like a piece of software we can change and modify.
We’ve been able to systematize what works in nature in order to upgrade both the brain and body so it can be programmed to ease tension, pain and stiffness naturally.
In the book, Move Like an Animal, you will learn:
• The 3 Simple Steps to Reduce Stiffness & Feel Pain Free
• How You Can Restore Your Natural Birthright to Feel Comfortable and in Control
• How Your Brain is Waiting for You to Regain Flexibility & Mobility Quickly and Easily
In what I call, the issues in the tissues, you have the ability to use your brain and body in symphony to restore and recover those lost feelings of–feeling like your self again—even if things presently continue to stay amped up, stiff or painful.
You’ll discover:
• The One Key Movement to Feel Better Now
• How to Relieve Stress & Tension Confidently
• and Overcome Compensations which can be a Factor
In the animal world, healthy animals set themselves up daily for successful movement.
The ability to be agile, flexible and move in balance and grace is set up by the same natural neural mechanisms you too can access.
If you want to:
– Maintain comfortable mobility
– Restore natural flexibility
– and Bring back the feelings of pleasure back in your body,
Then Move Like an Animal is for you.
Feel Free Again
Through a unique, counter-intuitive approach, you can feel how to:
• Loosen Up Tightness
• Release Stiffness
• and Feel the Binds Melt Away.
“The old traditional approach is sadly behind the times in preparing our bodies for strenuous activities and in rehabilitating the discomforts that impeded our life and competitive efforts. The new frontiers of understanding brain plasticity have given us exciting insights that can be controlled through brain-altering stimulation. This exciting application of the latest brain science will benefit healthy and recuperating people alike on all levels.”
-Timothy Berger, BA, MA, RN, ATC. Professor of Sports Science, Muskingum Univerisy
Since there may be those times when we may be guarding to protect a sore, tight or painful area.
Having the know-how to release it—is of great value when you need to let high tension levels or feelings of stress in the body simmer back down.
The Nature of Movement Itself
This is inherently different since it’s not about the range of motion – its more about the quality vs the quantity.
The quality and nature of movement itself are what is at stake to remain comfortable for life.
See, those wonderful animals have got this part down.
No quality. They’re a goner.
For the human animal, less than optimal quality can bring all sorts of types of pain and the various binds, stiffness and restrictions we can’t seem to shake in the long run.
Using a series of unique, gentle, conscious movement patterns targeting a specific part of the brain can restore childlike feelings of freedom.
All of this set up by the brain so you can remain comfortable as you age.
Even if you over do it, your brain and body can change quickly without even resorting to pills.
“A doctor gave me muscle relaxants and pain medication for a painful incident at work. Instead, I did a few movements and my pain was gone and I’m back to normal. It’s amazing, this works.”
-Debbie Elliott, Registered Nurse
Since animals know how to relax and let go of tension on a daily basis…
The good news is. Your brain & body is waiting for you to tap into this same conscious power source to:
– Feel more relaxed,
– Contented,
– and Be able to sleep more easily too.
“Filled with practical advice. This is a very useful book for anyone who wants to move and feel better. I will recommend this book to my clients.”
-Dr. Del Millers, author of Fitness & Spirituality
What Move Like an Animal is About
The book begins with the ‘Animal Secret’ act that even the human animal did as a baby.
Once we remind ourself of this forgotten or lost ability, the brain remembers what to do to reset similar to the way we update our computers.
Down the Rabbit Hole
The brain is described as the one big muscle working with various feedback loops you can use to reset both stiffness and pain.
You’ll learn which ones those are and how to access them to return to the comfort zone.
A shift from the revved up sympathetic state to the more relaxed parasympathetic state of calm happens when you tap into the specific part of the brain
See, from a more relaxed state, the muscles are ready to be used rather than starting from a somewhat or higher rate of tension. This is what fatigues and wears a lot of us down.
We’ve lost that ability to de-rev naturally since the brain will keep certain programs running like a car idling in 2nd or 3rd gear, instead of neutral.
Compensations
In the exercise and therapy world, compensations are readily seen and can throw us off center. Even though we can figure out how to use our body. We may be struggling or use more energy un-necessarily.
Compensations can shift as tension levels abate since the muscles are more relaxed to allow the bones to fall in place so we don’t end up fighting or struggling against gravity.
Then exercise or physical activity actually becomes freer and easier.
Proprioceptive Police
Proprioception is how we feel our movement and the positions we find ourself in.
The proprioceptive police may show up with signs of mis-alignment, pain, discomfort, tightness and on-going stress which further wears us down.
-Edward Barrera, Move Like an Animal
Brain Based Approach
You’ll get a birds-eye view as how this is the complete reverse to most approaches – since it is brain based.
Rather than going for range of motion, which can actually reinforce tension and keep certain brain programs in check.
Even painful events like a muscle spasm can be reverse engineered, released and restored to comfort on account of targeting the brain.
Making the Connection
Sensing, feeling and probing around gently opens insights as to how you are connected among your 17 layers of muscles and fascia.
The fascia which has more sense receptors than the muscles are part of the movement system.
When you delve deeply into the sensory-motor system, lost or forgotten connections begin to wake-up so that even sitting becomes more comfortable.
What to do about Oops, Falls, Strains and Traumas and How A Squirrel Offers a Way Out?
You’ll get to learn how a squirrel opened my eyes to the very method I was learning about and how this act can restore things in ways we may not have thought possible.
The binding process starts.
As we age, the stiffness, the binds and high tension patterns may have been or begun as a result of some type of trauma to our body.
We can accumulate these patterns which can be layered over other traumas.
We can think of this as a temporary ongoing phenomena since the signals to hold on, keep doing their job according to the set program for many, many, many years in some cases.”
-Edward Barrera, Move Like an Animal
R-O-A-R Your Way Back
To recover over any restriction (R-O-A-R).
Free up stiffness, postural or movement difficulties, niggling injuries, high tension levels and the like can be felt when you recognize how the brain is set up to serve you, so you can remain comfortable for life.
Bonus
For those of you who really want to take things another step further.
Check out the back of the book where you can get access to the free audio version of the movements.
By listening, you’ll tap into another part of the brain which will deepen your experience to heal, restore and revitalize like a human animal can.
Ready to Move Like an Animal Again
After having lived a life of chronic pain and earning the label of fibromyalgia, I can say “it feels great to have more good days than bad ones”.
It’s my great pleasure to have Amazon bestseller, Move Like an Animal, out now in paperback and digital so you too can R-O-A-R back into life and feel the full pleasure of your body returning and maintaining even as you age.
Your brain and body can feel free, relaxed and in control.
So are your ready to Move Like an Animal for the rest of your comfortable life?
