Neuroplasticity

How To Maximize Neuroplastic Processes: Keep Your Clients Focused!

by Leave a Comment

You are here: Home / Archives for Neuroplasticity

Watch #PilatesHour Episode 120 “Neuro-Concepts And Pilates” with Brent Anderson and special guest Kate Strozak MSc Applied Neuroscience, LMT, NCPT. New to Neuro-Concepts? Check out the blog “Fascinating Neuro-Concepts You Need To Know As A Pilates Instructor”.

BA:  As Pilates teachers, how do we make what we do in one or two hours a week potentially influence a positive neuroplastic change? We know that one or two hours a week may not be enough to influence this. What else needs to happen, and what needs to be influenced in that one or two hours a week? 

KS:  Giving people good appropriate challenges is really important for this process.  Also, I try to stimulate them in multiple ways.  The use of imagery is incredibly impactful and profound for people to help them embody these new experiences. Imagery helps them build different relationships between a movement and their perception of that movement or their relationship to that movement.

Many of these things are built into the Polestar curriculum actually!  Utilizing imagery, utilizing tactile cueing in order to tie in sensory nerves and proprioception thus integrating the brain on another level.

Kate Strozak

Now more than ever I talk to my clients about their sleep habits. I remind them it’s out of the scope of my practice, and that I am not a professional sleep consultant. I encourage them if they feel like their sleep could be better quality than it is right now to reach out to a sleep professional and get some help in that arena. It’s when we are in our deep states of sleep that a lot of these neuroplastic changes occur in our brain.  

Being “Chatty” With Clients

Another important thing is mindfulness. Prior to studying neuroscience, I was inclined to be chit chatty and casual with my clients. In part, thanks to Alexander Bohlander and my experience with him in his meditation workshop at the Polestar experience I dove deep into studying mindfulness and meditation. It’s fascinating the effects of these on the brain and profound in terms of stress reduction and sleep quality.  If you are doing something that supports the quality of your sleep you are, therefore, hopefully then supporting the process of neuroplasticity.  So it’s a very long-winded answer to say there is a lot!

BA: That is excellent Kate!  I just learned this year from an Andrew Huberman podcast about the idea of neuroplasticity occurring typically when we’re sleeping.  We challenge the body and challenge the nervous system during the day, challenging ourselves to learn.  I’ve been using this with the students at the university as well. Especially the ones who are struggling with retaining information or integrating and synthesizing information.  It’s so interesting that it’s the sleep that is going to allow you to synthesize this information.  This leads into the “interleaved” learning where we’re stressing you a little bit to recall information to make it challenging and difficult.  At first, you can’t remember what it is, but when you go back and look at it again after the stress of trying to remember it (and a good night’s sleep), it is amazing the amount of synthesis that happens on the following day or two of processing that information.  

Creating Demand And “Struggle”

The same thing is true with movement of course and some of the things you mentioned.  If I could get my client to remember what we did last week, “do you remember where your body was when we had that really good experience? “Can you show that to me again?”, and maybe they fail, that’s ok.  They are trying to figure it out and recall it, but that’s the internal feedback and the mindfulness that we’re talking about that allows information to be synthesized.  They need this demand and the struggle of the recall. And don’t just give it to them and show them, let them struggle with it, we don’t want to make it so easy.  We want them to understand that struggle is good, that failure is good, and that these are learning processes that will help them in the long run. If we don’t challenge them with that struggle we don’t challenge the nervous system to change.  

KS: Absolutely, there is no incentive to change if you are not being challenged or having that moment where you have those slight releases of cortisol and adrenaline. Your palms start sweating and we have to have those moments, it’s part of the human experience.  

I don’t know about all of you but I was very prone to just having casual conversations with my clients. When the client has done footwork a million times with me, which in and of itself presents another problem, but if I’m talking with them about something, I’m taking them out of their experience and out of their body, so I limit that.  I’m not cold or stoic and not available to them but I really get them to focus on what they’re doing and to really be present and attentive to their movement. 

If I’m talking with them about what they are doing this weekend, they start thinking about it and they are not aware of what their body is doing at the present moment in time. 

Kate Strozak

BA: I really appreciate you saying that.  Our friend Polestar Educator Juan Nieto calls it “being the butler”, and I call it “gum holding”. The point is that we get into a chatty, chummy kind of relationship with them and were really not challenging the nervous system. We become a “paid friend” in that situation.  If they are doing the same thing they always do with you, you are not challenging any improvement or any change other than maybe being a listening ear.  Even worse when we bring our own problems to our clients.  

Supporting Neuroplastic Processes

In group classes when there is flow and purpose, there is more internal reflection going on and feedback that is more likely to create change than in a chatty one-on-one session.  We can create incredible challenges and demands on the nervous system when we’re working with a group of ten people.  If we’re not having that same intensity with our clients one-on-one they are not going to have the same neuroplastic challenges.  

KS: And if you’re not supporting these neuroplastic processes then what are you doing? The neuroplastic process is just a really fancy way of saying that you’re helping to create a repatterning, working on movement efficiency, or working on a tissue adaptation.  If you’re not really supporting those processes you’re not really supporting the longevity of the Pilates work you are doing with them.  So maybe Brent, you, and I are suggesting to everyone that our challenge to you is to try to support more quiet and focus in your pilates sessions.  If your client` is really keen on talking and carrying on a conversation, you might not be challenging them enough!  There is a time and place for all of it as you know!  

BA:  Let’s see how chatty they are when it’s time for jackknife…time for hip circles!

KS: Yes! Can you juggle while doing feet in straps?  

Watch #PilatesHour Episode 120 “Neuro-Concepts And Pilates” with Brent Anderson and special guest Kate Strozak.

Fascinating Neuro-Concepts You Need To Know As A Pilates Instructor

by Leave a Comment

You are here: Home / Archives for Neuroplasticity

Watch the #PilatesHour webinar “Neuro-Concepts in Pilates” with Brent Anderson PT, PhD, OCS, NCPT, and Kate Strozak MSc Applied Neuroscience, LMT, NCPT.

Neuroplasticity

KS: Neuroplasticity is a term that you are probably hearing a lot about. With ample new funding for neuroscience, there has been a lot about the study of neuroplasticity and how to best support its process. 

Neuroplasticity is the nervous system forming, adapting, or reorganizing in terms of its structure and function.  Neuroplasticity describes the actual structural changes that can occur to a brain when it comes to learning and adapting. It also refers to brain function and how we relay and communicate information “out” from the brain.  Neuroplasticity occurs throughout all stages of life however it certainly seems to slow down with age. That’s not to say it doesn’t continue to happen. The process can become a bit slower or require increased thoughtfulness to facilitate.  

Until around the age of 25, humans are very wired to learn. It’s like giving water to a sponge. You can soak things in and you don’t really have to put much thought, attention, and focus on it. Past 25, in the way that our bodies are evolving through age, we benefit from harnessing factors like attention, focus, and sleep. 

Sleep is particularly important in supporting neuroplastic changes in the brain.  

There’s all this excitement about neuroplasticity, “oh we’re going to work on your neuroplasticity today! You are changing your brain by learning all of these things”! But neuroplasticity doesn’t exclusively describe what you might think of as a “positive” process of learning things. Neuroplasticity also includes and encompasses maladaptive processes.  When we develop compensations or when we have traumatic experiences in our life, that’s also neuroplasticity.  It’s good to be aware that there is much more to it than just “learning new things” for fun or for efficiency. 

BA:  This reminds me of our conversation about centralized pain with Adriaan Louw. Not the peripheral pain of a message coming in and the brain protecting, but a centralized pain pattern. This is exactly what you’re talking about Kate.  In this case, it is neuroplasticity in the “negative” way that creates a circuit of pain that gets stimulated by many different things. From emotions, touch, proprioception, and temperature, any of these can facilitate or trigger a response now that it’s been hard-wired.  

As Pilates teachers, our goal is to create positive movement experiences that don’t have pain. And doing this with the intention of rewiring that poorly wired circuit that we refer to as centralized pain.  What are your thoughts on that? What are we able to facilitate as Pilates instructors in terms of neuroplasticity? How do we do this in the one or two hours a week we have with our clients? 

KS:  We will do this by giving new experiences, and very importantly, by challenging people. It cannot work by keeping people in their comfort zone. 

There is of course a time and a place for moving within a comfort zone. Maybe you are trying to establish rapport or get someone comfortable and familiar with the movement. Eventually, you have to take them to that point where they are being challenged and they are exerting. You see this intense focus on their faces and the sweat beads starting to drip! So that’s a really key thing you can start to integrate as a movement professional now. 

Neurogenesis

Neurogenesis is the idea that our brains actually create new neurons.  I grew up believing that once you damage a brain cell or a neuron it’s gone forever, so good luck!  But this is actually not the case.  Evidence is suggesting that neurogenesis does occur throughout life. It’s a process that slows as we get older, which makes a lot of sense if you think of a newborn.

Newborn brains are just incredible in how much neuronal growth they are going through and synaptic connections they are building.  Children go through this until about the age of three when you see this rapid increase of neurons, neuronal size, and connections forming.  Around the age of three, they enter a state of “pruning” or cell death (but pruning sounds much better), where you see those communications simplify and streamline. This makes a lot of sense if you are around, say, three-year-olds and what they are going through behaviorally and developmentally.  

100 Billion Neurons

Even though it most profoundly occurs at that early stage in life, neurogenesis is something that occurs throughout life.  There is a lot of excitement about neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis and this is good news, but it is relatively small.  If we have 100 billion neurons in an adult brain, neurogenesis accounts for about 700 new neurons added per day in the hippocampus part of the brain.  There are similar factors to neuroplasticity that support neurogenesis such as sleep, exercise, learning, nutrition, and play.  The play aspect encompasses the challenge component of neuroplasticity. Attention and focus can also support the process of neurogenesis.  

BA:  When you’re looking at 100 billion neurons, 700 new neurons per day is not a whole lot. The idea of genesis – we have angiogenesis where our arteries and capillaries regenerate as well as peripheral nerve regeneration. We have known this for a long time, and you have to create the demand for the peripheral nerve to regenerate. 

It makes sense that there would be regeneration in the central nervous system.  I think the challenge we have is finding the data to show how that works. Perhaps looking at the difference between something like a central pattern generator in a cat versus in a human. It would be interesting to look at research trying to activate those in people who have had a spinal cord injury. Maybe using stem cells to be able to speed up the neurogenesis inside the brain and the spinal cord.  Either way, if it’s exogenous or endogenous, I think we are going to figure it out. It is an exciting time to be involved in neuroscience.  

KS:  We know IQ can change. It is not a fixed measurement.  We now know that we can grow new neurons.  It is amazing the things we can do as humans. 

Watch #PilatesHour Episode 120 “Neuro-Concepts & Pilates” and Join us Thursdays at 3 PM eastern and participate live with Brent and special guests: #PilatesHour Live!

Educator Highlight : Angela Crowley

by Leave a Comment

You are here: Home / Archives for Neuroplasticity

Polestar: What do you love about your profession?

AC: Every day and every session is a new intriguing and fascinating challenge with rewarding results. 

Polestar: What excites your thinking and inspires your day?

AC: The limitless possibilities of the human nervous system and beautiful powerful musical movement. I am honored by each person who walks through the door. 

Polestar: Can you describe the path which developed your professional perspective?

AC: As a  former gymnast and dancer, I always expected to have control over my body. A serious car accident took that control away.  I lost fine motor use in my right hand and if I sat for an hour my right leg fell asleep. Traditional approaches including hospitalization in traction and intensive physical therapy didn’t lead to much progress or hope. I was told to learn to write with the other hand and that I would not be able to dance or do things like running or skiing again. I didn’t believe it. A pivotal moment was when I met a Naturopathic doctor Mark Manton who changed my life and is one of my mentors to this day. He applied and educated me in a holistic approach which included diet, acupuncture, neuromuscular therapy, osteopathy, meditation and movement re-education through Feldenkrais then Pilates. I became a massage and movement therapist integrating Pilates.

When I embarked upon a four year education to become a Feldenkrais Practitioner, I began yearning for an exercise system that would match the organic organization of systemic movement in the Feldenkrais system. I wanted access to greater freedom of the trunk and spine. That is when I discovered the GYROTONIC® system. Gyrotonic movements begin from the inside out, starting with breath and spinal movement which expand into full body movement. Different from any other system I know, the diverse and multiple pieces of equipment can support and challenge the needs of anyone from rehabilitation to training of high level athletes. Similar to Feldenkrais the movement is fluid, efficient and diversifies around all planes of motion and relationships with gravity. To this day my private practice focuses on the use of manual therapy, movement reeducation using the Feldenkrais Method and the GYROTONIC® Method. Furthermore, I enjoy being an educator of teachers in these fields and interfacing with the Pilates community. 

Polestar: Do you have any favorite quotes to share?

AC: “What I am after isn’t flexible bodies, but flexible brains.” — Moshe Feldekrais D. Sc.

“It is the moment between intention and action where there is choice and possibility.” — Moshe Feldenkrais D.Sc.

“Breath is Movement and Movement is Breath” — Juliu Horvath, creator of the GYROTONIC® System  

Polestar: What is your favorite piece of equipment?

AC: The human nervous system.  

Polestar: What are a couple of your favorite reads?

AC: The Brain’s Way Of Healing by Norman Doidge; Art & Physics: Parallel Visions In Space, Time, and Light by Leonard Shlain 

Polestar: What do you hope to convey in your teaching clients?

AC: My goal is to educate and empower clients with the ability to feel better through their own movement. I hope for them to experience a renewed sense of freedom and well being in their bodies and in their lives. 

Polestar: What do you hope to convey in teaching teachers?

AC: I hope for teachers to gain a theoretical understanding that empowers the paradigm of their thinking and creativity to refresh their teaching. 

Polestar: Tell us about your current course, Neuroplasticity: An Exploration Through Movement.

AC: This course is a culmination of my life’s work and studies. There is currently a revelation in the way science understands the brain and nervous system. New information, research, publications and podcasts become available daily. Leading researchers have given recognition that certain approaches to movement can amplify the plasticity of the brain. In other words, as somatic practitioners we have the opportunity to influence lives far beyond strength and flexibility. For example, we can create opportunities to influence the way people respond to stress, sleep and enhance their creativity. Leading scientists today recognize Moshe Feldenkrais as a pioneering Neuroplastition 60 years ahead of current science. He understood how to use movement to communicate with the brain. Science is just now catching up with him. In this highly experiential course, I shed light on this relationship between movement and neuroplasticity through lecture, movement experiences within oneself and applications through labs and discussion. 

Polestar: What do you hope participants experience in your course?

AC: We can only teach what we understand, so the experiential portion of the course shifts one’s approach to teaching exercise and enriches the depth of results. 

Polestar: What do you hope participants take away from your course?

AC: Participants will gain tangible strategies to implement into their lives and practice as well as a wealth of resources. 

Polestar: Who should take this course?

AC: This course is for anyone who would like to delve into the fascinating relationships between movement and the mind. It is for any healthcare practitioner who is curious and open to refresh their perception of movement in our lives.

Like the Blog? Sign up for the Newsletter Polestar Life Weekly!