This is Your Brain on Kinesiology

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine Specialized Kinesiology Magazine

An Integrated Brain, with Jacque Mooney

Kinesiology and Horses

Kinesiology Story: Kinesiology Asia

Reflexes for Learning: Rhythmic Movement Technique

Supraspinatus

Collaborative Knowledge with Knowlative

3 Nutrients for Your Brain

This is Your Brain on Kinesiology

This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

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Jacque Mooney and an Integrated Brain

page 6 A 2nd Chance at Childhood Reflexes with RMT page 18

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Have a topic you think other practitioners would be interested in? An article to contribute, or a product/class/ conference to advertise?

Editor/Publisher/Write r and flawed dictator: Alexis Costello Contributors: Alison Zeidler

Brett Scott Kate Young Robert Frost Sylvia Marina Wendy HumphreysTebbutt Cover image is a stock photo from freeimages.com Opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers are their own.

Contents: p. 4 Letter from the Editor p.5 Your turn: letters, questions and social media p. 6 Feature Interview: Jacque Mooney - An Integrated Brain p. 13 Better Brain Health p. 15 Knowlative: Together we Get Better p. 18 Modality Profile: Rhythmic Movement Technique p.25 Kinesiology and Horses

p. 28 Feature Muscle: Supraspinatus p.32 An SK Story: Kinesiology Asia p.35 Nutrition Corner: Top 3 Faves, Brain Edition p. 39 Classifieds p. 40 Health Should Be Fun!

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Email: happy@alexiscostello.com

This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

I Think, Therefore I Am It is hard not to be fascinated by the human brain. We can look at it as a computer full of electrical impulses transmitting information; as the mechanical hardware that carries out the whims of our more metaphysical ‘mind’; or, as Kate puts it in her article on p.35, a twisting highway of fat-based tissue in a jelly-like organ. How you see it may change depending on the context of your work, however I think all are in agreement that it is pretty important to our overall quality of life to have a brain that is functioning at peak capacity.

One of the very first techniques taught in a Touch For Health class involves ‘Switching On’. Indeed, it seems like most branches of kinesiology have some version of this where the connections and electrical pathways are checked before the practitioner even attempts to do anything else – we all know that if the brain is not sending and receiving information properly it is much more difficult (or impossible) to see long-lasting changes in the individual’s health and even to get really good results from our muscle testing. In this issue we hear from Jacque Mooney all about the importance of brain integration, a close-up look at the muscle we associate with the brain, some important nutrients for cognition and the way reflex integration can affect learning. There are some non-brain related articles here too though (don’t miss the article about running a kinesiology school in Hong Kong)!

Thanks for reading,

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Your Turn – Questions, Letters and Social Media

Question: What are your favourite techniques for when your brain feels 'fuzzy'?

Michelle Greenwell: Cross crawls, Meridian Dance, Switches, Water and Deep Breathing!

Sam Ashbee: Zip up of central meridian.

Joyce Bunner: Cross crawl, switches, auriculars, and water.

From the CanASK Facebook page: Alexis Costello, you have produced another informative, bright, and enjoyable to read publication! Of course this issue (Summer 2017) is particularly special to me because you featured Muscle Tuners International and why Heather Phillips and I (Denise Cambiotti) started this business! Even though we didn’t quite fit the theme of the issue, we intend to start out small and make a big impact, quite like micro biomes!

Next issue’s theme is “A Holographic Model” Next issue’s question: What does it mean to you to work ‘holographically’?

Post your answer on the GEMS Kinesiology page on Facebook to be included here!

Looking for creative ways to spread the word about Specialized Kinesiology? Check out this short promotional video by Linda Easthouse.

Or some of the beautiful social media posts created recently

by Kate North like this one:

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Jacquie Mooney An Integrated Brain

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By Alexis Costello Jacque Mooney has been working in the kinesiology field for nearly 25 years and has spent most of that time teaching others about how the brain works. In this conversation we discuss what it really means to have an integrated brain.

A: What does brain integration really mean and why should people be interested?

J: People talk about it a lot but what it basically means is having a brain where the components are balanced and working well, and Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

then the connections are also working well. The areas of the brain, people know that as gray matter, these are the areas where information is integrated, the cortex and sub-cortical gray-matter, and then these areas talk to each other which is done by white matter pathways. So we want to first of all get the gray matter working and clear up any areas that are stressed - and stress can be from all sorts of things; environmental, oxygen stress from birth, or emotional - we clear up the pathways to these areas so they can talk to each other. (continued next page)

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology Once that’s done the next important task is synchronizing these activities and the neurons that allow these parts to talk to each other. If it’s not synchronous, it’s like an orchestra without a conductor. Everyone knows their part so they’re all playing the same music, but if they don’t have a conductor to work out the timing then it’s not beautiful music. And then there’s another step that we use in brain integration and once the brain is actually functioning well, we do things that might challenge it to ensure areas are working effectively together. Sometimes just the thought of doing the task destroys integration, because there has been so much emotional trauma connected to the idea of it.

A: How did you first become interested in brain integration work?

J: I initially wanted to be a teacher when I first started school, so I went to university to do that but I became a little disenchanted with the system that I was exposed to. So I decided to leave that for awhile. I got involved helping with reading programs and perceptual motor programs and I noticed that a lot of the children had big problems with reading; and it wasn’t even words that you would think would be a problem, like ‘hippopotamus’ or ‘elephant’, they would be words like ‘was’ and ‘the’. And they had already, in their first couple years of school developed strategies to avoid doing it. So they would say; “Oh, I forgot my reader”, or they would create distractions. I noticed this, and then my youngest daughter started having problems. I noticed that she could, theoretically read the story, but if I covered the words with my hands, she would still say the words as if she was reading them, so I realized she was doing it from memory.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 She would pick books that she had already heard and had memorized. And some of the words that were really difficult for her to pick out were the words that really didn’t have a lot of meaning, like ‘was’, ‘the’ and ‘and’.

That interested me. And then I saw a friend of mine who was a doctor of Chinese medicine and he referred me to Dr. Charles Krebs. I didn’t think I would be doing kinesiology because I had done a little of it before and I hadn’t seen it as a solution. But I went to talk to Charles anyway and he said he was developing a program with his (at the time) wife, Susan, working with learning problems using kinesiology, and that was exactly what I was looking for. It hadn’t been taught yet at that time, but I was fortunate in that Charles was running a college that did two years of study. While I was in my second year, LEAP was taught for the first time. I’ve been fascinated with it ever since and it has been over twenty years now.

A: So it was love at first sight when you found the LEAP program?

J: It was like something just clicked; I knew I was looking for something different from what I had done before working in the travel and tourism industry. I felt like I was really being pushed to go into the health sciences. I didn’t know why, but it turns out obviously that I was meant to be doing this!

A: So if you’ve been doing this for 20 years, how has this field of research changed in the time you have been involved? Lots of new research has come out, lots of new courses have been developed…

J: Well the advancements in science in the last 25 years have been phenomenal.

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology Even when I first began studying the brain, I can think back to some of the theories that we looked at that were considered unimportant or that there was simply not as much knowledge about. Because of the scanning and the things that science can do now, there is a much greater understanding of how the brain functions. All of the imaging, the fMRIs that allow us to see what the brain is doing when it’s actually working on a task is amazing. So that has changed how we work because we understand more about different areas of the brain.

Photo credit: Chena Anderson - Jacque teaching in Charlottesville VA, September 2017

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 But also, the viewpoint of the general public has changed. To see books about how the brain changes itself, or neuro-emotions in the work of Candace Pert where she discusses neuropeptides and how they change the way we behave. A lot of people now know what the amygdala is for example, and that it’s involved with our fight/flight response. So that’s changing – not just how we work with it, but the general knowledge has increased, which is fabulous.

A: I was thinking about this the other day because I was reading a novel and it occurred to me that, a couple of generations ago, if someone was struggling in school, then there would just be a common consensus;

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

consensus, ‘Well, he’s just a little slow, he’s not that bright’, and they would give him menial tasks to do and no-one would expect much of him. Whereas now, there is the idea; “There’s something not firing properly or something’s not connecting, and what can we do to change that?” It does feel like the general attitude towards learning is different that it was, even 30 or 40 years ago.

J: I agree and understanding different styles of learning contributes to this too because people are just not good auditory learners or good visual learners; there are so many different ways to learn. Some people who I know are incredibly bright have problems learning in the general sense of the way schools are programed. It’s difficult to tell

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because I’m not actually in the school system myself, but I believe in different places they are changing things. Now, they have sometimes been known to throw out the baby with the bathwater when they are changing to something new that they think will be better, finding out later that they are still having other problems… I think the truth is, very much so, that we don’t all have the same IQ. That’s very obvious, Einstein is not representative of your average run-of-the-mill person. But what we can do is help people to access the areas of the brain better so they can use what they’ve got.

A: So, when you say ‘access the areas better’, how does that actually happen?

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology J: That’s a good question and it’s not a simple one! It depends on what we are talking about. If you’ve had some challenges emotionally in your formative years, that will colour every part of your learning. If you can remove the stress around the trauma then you can access those areas of the brain without the trauma getting in the way. When you have a trauma, the survival parts of the brain get activated. Because if you feel that you are under some sort of threat, whether it’s real or perceived, then those (survival) parts of the brain take over and they can easily shut down higher parts of the brain; the prefrontal area and the dorsolateral frontal cortex, and those are related to our working memory and processing things in ‘now’ time. So if you have a trauma from when you were quite young, when it becomes activated by a trigger - and that could be something like the sound of a person’s voice, how they look, words that they use, or a situation like a classroom - then the person actually regresses to that earlier time in some ways. Obviously not physically, but logically they go back to the time when the trauma occurred. They shut down the ability to think in the ‘now’ time part of the brain, and we don’t learn very easily or have access to higher levels of functioning with that kind of a brain.

We’re talking right now about learning and people think about learning as: ‘how do I learn at school? How do I learn to do maths and reading?’ But one of the things that I’ve found to be so true when you’re doing this sort of work is that it’s not just about that; learning is about how we live our lives. If we have a situation where we’re not getting on with people in our work and we find that there’s a pattern that has been there; it’s not just this person at work but there were people at my previous job where it was the same –

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“…If there’s a common denominator that is you, then there’s something you haven’t learned yet.”

if there’s a common denominator that is you, then there’s something that you haven’t learned yet. Something you need to look at in order to resolve the conflict or the lack of ability to progress. That can be with relationships in any area; your children, your partner, your family (families are great ones!) being more integrated and less reactive to survival threats – this can help anyone.

A: Can you share something new about this field that other kinesiologists may not yet know about that would be interesting to other practitioners?

J: I get excited because there are so many areas that we can work with now; even ten years ago there were a lot of areas that we didn’t understand well. Now that we have a better idea of their involvement, with kinesiology we can much more easily access these areas, challenge them with a task or in other ways, and then remove stress. . One of the big areas is the cerebellum. It has been known to be involved with motor movement for a very long time, but we understand now how important it is for modulating our emotions and how we think, which pretty much covers all aspects of life! Another area of understanding that has really grown in the last 10-20 years is the glial cells of the brain.

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology They were thought to only be supporting cells, supporting the neurons, which were the main event when it came to brain integration.

But we now know that glial cells do much more; they decide to some extent what goes on at a synapse where neurons connect and talk to each other; they control the neurotransmitters that are involved. They are involved with the timing and synchrony of neurons firing together so that we have a coherent signal. They also help to determine which neurons grow and where they grow.

Probably another area that most kinesiologists are not familiar with in an area of the brainstem called the reticular activating system (RAS). And that is so relevant when you look at people with learning problems.

Our RAS sets our levels of wakefulness and

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 arousal so we can pay attention when we need to. One of its’ tasks is to help filter irrelevant information, so kids aren’t distracted in the classroom by all the movements or all the little noises in the distance, they should be able to filter those as irrelevant and amplify what is relevant and for learning, that’s important. For kinesiology in general, the RAS sets our basal muscle tone. That’s what we are always doing in kinesiology: looking for a muscle that is over or under energy. When we work with kinesiology we’re actually directly keying into this brain stem area and it’s fascinating that we can directly access the subconscious brain, the deep survival parts of the subconscious brain - what a gift is that!

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Another thing about the RAS that is so important is that it sets our level of arousal.

Currently a huge problem in many societies is post-traumatic stress disorder. Particularly with people who have been in the armed forces but right now, people in the US and the Carribean areas have had major storms and four hurricanes in the last month, plus earthquakes in Mexico; these create major stress for people who are involved or who have family members that are around there.

The RAS is also involved with that. So being able to work with these areas allows us to work with a wide range of imbalances with people.

been working well. It works for people who are fairly new (but already know how to muscle monitor), but I’ve also taught it to people who have gone through the entire LEAP system and feel like this really ties things together. It gives people a soft entry to see if they really like working with the brain and survival areas. Our survival areas affect us in all areas; of course it’s going to affect our digestive system, we know that, and our ability to think, but it also affects range of motion and pain levels because it ties in directly to the RAS and the rest of the brain stem. Once you change that, the body just sorts the rest of the problems out.

If people are interested in learning about kinesiology, Dr. Krebs and Tania O’NeillMcGowen wrote an amazing textbook called Energetic Kinesiology, Practices and Principles. If you’re a practitioner, it’s a really good reference manual and if you just want to understand a little more about kinesiology and energetic sciences, it’s also excellent for that.

I use aspects of brain integration in every session that I do. It is the basis of all kinesiology. I feel excited to still be able to work with it and learn new things, and to me that’s really important, after almost 25 years, to still get excited!

I wrote a course a couple of years ago called Simply the Brain. I was on my way to teach in Japan and China and I wanted to give people a chance to work with areas of the brain that we don’t necessarily work with in LEAP but that could segue into LEAP classes.

It’s a gentle introduction, so they had an understanding of the various areas because the brain is so complex it’s not an easy thing to work with. There’s so much that we don’t understand. There are so many parts that people have never heard the names of and they don’t know what the functions are, the anatomy and physiology is complex and you need to understand the interactions and how parts affect each other. So I wrote that to introduce it all in a simple way, and that has

For Jacque’s current class schedule, visit www.simplythebrain.com.au

Author’s note: normally I try to post these video interviews on YouTube so you get the full impact of the conversation, but unfortunately, the connection between Costa Rica and Australia was patchy when we did the interview. Hopefully, I can convince Jacque to chat with me again sometime!

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Better Brain Health

by Sylvia Marina I’ve always been fascinated with the brain.

It’s up there like heaven-above and we expect, like ‘heaven’ it will always be openfor-business, welcoming and functioning.

And mostly the brain is...until we get stuck on the treadmill of dealing with too much stuff.

Getting caught up in the perpetual cycle of busyness can develop through fear and uncertainty.

Overwork can be cultural, a family pattern or battling to stay afloat in challenging times.

While working hard is seen as a good tactic to help us achieve our goals, sometimes we can take that too far.

Karoshi is the Japanese word meaning "death by over work."

Overwork typically manifests as chronic tiredness, feeling constantly stressed and worried about taking holidays or time off because we fear the possible consequences.

To think well, starts with a fit and healthy brain. Worrying about unfinished work or

looming deadlines impacts sleep and performance. It’s difficult sometimes to distinguish between what’s important and what is an un-necessary burden.

Our brain contains billions of nerve cells arranged in patterns that coordinate thought, emotion, behaviour, movement, and sensation. It performs even when we are asleep!

Is your brain getting enough sleep?

Brain fitness is reduced through sleep deprivation. A sleep pattern is the movement of the brain through different brainwave states, alpha, REM, theta, delta, that allows the brain to repair itself and rebalance brain chemicals for better mental health.

Is your brain getting enough food?

The foods that support healthy circulation are right for your brain. There are lists available of natural super foods that protect the brain from oxidative stress. Eat smart for a healthier brain – my favourites include blueberries, mangoes, avocado, nuts, seeds, cold water fish, and as many different colours as I can find in the garden and at the farmers market.

Is your brain getting enough water?

Lack of water to the brain can be the cause of problems with focus, memory, brain fatigue and brain fog, as well as headaches, sleep

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anger, depression, and many more. Water gives the brain the electrical energy for all brain functions, including thought and memory processes.

Is your brain getting enough love?

Does your brain have good memory?

Brain fitness isn’t just about memory games.

It’s about living life to the fullest, with joy, passion and curiosity. That’s what leads to high performance thinking. It starts with deciding what’s important, determining your non-negotiables and implementing those ways of thinking to help you to lead the life of your dreams.

Are you getting enough love, are you open for intimacy, pleasure, touch and curiosity, fun and moments of new discoveries. Are you getting the right love for your type.

Brain health requires love, self-love, selfappreciation, self-care.

Don’t be afraid to love wholeheartedly, give your brain the pleasure of resting and relaxing making your life... heaven-on-earth.

I’m scurrying now to join the gathering... by the pool... in Bali.

family

www.sylviamarina.com

Transforming DNA Memories Healing Workshop Kelowna, BC Canada: June 23-26 This four-day training includes Kinesiology Techniques, Real Live Case Studies, a useable take home protocol - add these skills to your current practice or for the beginner commencing a new career – your own knowledge & personal development.

Course creator, Sylvia Marina has a unique approach to connecting people with their highest potentials transforming their lives for the better. Learn how to stop the cycle of habit, anger, judgments, self-dislike... Understand your emotions that play a role in relationships and illness. Stop repeating negative behaviours, reconnect to what you really want in life. Heal your hurts, become a better healer.

People attend for personal self- development – no pre-requirements.

Investment is $800 CAD, contact happy@alexiscostello.com to register – Special bonus: readers of SK Magazine will receive their Workbook, Flower Essence and CD, FREE ($75 value)!

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Together We Get Better – ‘Knowlative’

By Alexis Costello

Imagine a world of Kinesiology at your fingertips. A variety of modalities, research and techniques at the click of a button.

This is the idea behind Knowlative, a company based out of Tenerife, Spain.

Brainchild of a group of Italian Specialized Kinesiology practitioners, Knowlative could change the way that we work around the world. The software is created around the core value of sharing information and creating win/win scenarios for all in our industry, improving well-being on a global scale.

Knowlative is an online subscriber-based platform. Specialized Kinesiology protocols and reference material would be uploaded onto the platform by content creators, innovators and authors. The idea is that a percentage of the monthly subscription fees paid by the users of the program would go to those who were uploading useful content.

How much each person is paid would be determined by the amount that their content is being used in practitioner sessions.

As in, there’s no point in uploading junk content in order to try to command a larger share of the profit because it doesn’t work that way! This means that content creators could upload all of their procedures if they like, or a few techniques to show potential students how great attending the class could be. “The idea is not to bypass authors,” says Ludovico Feletto, one of the directors of the project, “we are proposing a cooperative method with a more cooperative structure, changing the game from the current competitive one.” Protocols would be uploaded in English (mandatory), but may also be translated into other languages. Part of the job of the Knowlative team would be to check the protocols and procedures as they are entered for viability, but also to check the English for any translation errors.

This is not only a reference tool however. The idea is that your subscription would also give you a tool to take records for your sessions, allowing you to access your clients’ records in a secure way, online, from anywhere.

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology This would allow the team to collect stats and analyze data. If enough practitioners were recording data in this way, we could end up with numbers that actually have statistical significance over time. As an individual, I might use a particular balancing technique 10 times and find that it is successful, but that doesn’t mean much from within the scientific model. If 100 practitioners each use the technique 10 times however, now we have some serious data to work with!

Individual members would also have a profile page which they could fill with their SK resume as well as a few personal details. This would allow for a member looking for a new technique or creative solution to a kinesiology problem to not only look up a procedure, but to also get a feel for the person who uploaded that procedure; what their level of expertise or experience in this modality is, for example. Members could use these pages to communicate with each other and build relationships, as well as to offer help and fine tune protocols, offering suggestions for what could improve the flow and what might work better. Like a social media platform that has a focus on muscle testing, rather than cat videos. Schools and Associations would be able to set up a profile page as well to help people find them more efficiently.

In order for individuals to sign up with the program, there are a few basic criteria that would need to be met. They would have to already know how to perform a muscle response test properly for one. There will also be a Code of Ethics to sign, detailing how to use the information properly and addressing any concerns about the spread of information to others, as well as notes about selfresponsibility.

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Become an Instructor of Touch for Health or hone your skills in a stunningly beautiful environment, Dominical, Costa Rica

Make the world a better place by becoming an Instructor and sharing the awesomeness with others! Upon completing this workshop you can begin teaching, but many people simply take this class to solidify their knowledge or to qualify under the TFH Consultant Program.

TFH Proficiency: Nov. 24 & 25 2017

TFH Instructor Training Workshop: Nov. 27-Dec.3 www.alexiscostello.com

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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The phrase “star meio’ in the Venetian dialect of Italian means ‘to be better’ and this was the original company name. As Specialized Kinesiologists, yes we wish to make the world around us into a better place, but we also want to be better ourselves, and to find better ways of doing this. Perhaps this is a platform that will allow us to work together in a new and interesting way, taking our collective game up a notch. A prototype with the first stage of the software is scheduled to be released at the IKC (International Kinesiology College) conference in Germany, September 2017.

For more information about this interesting new technology, visit www.knowlative.com

Note: since the writing of this article and interviewing Ludovico, I have joined the Knowlative team. That’s how great an idea I think it is! - AC The need for Knowlative arose in 2011 when Ludovico and Roberto met to discuss a project on recording all data from kinesiology consultations in a way that could improve both the in-consultation workflow and the subsequent interpretation of statistical data. The initial idea of creating a tool that could improve and simplify the professional work of Kinesiology specialists like Marco and Ludovico grew exponentially when it met with the ideas and aspirations of the other members of our Team.

Soon we became aware that there was something inconsistent in proposing a new way of sharing health and knowledge to a competitive commercial organization (as it was normally done before Knowlative). We started to look for a new way of expanding the concepts of knowledge sharing, statistical data analysis and sharing economical revenues in the same project. All this grew and gained new energy, new power, new stability until it became StarMe.io: “Beyond dualism: changing the world of health through sharing and connecting.”

Check out the crowdfunding campaign and make this project a reality!

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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A 2nd Opportunity to Integrate Childhood Reflexes and Overcome Developmental Delays and Learning Difficulties

By Wendy Humphreys-Tebbutt First, a note of thanks to Alexis for inviting me, as a Rhythmic Movement Training International instructor/consultant, to write this article on by childhood reflexes, developmental delays and learning difficulties (L/D), as integrating childhood reflexes is my passion. For the purposes of the article I’ll concentrate on four Primitive reflexes which various studies have shown to be closely connected to learning and attention challenges – the ATNR, STNR, TLR, and Moro Reflexes.

If you would like a hand-out of the research on reflexes, please email me at: info@integratingchildhoodreflexes.com and I will be delighted to send you one. I’ll also have a fuller version of the article on my blog at www.IntegratingChildhoodReflexes.com within a fewdays.

What are the childhood / infant reflexes? And how are they important for learning?

Simply put, a reflex is an automatic, stereotypical reaction to a specific stimulus either a reaction to sensory input or to a change in position. As the word "automatic" implies, this reaction occurs without conscious will or awareness, as it is controlled from the level of the brainstem and spinal cord.

The reflexes are mainly divided into Primitive and Postural reflexes, which have job descriptions and a specific timeline for their emergence, development, and integration. The Primitive reflexes develop in utero or during birth and should be

integrated within the first 6-12 months after birth.

Each reflex has a movement pattern, which the baby practices over and over again until the movement becomes automatic, through myelination of the involved nerve nets. When taken in total, these movement patterns allow us to stand up and move in gravity. The Primitive reflexes are eventually inhibited by the Basal Ganglia and integrated into the Postural reflexes, which remain with us lifelong.

The reflexes are inter-related, in that each reflex helps to turn on the next reflex on the timeline - then that subsequent reflex helps to inhibit the previous reflex. (continued)

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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In other words, Reflex A turns on Reflex B and Reflex B, as it develops, causes Reflex A to go dormant or become inhibited. Reflex B also turns on Reflex C. Preceding the Primitive reflexes, the Intrauterine (Withdrawal) reflexes emerge around 5 weeks in utero, during the embryonic stage of development.

These reflexes include the Smoke and Dive reflexes, as well as the Fear/Paralysis reflex. In the presence of danger, the reflexive response is for the “whole body” to withdraw and/or freeze.

The Postural reflexes, which emerge after birth, are assisted in their development by the Primitive reflexes having laid down the fundamentals of movement. The Postural reflexes may not develop fully if the Primitive reflexes have not developed fully and then become inhibited at the appropriate time.

The Postural reflexes include: - the Righting Reflexes (maintaining an upright position of our head and eyes when we lean in different directions; coordinating a child’s gross motor movement from rolling through creeping / crawling to walking; as well as maintaining eye focus across lines of text) - the Equilibrium Reactions (providing an automatic “protective” response when we fall or lean too far - such as putting a hand out to catch ourselves as we fall) - Grouping Reflexes – (allowing groups of muscles to work together - such as when babies reach out to grasp things in order to put them in their mouth; helping to develop a child’s fine motor control and child’s near vision.)

Transitional (bridging) reflexes are neither present at birth, nor are they lifelong reflexes.

These reflexes assist an infant in making the transition from one stage of development to another – for example, the Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR) assists in preparing the infant to creep / crawl and to develop far vision.

When a reflex ceases to be triggered by its stimulus, it is said to be inhibited, completed, inactive, or dormant.

Integrated reflexes are always available to assist us in times of illness, trauma, or old age and will re-emerge in an attempt to keep us safe. This process is called disinhibition.

Why would Primitive Reflexes fail to integrate?

It is important that the main part of the integration and inhibition of the primitive reflexes happens while the baby is still on the floor. So, the following are possible causes of lack of full integration/ inhibition: - Standing up and walking too early – insufficient “belly time” on the floor - Movement being restricted by baby carriers, car seats, propping devices, sitting in jumpers and baby walkers - Microwaves / Electro Magnetic Fields from cordless / wireless technology - Heavy metal toxicity environmental/vaccines

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology - Stress of mother during pregnancy – breech birth, Caesarean birth, exposure to sonograms - Trauma, illness, injury, chronic stress What happens when reflexes fail to integrate?

A Primitive reflex which fails to become inhibited is said to be retained or locked in the nervous system...as if in a state of limbo...where it is constantly triggered, yet without integrating fully.

Fatigue, muscle tension, weak muscle tone and difficulties finishing tasks are manifestations of retained reflexes. We learn to compensate for these conditions by using continuous conscious effort to perform tasks such as reading and writing...skills which are meant to be done automatically.

Retained Hand-Mouth-Foot reflexes can contribute to challenges with walking, thinking and speaking/expressing thoughts. Drooling, swallowing and TMJ problems can be present, as can manual dexterity challenges.

Bonding can also be an issue when HandMouth reflexes are retained.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 Developmental Movement Patterns and their Relationship to Reflexes & the Senses Primitive reflexes are part of an inner programme which assists the infant in practicing, over and over again, the exact motor movement patterns which allow us to stand up and move in gravity. Movements that are important for a baby to achieve are head control, rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, and walking.

Infant motor development follows a time schedule and includes the following patterns: - Breathing - Mouthing (hand/mouth connectivity & tactile sense) - Navel Radiation (core/distal connectivity) - Spinal Movement (head/tail connectivity) {in Kinesiology: Front/Back Integration*} - Homologous (upper/lower body connectivity) {in Kinesiology: Top/Bottom Integration*} - Homolateral (body half connectivity) {in Kinesiology: Left/Right Integration*} - Contra-lateral (cross-lateral connectivity) { in Kinesiology: walking gait}

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology * denotes each of the 3 planes in the body (Coronal, Transverse and Saggital). Math challenges have been linked to children who do not have these 3 planes well established in their bodies.

(List taken from Movements That Heal by Dr. Harald Blomberg & Moira Dempsey, available on Amazon and Book Depository) It’s important to note that in order for Contralateral movement to occur naturally, all of the other developmental movement patterns must be well established. Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT) activities and balances can fill in any gaps in these developmental movement / reflex patterns.

Brain & Sensory Processing Development Reflexes also develop the infant’s sensory processes and the linking up of the brain...

- from the neural chassis / brainstem (survival area) - through the limbic (emotional area) - to the cerebral hemispheres (CEO of the brain).

At birth, only the brainstem is fully developed; other areas of the brain must be “linked up.”

This is accomplished by the branching out of nerve nets as each new movement pattern is initiated. Then, with each repetition of the new motor movement, the involved nerve net is coated with a fatty substance called myelin.

The more an activity is repeated, the more myelination occurs, and the more automatic the activity becomes.

However, without sufficient movement, the senses may fail to develop fully, leading to inefficient processing and causing challenges with focus, attention, comprehension, reading, writing and even behaviour.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 The Primitive reflexes must complete their developmental programme in order for brain development and postural stability to occur.

If the Primitive reflexes do not integrate, the Postural reflexes may remain underdeveloped, and a child’s level of functioning can be challenged in terms of: - maintaining postural control when standing, sitting or moving - balance - ability to sit still - coordination and motor skills - eye movement control (reading) - hand-eye coordination (writing) - spatial skills - organization - concentration & the ability to focus - emotional stability - impulse control (list taken from RMT for School Readiness by Moira Dempsey) Even when Primitive reflexes have become inhibited, the Postural reflexes may not develop fully. This is more often found in older children who have been able to compensate well enough that they’ve not been identified as having developmental or learning problems until their teens or later.

These students typically experience problems with: - adaptation - applying known concepts (problem solving) - linking - multi-processing - sequencing - coping with large volumes of information

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

- fine motor skills - low energy levels (mimicking depression but which do not respond to medication) - lack of torso flexibility (trunkal integration) - difficulty carrying out complex movement patterns…needing to “think through” each movement sequence and - difficulty adapting to rapid changes in routine (list taken from Reflexes, Learning & Behaviour by Sally Goddard) Reflexes and Learning…

Communication & Academic Skills are dependent on Motor Skills Speech is dependent upon the ability of the larynx, pharynx, tongue and lips to move.

Reading is dependent upon oculo-motor skills.

Writing is dependent upon hand-eye coordination, with support from the postural system.

Research has shown the following 4 Primitive Reflexes have been linked to learning & attention challenges: - (ATNR) Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (linked to poor reading, writing, spelling & math) - (STNR) Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (75% of children with L/Ds had a retained STNR. Also linked to ADHD) - (TLR) Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (linked to L/D) - (MR) Moro Reflex (linked to specific math challenges) These same reflexes also affect different aspects of our vision...tracking, accommodation, convergence, divergence, and fixation.

How would lack of reflex integration affect a child’s ability to learn?

The reflexes assist us in terms of attention / concentration / focus, balance / equilibrium, Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

“The role the primitive reflexes play in allowing the vestibular and other near senses to develop well, and therefore form our sensory understanding of the world around us, cannot be emphasized strongly enough.

The integration of the infant reflexes and the establishment of our life-long postural reflexes are fundamental in providing us with the means to live effectively and resourcefully in the world.

The more opportunities we are given as an infant to learn to master and control our movements the more complete a basis we have as we mature to build upon our understanding and experience of the world. The more resources we have as we grow, the more easily we are able to learn to survive, feel and be safe to mature fully in the world.”

from ‘RMT for School Readiness’ by Moira Dempsey 22

This is your Brain on Kinesiology coordination, learning, muscle tone, postural control when standing and moving,the ability to sit still, impulse control / self-regulation, emotional stability, social skills, and sensory processing…all the skills required for learning and social interaction.

When the STNR, ATNR and TLR are retained, the upper and lower limbs are said to be "tied" to the movement of the head - until those reflexes are integrated (that is, when they become inhibited or go dormant. This causes movement below the level of consciousness, resulting in unconscious confusion in our sensory-motor and nervous systems. This confusion negatively affects our ability to think, read, write and communicate with ease.

Compensation vs.

Integration Retained reflexes have consequences, for which we learn to compensate in the classroom, on the sports field, at work, and in relationships with our family and friends.

These compensations appear to be “normal” to us; yet, as these reflexes are integrated, compensations gently and unconsciously drop away. We feel calmer, more relaxed; and are able to move, think, and learn more easily.

How do we integrate the Primitive and Postural Reflexes?

Reflexes can be integrated…

- by repeating, over and over, the movement pattern associated with a specific reflex (not our usual way in RMTi), - by doing 2-15 minutes of gentle Rhythmic Movements daily, - by adding isometric activities, which can speed up the efficacy of the Rhythmic Movements, and

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 - by adding a few special movement activities - by using games, toys and equipment in specific ways to add variety within the movement programme …in Private sessions, including an assessment & reflex stimulation / inhibition movement programme tailored to the specific needs of the individual client – child or adult.

Sessions are spaced 2-8 weeks apart. Home support requires only 2-15 minutes per day for 6-18 months, depending on the number of reflexes retained.

And, as children begin to feel the benefits of the Rhythmic Movements, they will often ask to receive the movements if their parents have forgotten to do them. The movements can be done passively by the parent or actively by the child, and even while a child is asleep, so compliance is easily achieved. Some results show rapidly (often speech), others take time and repetition of movements for development to occur. …and/or in Rhythmic Movement Training International courses. (www.rhythmicmovement.com) Courses are open to parents, caregivers, educators, kinesiologists, and professionals, such as PTs, OTs, Speech Pathologists, Developmental Optometrists, Chiropractors, Massage Therapists, and is a wonderful adjunct to other modalities.

Rhythmic Movement Training offers us a second opportunity to integrate our Primitive reflexes and to fully develop our Postural reflexes.

We quite simply and naturally blossom, and become more of who we really are. And, as I say to my clients, “Inner calm is nowan option.”

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology So, what is Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT) and how did it develop?

RMTi is a practice dedicated to bringing integration and balance to children and adults with specific learning and behavioural challenges, including ADD/ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, poor Balance/Coordination/Stamina, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Sensory Processing and Developmental Delays.

The practice, begun in the 1970s, evolved from studying the role of the movements and reflex patterns that babies naturally make from conception to walking. Kerstin Linde (the originator), and Dr. Harald Blomberg and Moira Dempsey (the developers) of Rhythmic Movement Training, modified these natural movements to help establish, strengthen or retrain the foundations of posture, CNS maturity, sensory processing, memory, learning, emotions and behaviour.

Parents and specialists who use Rhythmic Movement Training report greatly improved functioning in the following areas: Sensory Processing Focus Mental Health and Emotional Balance Social ability/Self esteem Speech Development Learning, Reading, Math, and Thinking Posture and Stamina Release of Anxiety Motivation

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 Practitioners have said of RMT: Maxine Hoffman, a pediatric Physiotherapist from Ohio, USA says: "RMT is the most valuable thing I've learned in 45 years of doing Physical Therapy. We are getting wonderful results from working with your reflex exercises. I am amazed at the immediate changes in severely involved autistic children.”

Evelyn Gianopoulos, Physiotherapist, Montreal, Canada “Learning RMT has been an invaluable experience. It was easily integrated and complementary to my P.T. practice in the treatment of various conditions, including post-operative, post-traumatic, chronic pain and neurological disorders. RMT has given me a way to support patients that are in survival mode in a safe, gentle, positive and effective way.”

Wendy's original careers were as a harpist (Vancouver Symphony & Opera Orchestras / Edmonton Symphony & Opera Orchestras) and as a solo classical singer working out of Toronto in opera, oratorio, operetta, chamber music and solo recitals.

Wendy is one of the few practitioners who works with and teaches both "movement" based programs and Specialized Kinesiology "muscle monitoring" based programs...most practitioners focus on one or the other. Wendy has trained with the originators of Brain Gym, Rhythmic Movement Training Int'l, LEAP Brain Integration, SIPS Kinesiology, 3-in-1 Concepts, Integrated Healing, Kinergetics: RESET; with neuro-physiologist Carla Hannaford, PhD; and top trainers of Applied Physiology. She has nearly 2500 hours of training and updates/expands her training annually.

Wendy is only the 2nd Rhythmic Movement Training Int'l Instructor in Canada - and the only one West of Sault Ste. Marie! Wendy teaches from Coast to Coast to Coast.

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

Kinesiology and Horses

By Alison Zeidler

Muscle Testing (Specialized Kinesiology) rocks!

Especially when working with animals (and I love working with animals)! Goal setting and emotional clearing allow us to get deeper and clear out so much stress, and are able to give our animal companions a new lease on life. I have two examples: I had been working with Radar over the last couple of months, a beautiful 18 year old registered Paint. A couple of years ago, he had gotten tangled in his lead rope while tethered and injured his right shoulder, and then last year while out for a trail ride, he tripped while running and both he and his rider went down. In our first two appointments, we did mostly bodywork with a bit of emotional clearing, but in our final session we used muscle testing to ask Radar what his priority was.

He still had a fairly choppy movement when walking, showing definite restriction and tightness in his front right leg and shoulder at the beginning of the session.

And while Radar`s shoulder still needed attention, when we asked what his priority was, he wanted bodywork done on his neck and front legs.

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology We then asked about the supplements he’d been getting, as his owner reported he had recently begun looking at his stomach a lot.

Through a series of questions, it seemed that the new bag of alfalfa pellets may have triggered a bit of a sensitivity and Radar wanted off the pellets for 2 ½ weeks. I proposed that we re-check the frequency and amount of the pellets he can have at that time.

We ended with a short ESR (Emotional Stress Release) session relating to the accident(s).

As Radar is such a calm horse, I had one hand on his forehead and one hand on his owner’s forehead, while she held Radar’s poll (between his ears) with one hand and her other hand on her own occipital region. I led them through a visualization of cantering down the same trail, being surefooted with no tripping, and having a lovely safe trail ride.

After asking if there was anything further we needed before we ended the session, we found that Radar had some emotional concerns about the family dog that had passed away approximately 2 years prior.

He had not had the chance to say goodbye to the family dog and it was important to him. I suggested that the owner find a quiet

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 time and energetically connect with both the family dog and Radar together. Sending love to them both would be an easy way to allow Radar the opportunity to say goodbye.

Once we were done, we rechecked his gait and both his right front leg and shoulder moved with much greater ease and fluidity.

We had made a marked difference in his mobility by clearing out emotional stress and listening to what his priorities were!

My other example is a horse named Finesse.

She is an 11 year old Warmblood, 16.2 hands. She is an orphan and was found in her stall with her dead mother when she was only one month old. The loss of her mother has affected her, and she is more bonded to her penmate, Monty, than to her owner, calling and pacing incessantly until he comes back.

She becomes very agitated and unfocused if she is separated from him or if there are other commotions going on at the barn. While she is more focused during groundwork training and does well at liberty (without using a halter), riding is challenging.

Finesse tends to be rushy, prances and tosses her head continually, feels like a freight train and doesn’t respond easily to the riding aids her owner uses., (continued)

This magazine is distributed worldwide to passionate practitioners like you!

Are you are interested in contributing to Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, either as a writer or by submitting an ad?

Contact Alexis for submission details and the media kit!

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 progress in her training, over the last few years they have been working on keeping Finesse`s mind more engaged such as going for walks, doing more groundwork and being exposed to new things. Finesse`s priority in our session was to continue doing more of that, as she wanted to play more versus doing more focused “training”.

Finesse’s second priority in relation to the goal was emotional. This second priority also tied in with her being orphaned. Holding the Emotional Stress Release points on Finesse head, we talked through how afraid and abandoned she must have felt being left alone with her dead mother, clearing out shame, heartache, terror and nervousness.

We then talked through the notion that she was now loved and safe she and didn’t need to be afraid anymore, instilling a sense of confidence and courage.

Her owner is a very experienced rider and trainer, and while extensive training over the last several years has made some differences to her behaviour, it is a slow progression.

Last week, we decided to do a goal balance for both the owner and Finesse, and to ask what Finesse’s own priorities were in relation to that goal. The goal we came up with was: “Finesse and I are deeply and firmly connected; she moves freely and easily with my seat and core”.

We asked Finesse if her priority was physical, mental, emotional or nutritional, in relation to that goal. Her first priority was mental. While her owner is quite driven to perform and

Nothing else seemed to be needed, so we put her back in her pen, and took Monty out for his session. Finesse simply looked at us in a very calm and connected manner, and never once called for Monty in the 30 minutes he was out of sight. The owner was amazed, as was I. Goal setting and emotional clearing allows our muscle testing sessions to have so much more impact, and of course, it’s fun too!

Alison Elemental Holistic Therapies in 2009 in Whitehorse, Yukon, offering services to both people and their animals. Her designations include an IKC assessed Touch for Health® practitioner; a Quantum Touch® practitioner and instructor; a Registered Canadian Reflexology Therapist; and an Advanced Certified Equine Massage Therapist, recently obtaining certificates in Body Management® and Animal Management. For more information, check out her websites. http://www.healingforyourpets.com/ and www.elementalholistictherapies.ca

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

Muscle Profile:

Supraspinatus

By Robert Frost Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling exhausted? If you seem to be dragging yourself through the day, your Supraspinatus muscle function may be a cause. There are probably other causes. A disturbance of the balance of your gut resident bacteria is a suspect, too. But Supraspinatus may be involved. If it is, it’s relatively easy to correct.

Doing so can give you a real boost in energy.

When Supraspinatus tests weak, the subject’s level of vital energy may be low. Because of its vital importance, in the simplified kinesiology system of Touch for Health, Supraspinatus is tested first. If it tests weak, it is strengthened before doing anything else.

Many secondary muscle weaknesses disappear when Supraspinatus is strengthened. Those who use more advanced Applied Kinesiology techniques will test all the muscles they use before proceeding to any corrections. This gives them a better picture of the energy state and dynamics of their subject.

Supraspinatus originates on the inner two thirds of the supraspinatus fossa – the part of the scapula above its “spine” ridge.

Supraspinatus inserts into the lateral surface of the head of the humerus at the level of the shoulder joint. When Supraspinatus contracts, the arm is raised and moved toward the side, up and out (caudal and lateral).

The word Supraspinatus means “above the spine”. The spine referred to here is not the vertebral column but rather the raised edge or “spine” of the shoulder blade (scapula).

Supraspinatus is attached to most of the area above the spine ridge of the shoulder blade.

Supraspinatus is one of the four rotator cuff muscles. The other three are Teres minor, Infraspinatus and the posterior Deltoid. The rotator cuff muscles hold the head of the humerus into the socket of the shoulder blade like guy wires hold up a tent. Supraspinatus can never fully relax or the ball head of the humerus would fall out of the shoulder joint.

Supraspinatus dysfunction can be involved in the common “frozen shoulder” impingement syndrome which involves the pinching of the Supraspinatus tendon between the acromion of the scapula and the head of the humerus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impingement_s yndrome

(continued next page)

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology “In human anatomy, the acromion (from Greek: akros, "highest", ōmos, "shoulder", plural: acromia) is a bony process on the scapula (shoulder blade). Together with the coracoid process it extends laterally over the shoulder joint. The acromion is a continuation of the scapular spine, and hooks over anteriorly. It articulates with the clavicle (collar bone) to form the acromioclavicular joint.” - Acromion. (n.d.). in Wikipedia.

Retrieved September 30, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromion When the arm is elevated, the space between the acromion and the head of the humerus is reduced. Stabilizers have to hold the scapula so the acromion does not pinch the Supraspinatus tendon when the arm is raised.

It is the job of the Serratus anterior, Rhomboid and Trapezius muscles to stabilize the scapula during the Supraspinatus and other muscle tests or activities where the arm is elevated.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 Serratus stabilizes the shoulder blade down to the rib cage and anterior. It’s action rotates the scapula, elevating the acromion.

Middle Trapezius stabilizes the shoulder blade medially.

Lower Trapezius pulls the shoulder blade’s lateral edge downwards (caudal) and medial.

The Supraspinatus tendon passes through the subacromial gap. Anything that narrows that gap can pinch the tendon and lead to impingement syndrome with painful inflammation. Bone spurs and thickening or calcification of the coracoacromial ligament can be a cause. More often, weakness of the rotator cuff muscles allows the humeral head to rise, decreasing the subacromial gap, and pinching the tendon. Lack of adequate activity of the stabilizers of the shoulder blade can fail to elevate the acromion, which also decreases the subacromial gap. These two factors can cause pain, reduction of range of motion and weakness when lifting the arm.

In Applied Kinesiology, Supraspinatus is the only muscle associated with the Central meridian. The Central and Governing meridians lie on the midline of the body. They are not bilateral like the other 12 main meridians. The organ correspondence of the Central meridian is the brain. The organ correspondence of its partner, the Governing meridian is the spinal column. Using the analogy of an automobile, the Central meridian can be compared to the battery and the Governing meridian to the distributor which delivers the spark where and when it is needed. When the battery is low, the car may not start. When the energy of Supraspinatus Photo: Anatomy Study Buddy is low, the life energy of the subject is low Anatomystudybuddy.wordpress.com too.

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

Reflex points for Supraspinatus

Testing Supraspinatus

The anterior neurolymphatic points for Supraspinatus are located in the crease between the shoulder and the chest. The posterior neurolymphatic points for Supraspinatus are located under the base of the occiput. There are three neurovascular points for Supraspinatus. They are located on the frontal eminences of the forehead and upon the anterior fontanelle – the soft spot of a baby’s skull. The Central meridian has no sedation point.

Supraspinatus is easy to test in either standing, sitting or supine posture. The elbow must remain fully straightened during the test.

The arm is moved to the side (laterally) about 15 or 20° and brought slightly forward of the body. The palm is oriented toward the opposite leg. Pressure is applied above the wrist to push the arm down and in toward the opposite leg.

Photo: Touch for Health Complete Edition

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Issue 05, Fall, 2017

Supraspinatus cannot be fully isolated from its deltoid synergists. To make sure that Supraspinatus is contracting and performing the work during the muscle test, you may place your stabilizing hand on the same side as the test so you can feel the activity of the Supraspinatus muscle with your fingertips.

Do you remember the cartoon of Popeye, the sailor man? He ate “super spinach� which made him very strong. Use this metaphor to remember the name, Supraspinatus, and its relation to energy levels.

Supraspinatus is the only muscle associated in AK with the Central meridian and the brain.

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

An SK Story:

Kinesiology Asia

By Brett Scott

On reflection, it seems surreal to be sitting in the beautiful French Alps, writing about teaching Kinesiology in Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, this is where I find myself at the moment, with a team of Kinesiologists and a massage therapist all from Hong Kong. We are here to support runners in the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB).

First, let’s start with a little background on the education team at Kinesiology Asia. The team currently consists of three; Sean Bilkey, Queenie Wong and myself.

Queenie has a background in academic Kinesiology; she completed a four-year degree with Queens University in Canada, and is the pain and movement specialist in the clinic.

She is also the go-to person in the team for anything computer-related, as Sean and myself are slightly older and suffer from mild IT-itis. Queenie plays a crucial role in supporting the education team with much of the behind-the-scenes work. Her role in technical and logistical support is often unseen by students, but her input and contribution is vital and much appreciated.

Queenie also assists with most workshops; not only with background support, but also helping and supervising students as they work through the practical skills they are learning.

Sean has a background in education, coaching and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). He has been teaching for twenty years and across numerous countries, including Korea and Japan. (continued)

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology He moved to Hong Kong in 2006, and it was shortly after that he made some significant life changes and a career move that brought him to Kinesiology. With his experience as an educator, he has made dynamic changes in the way we deliver workshops and courses.

This has lead to a student learning experience that is more interactive, fun and challenging.

More importantly, it has resulted in students coming through courses with greater confidence and competence in their ability to use kinesiology.

I started my Kinesiology journey back in 1998, learning a diverse range of Kinesiology modalities, including Kinergetics, NOT, PKP and LEAP, to name a few. With much appreciated support from Bernard Carson, I started working in a learning centre in Sydney. During this time, I would travel to Bangkok and Tokyo to see clients three times a year.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 With many opportunities and signs leading to Southeast Asia, I decided to move to Hong Kong in 2006, where I have based myself since.

For the first three years in Hong Kong I worked out of a doctor’s clinic, taught Kinergetics, and continued travelling to Bangkok and Tokyo to see clients. I was soon ready to further grow and develop, which saw me open my own centre in Hong Kong.

The growth in clientele boomed around this time and I faced an unusual, but happy, problem. My waiting list had become too long, and my students grew hungrier to learn more. This was a great problem and shaped the next twist in my journey. The time was ripe to expand on the education side, offer more workshops and train practitioners to help Kinesiology grow in this part of the world.

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology Now, Kinesiology Asia has nine dedicated practitioners working from our specialized clinic, as well as a thriving education department that continues to produce high quality kinesiology courses. Our clinic and education space is combined over two floors in the bustling CBD of Central Hong Kong.

There are eight clinic rooms with one floor designed to open up into a designated teaching space. The clinic also has a rooftop for breaks and social events.

In Hong Kong, one of the major challenges is language. Hong Kong is a diverse and multicultural city. We teach in English, and while some of our students are native English speakers, the majority have English as their second language. Some students are locals, yet we have a high number of expats, with students from France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Spain, Poland, South Africa, etc. That said, having such a diverse group of students with different perspectives create an intellectually stimulating environment.

The other major challenge of teaching Kinesiology in Hong Kong is the expectations of students. Hong Kong is a city of great financial wealth and opportunity. Hong Kongers work hard in pursuing financial and career success. Rents are high along with income opportunities, so the majority of students come with high expectations around the level of professionalism with the courses.

While we often miss the more laid back Aussie attitude the high expectations have been a blessing, as they drive us to constantly improve and grow the quality of the courses we deliver.

Our workshops have evolved greatly over the years and we continually tweak our courses, based on student feedback and our own rigorous debriefing.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 We strive to put out the best quality practitioners we can. Our current courses are structured around hands-on workshops, where students are given supervised instruction and coaching on the practical techniques of kinesiology. In addition, preparation tasks are given for every workshop to better prepare students in the theoretical concepts behind what they learn during the workshops. This is followed up with post workshop assessment tasks to gauge how well students are grasping the material and to further consolidate what they are learning. The result is students with a better understanding and competence, as well as a learning experience that is more engaging, effective and a lot fun. Our students undertaking certification are required to do mentoring and supervision to meet, or exceed, Australian/European requirements. Our courses are based primarily around the work of Hugo Tobar, and specifically, his Neuro Energetic Kinesiology series of workshops.

Our students are very fortunate to have Hugo come and teach here once a year. In addition, we also have the honour of bringing out Charles Krebs to teach workshops on occasion. Kinesiology Asia currently runs around 20 workshops per year. The nine Kinesiologists in the clinic have all been trained and developed by Kinesiology Asia, and we are proud of the quality of students coming through the courses in this part of the world. We look forward to continuing our push to develop the best-prepared students in this exciting and pioneering region for Kinesiology. http://kinesiologyasia.com/ (also see ad on page 31)

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

Top 3 Faves: The Brain Edition

By Kate Young, RHN The Brain! Oh what a marvel it is! Twisting highways of fat based tissue with information in the form of electrical signals racing along them at more than 100 m/second. In SK we think of the brain as a bio-computer. The master at the helm of the whole ship, it sends out commands, expecting them to be carried out with the utmost precision, and it accepts collections of data about what is happening in other parts of the vessel or the environment around it. Since the brain is central to our entire physical being operating appropriately, it only makes sense that we need to take care of it. Lifestyle-wise, we can exercise it by completing puzzles or brain games, reading and writing, learning etc. We can let it rest and reset by meditating or staring blankly at a pointless movie. We can tune it up electrically by having a touch for health, SIPS or other SK session. We also need to ensure it receives the proper nutrients it needs to function. We always take care of all pillars of health, body/mind/spirit/energy. So, for the ‘body’ or physical part of the pillar, let’s take a look at my top 3 favourite nutrients for brain health!

Omega 3 EFAs Remember when I said the brain was made of twisting highways of fat based tissue? Well it really is. It is a jelly-like organ (the largest inside the body) made up mostly of fat, protein and water.

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology So to keep the integrity of the very structure of the brain, we need the basic building blocks; the bricks and mortar, if you will.

Eating lots of healthy fats like olives, coconut, nuts, seeds and their oils as well as avocado and butter or ghee, help to keep the brain clipping along, but some specifically important fats are Omega 3 fats. Omega 3s are essential fatty acids necessary for proper brain function and form. The 2 most necessary are called EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA(docosahexaenoic acid). EPA combats inflammation in the body and within the brain while DHA makes up a lot of the structure and increases cellular membrane fluidity allowing nutrients to flow more freely into and toxins to be transported more rapidly out of brain cells. DHA is an excellent support nutrient for ADD-like issues, learning and pregnancy wherein a baby is growing it’s own jelly-like organ in it’s head! Low levels of DHA are found to increase memory loss, depression, mood swings, Alzheimer’s and dementia.

These 2 fatty acids are ‘essential’ as they cannot be manufactured within our own body systems. We must consume them in our diet and are most readily available in cold water fish. Salmon, tuna, halibut, cod, mackerel, anchovy, sardine, and herring are all very excellent sources. Try to get these in your diet a minimum of 3 times a week. If you’re not a fish fan, you can always go for a fish oil supplement in the form of a soft gel or a yummy tasting liquid. If you just can’t fathom eating fish, are vegan or are allergic, you can incorporate a blue-green algae like spirulina or chlorella into your diet and there are also algae oils on the market that will contain those prized EPA and DHA fats.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

“In SIPS we can actually test for overall hydration and organ hydration, including the brain.”

Protein Staying on the basics path, protein was one of the other major components making up brain tissue. Just like we may need to replace old wiring in our homes so it does not burn down and our lights all turn on correctly, we need to replace the nutrients that wire our brains! Protein not only helps form the brain but also aids in the sending of nerve impulses, or information, along neural pathways.

Proteins breakdown into amino acids and these amino acids are major components in the make-up of neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that allow brain cells, or neurons, to communicate with one another and control everything from our ability to focus, concentrate and remember as well as the regulation of mood, cravings, addictions and sleep. You can see how important keeping these in balance is!

Protein is not hard to find if you are an omnivore….beef, pork, poultry, lamb, fish, eggs, dairy. Just please ensure that your animal foods are happy – grass fed, free range, humanely treated, antibiotic and hormone free, wild caught, raw and traditionally fermented – whatever term fits the food you are consuming.

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You can actually obtain some omega 3 from properly raised cattle! If you’re vegetarian or vegan you will need to be a little more vigilant in your protein planning. Most plant sources of protein do not contain all of the amino acids so it’s best to combine lots of different sources within a meal and a day to ensure you are consuming the whole spectrum. Beans and grains, like amaranth, millet and rice, are the traditional sources of vegetarian protein. Hemp and chia, nuts and other seeds like pumpkin or sunflower, and pseudo-grains, which are actually seeds, like quinoa and buckwheat are also great sources of protein. All vegetables and fruit also contain some protein but usually in small quantities. Those bluegreen algaes mentioned above are another good source of vegetarian protein.

Water The brain is a thirsty, thirsty organ. Water is one of the other main players in brain make-up and function. Did you know it only takes 2% dehydration to start affecting your cognitive skills like memory and attention? It’s estimated that 75% of the US population is dehydrated and some researchers are suggesting chronic, long-term brain dehydration may be a factor in dementia. Water loss can actually shrink your brain tissue, so back to the bricks and mortar analogy: if we are not replacing the very basic building blocks that compose the tissues of the brain, we are going to have loss in structural integrity and loss in physiological functionality. Water also helps us detox ours cells and carry nutrients to them more easily by flushing out detox systems (ie. lymph, skin, intestinal tract) and keeping all endogenous fluids moving freely (ie. lymph, blood, interstitial fluid).

Keeping toxins out of brain cells and nutrients flowing into them is extremely important for optimal long-term cognitive health!

The best way to figure out how much water you need in a day is to divide your weight in half and drink that much in oz (convert to ml or cups for those of us using metric).

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

Photo from Wikipedia: Secondary protein structure

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology This approach tailors water consumption to you personally. If you are an exercise freak, work very physically, are ill or spend time in hot environments, you will need to increase water intake. You will know you are drinking enough water if you notice your urine is a nice light yellow colour. If it is very dark and concentrated, there’s a great chance you are dehydrated. Fresh and clean water is best for all. Filtered water is best for those of us living in cities where our water is treated with chlorine and fluoride. If you live rurally and know you have excellent water quality without much treatment then you would benefit from the natural mineral content found in your tap or well water. In SIPS we can actually test for overall hydration and organ hydration, including brain, so visiting your nearest SIPS practitioner can help determine if you are lacking water.

Issue 05, Fall, 2017 So, there are 3 amazing nutrients for your brain! Not too complicated are they? Of course there are many other nutrients that can also help in cognitive function or in specific brain issues. B vitamins, magnesium, gingko biloba, phosopholipids, grape seed extract‌I could go on. If you are having memory, attention, thinking, or learning stress then try the 3 nutrients above. If you feel you still need further support, visit one of your friendly neighbourhood nutritionists or specialized kinesiologists to find out where else you can add in support and which nutrients may be the right fit for you!

Kate lives in Kelowna, BC

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Classifieds: Class listings online for each National Association, Conferences, Products and More Class listings for individual countries Australia: http://www.kinesiology.org.au/page1712619 Canada: http://canask.org/class-listings-2/

Upcoming SIPS classes There are classes coming up in Canada, the US and Europe – visit the website to find courses near you.

Denmark: http://kinesiologiuddannelse.dk/kursuskalender/

www.sipskinesiology.com

Guatemala:http://formacionholistica.com/kinesio logia

TFHKA 2018 Conference: July 11-14, Malibu, CA

Ireland: http:// http://www.kai.ie/kinesiologytraining-in-ireland

Kinesiology Federation (UK) AGM and One-Day Conference: April 14, 2018

UK: http://www.kinesiologyfederation.co.uk/training /course-diary-search.php

IASK Meeting of Associations, hosted by KF: April 12 & 13, 2018

USA: http://touchforhealth.us/classes/classes-bystate/ http://energyk.org/training-events/

This section is a work in progress!

If you are a kinesiology association and would like to have your events (conferences, demo days, etc) mentioned, please email us. There are far too many classes internationally for us to list them all, but please send a link to the page on your website that shows upcoming classes and we will add it here.

If you would like to advertise your conference, presentation or post-conference workshop, please contact us for details.

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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Because health should be fun!

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

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This is your Brain on Kinesiology

Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, www.gemskinesiology.com

Issue 05, Fall, 2017

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