What does a new model of

What does a new model of learning about wellness tools look like?

By Michelle Greenwell and CanBeWell

At the last Knowlative Gathering we were talking about Diversity and how our approach to education has been in one model with textbook and delivery. We explored some of the aspects of learning that we might not realize are needed, like our approach with someone who is deaf, hard of hearing or blind. We also talked about what kind of students we might have and how they may learn best. This is an eye-opener when you are evaluating a course or a delivery method from a different vantage point. At CanBeWell we have been looking at some of these ideas in our Presentation Committee and the programs we have been developing in our advocacy work to reach out to the public and those people who need our tools right now! ! We need them accessible, easy, and affordable. If you are honest with the programs that you offer, are they accessible to all types of learners and people with challenges? Are they in an easy-to-follow format that can be used by anyone? And are they accessible to those who might not have the means to pay for a full instructional course? For client sessions, how are you reaching those people who cannot afford your services? These are the questions we asked of our organization and our members activities. The Presentation Committee for CanBeWell determined that we needed a FREE program for the

public that would engage them with our tools. This would provide a mini-workshop opportunity for facilitators to offer in their community for relatively minimal cost. That is how “BioEnergetic Essentials” was born, authored by Michelle Greenwell, Natascha Polomski, Paula Nowak Droog and Tanya Levy. It is available for FREE on canbewell.org as well as our Partner organizations and our Affiliate organizations. We do have hard copy versions of the book that provide a distributors price to those who would like to offer the book to clients, students, and colleagues as workbooks or supplemental materials. This was a way to get started, but still not enough. Paula, Tanya and Michelle wondered how a game could be produced that could be used by parents, educators, counsellors, coaches etc. to create an interactive approach with the materials. This took the information out of the textbooks and created a series of formulas for self-care that could be used daily and could be played as a game. There were games on the market already, and the Presentation Committee highlighted them in their Youth Self-Care Awareness Month for August with newsletter articles, blogposts for the public, social media posts, and webinars. They also created a deck of their own with what they felt were key for people. “It’s in the Cards” was born. Taking the knowledge from Touch for Health®, Brain Gym®, and Therapeutic Touch® that was simple, profound, and impactful, they wove the theme of the cards into the 5 Element Theory. This approach was first explored by Michelle Greenwell as she was creating dance programs for her students with the 5 Element Theory with Color and Sound, and then her combination adding in the Choose Love Formula for Social and Emotional Learning with Compassion in Action, Gratitude, Forgiveness and Courage. First created in Foot mats to stand on and dance around, the card deck took the concept into a full program approach. The deck is comprised of 7 Sets of 5 Element programs. They include: Sounds, Colors, Actions, Transforming Emotions, Animals and Movement (Tai Chi based), and Neurovascular Holding Points as Individual activities. They are further expanded with Nature and Movement (Yoga based), Action and Emotions (Pace and TFH), Foot Sensors for NeuroReflex Integration, Neurovascular Holding Points in patterns, Sign Language with the Choose Love Formula, Senses Cards (Brain Gym and TFH) including Switches, Visual Inhibition, Auditory Inhibition, Vagus Nerve, Havening, and the Energy Ball. Compass Cards develop Awareness, Intuition, Intention, Goal Setting and Creating Community to engage the Innate Healing Potential. This gentle flow leads to Biofeedback that supports engagement towards Muscle Monitoring for those interested in learning more. Lastly, there are 9 Formula cards that play with the cards in different patterns to produce specific energy flow for outcomes like: Focus, Happiness, Calming, Confidence, Power, Coordination, Energy for the Day, and Awareness. Lastly, the 5 Element Wheel is explored as a Nurturing Cycle and a Stabilizing Cycle to help with understanding the theory and its power with all the cards in specific orders. This includes using the Sign Language patterns for the Choose Love Formula to transform emotions and stress.

To ensure that educators and parents would have a way to engage with the cards in a learning environment, there are games that

can be played like Memory and Charades. As well, the sky is the limit for the imaginative process that can evolve for when and how the cards need to be used. This approach has been used by Michelle with her dancers to create warmups and tools for injuries or movement limitations. She also works with clients who are wheelchair bound with minimal movement and verbal language abilities. These cards have transformed the way she can engage with them, and their level of independence and engagement in community. She also has students in Touch for Health who have trouble remembering the protocols for balances and understanding how the concepts really work. She has found the cards to be a great way to engage them with the concepts and to explore how they can be used daily with ease. For her senior students (some in their 80’s and 90’s), they feel more confident in using the cards than the textbook.

The cards were printed on special paper that is tear-resistant and waterproof. This makes it easy to put into hands that have challenges holding cards, or putting them on the floor, on the table, in centers for learning modules etc. Tanya Levy’s background is in Counselling and Social Work. Trained in Touch for Health and Therapeutic Touch, she weaves the concepts through her approach with clients and students. Paula Nowak Droog is an educator with over three decades in the education sector. She understands the importance of tools that are simple and easy for teachers to use, and which can be used as centers for students to gather at and explore the concepts on the cards. Michelle Greenwell’s background is in movement. She links her passion for dance and Tai Chi with her Integrative Health tools to produce wellness programs through movement. Together their insights and experience have provided varying approaches for using the cards. Here is an example of the 5 Element Theory with the Neurovascular points. Using the knowledge from Touch for Health and Eden Energy Method, these tools can be used in a wheel, as one of, or with other tools. Have fun playing. Cards on the next page!

“Lightly place fingertips on head over the points that are indicated in red on the NV holding point cards. Lightly hold each point breathing deeply as you do. You will notice a shift in the breath, a softening of the muscles, a calming of the mind as you go through either cycle, or through both the Nurturing (Shen) cycle and then the Stabilizing (Ko) cycle. (We used “stabilizing”, rather than “creation/destruction” to be more inclusive of educators and families).

Perhaps you would like to use a Formula Card. Here is an example: Participants can pull out the 5 Element Foot Sensor Cards, the Neurovascular Holding Points Cards, the Emotion Transformation Cards, and the Breathing Card. Together they can be one set of activities to create flow and balance towards feeling confident and supported with goals and intentions (which are cards that can be added too). Wellness is our profession. Providing very powerful tools in biofeedback (including muscle monitoring), goal setting and energy action is what sets us apart from other health professions. Exploring new approaches to learning and engagement will see us as a daily part of everyone’s lives – a dream envisioned by Dr. John Thie with his creation of the Touch for Health® program.

Michelle Greenwell, co-author of “BioEnergetic Essentials” and co-creator of “It’s in the Cards” has been exploring learning opportunities in Integrative Health practices through an Arts Education grant and a Wellness Grant for Marginalized Communities. Unable to work in her community as a dance educator since the start of Covid, she has redirected her energy into program development. She has partnered with the Choose Love Movement to bring the BioEnergetic Wellness tools to educators in a way that makes them useable daily, and in a classroom setting. She has many resources to support programing.