Most people associate brain gym with kids and helping overcome learning challenges. However because of my background in Occupational therapy and craniosacral therapy, I have also used it extensively to reorganize posture, and coordination to help people be more efficient with their movement.
Often this has the added benefit of decreased pain.
Especially pain that is chronic and has not been helped by other more conventional modalities like physical therapy and acupuncture.
My first experience of relief and healing for my chronic back pain happened when I was part of the brain gym teacher certification process.
I used to have chronic tightness on my right lower back which was always present in my body as a low dull ache.
I used to do yoga, get massage, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy to address it but after the session it would feel better for about 15-20 minutes, but would come back as soon as I started moving around, walking, sitting, and driving.
I had resigned myself to the fact that my body was just going to be like this. I figured I was just going to have to keep getting massage, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy for the rest of my life to keep the discomfort at bay.
When I was in a class called “in-depth:7 Dimensions of Learning”, my teacher noticed the asymmetry in my back.
He said, “You have the ATNR(asymmetrical tonic neck reflex) active in your body”.
I scoffed and said, “No way! That reflex goes away when you’re a baby. It’s not active in me.”
But he told me that reflexes can be unintegrated in our bodies beyond the designated time and cause imbalances that can cause chronic pain types of issues.
Also, because these reflexes are part of normal development, there will be no test to detect it because it is something that is inherent in all of us and is supposed to be there.
I agreed to have him check my body for the presence of this reflex.
In one of the checks he checked my leg length while my head was straight and then also when I turned my head side to side and sure enough, my leg length changed as I moved my head which is one of the indications that this reflex is active in my body.
Then he lead me through a full balance procedure where he did additional brain gym processes to balance my brain and body system.
He did the checks again and my leg length did not change.
When I stood up afterwards, I felt like I was standing crooked, leaning way over to the left, but when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my body was standing straight up.
This mismatch in my feeling sense of my body and my visual sense of my body was shocking.
This meant that on an unconscious level, I was always pulling away from my tight right side in order to walk and stand up and it was causing the aching and tiredness in my lower back.
When that internal pull which was coming from my brain was gone, I was able to stand straight without needing to pull against my tight side.
After that session, the long term, low-grade ache in my back disappeared and has never come back.
In fact, with each successive balance procedure, my body has only continued to become more and more balanced.
This was the first time I witnessed how the brain can have an impact on chronic pain.
How would you feel if you can resolve some of your most persistent pain and discomfort in one or a handful of sessions??
Here are some signs that you may have some reflexes or movement imbalances that may be impacting your body and possibly causing chronic pain:
-Chronic Pain that comes back no matter what you do to address it, whether it be tight neck, shoulders, back, knees, ankles, etc.
-A difference in the tightness of your muscles between the left and right sides of your body
-A feeling like your body does what it wants to do regardless of how you consciously want to move(this shows up particularly in sports or dancing)
-Certain sensations seemingly affect you more than it affects other people, such as loud noise, bright lights, smells, other people touching you, routines being disrupted, fear of heights, etc.
-It is easier to balance on one leg more than the other
-your shoes wear unevenly
If you recognize any of these signs and are experiencing chronic pain, you may be able to gain relief from these.
Call today for a free consultation or to set up an appointment.
301-523-3477
Often this has the added benefit of decreased pain.
Especially pain that is chronic and has not been helped by other more conventional modalities like physical therapy and acupuncture.
My first experience of relief and healing for my chronic back pain happened when I was part of the brain gym teacher certification process.
I used to have chronic tightness on my right lower back which was always present in my body as a low dull ache.
I used to do yoga, get massage, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy to address it but after the session it would feel better for about 15-20 minutes, but would come back as soon as I started moving around, walking, sitting, and driving.
I had resigned myself to the fact that my body was just going to be like this. I figured I was just going to have to keep getting massage, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy for the rest of my life to keep the discomfort at bay.
When I was in a class called “in-depth:7 Dimensions of Learning”, my teacher noticed the asymmetry in my back.
He said, “You have the ATNR(asymmetrical tonic neck reflex) active in your body”.
I scoffed and said, “No way! That reflex goes away when you’re a baby. It’s not active in me.”
But he told me that reflexes can be unintegrated in our bodies beyond the designated time and cause imbalances that can cause chronic pain types of issues.
Also, because these reflexes are part of normal development, there will be no test to detect it because it is something that is inherent in all of us and is supposed to be there.
I agreed to have him check my body for the presence of this reflex.
In one of the checks he checked my leg length while my head was straight and then also when I turned my head side to side and sure enough, my leg length changed as I moved my head which is one of the indications that this reflex is active in my body.
Then he lead me through a full balance procedure where he did additional brain gym processes to balance my brain and body system.
He did the checks again and my leg length did not change.
When I stood up afterwards, I felt like I was standing crooked, leaning way over to the left, but when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my body was standing straight up.
This mismatch in my feeling sense of my body and my visual sense of my body was shocking.
This meant that on an unconscious level, I was always pulling away from my tight right side in order to walk and stand up and it was causing the aching and tiredness in my lower back.
When that internal pull which was coming from my brain was gone, I was able to stand straight without needing to pull against my tight side.
After that session, the long term, low-grade ache in my back disappeared and has never come back.
In fact, with each successive balance procedure, my body has only continued to become more and more balanced.
This was the first time I witnessed how the brain can have an impact on chronic pain.
How would you feel if you can resolve some of your most persistent pain and discomfort in one or a handful of sessions??
Here are some signs that you may have some reflexes or movement imbalances that may be impacting your body and possibly causing chronic pain:
-Chronic Pain that comes back no matter what you do to address it, whether it be tight neck, shoulders, back, knees, ankles, etc.
-A difference in the tightness of your muscles between the left and right sides of your body
-A feeling like your body does what it wants to do regardless of how you consciously want to move(this shows up particularly in sports or dancing)
-Certain sensations seemingly affect you more than it affects other people, such as loud noise, bright lights, smells, other people touching you, routines being disrupted, fear of heights, etc.
-It is easier to balance on one leg more than the other
-your shoes wear unevenly
If you recognize any of these signs and are experiencing chronic pain, you may be able to gain relief from these.
Call today for a free consultation or to set up an appointment.
301-523-3477
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