The Studio
A young girl innocently practices dancing while elders observe. Will her life embrace the grace and happiness she imagines? With age will her body remain supple? Her brain alert?
It’s a no-brainer
Since my retirement I have been engaged in new exercise classes and am enthralled. At the top of my list is Nia, a program that combines Martha Graham type modern dance with Tai Chi, Tai Kwan Do and mindfulness. Nia’s website claims that “it is a movement and well being program that connects body, mind, emotions and spirit by paying attention to sensation.” To get a better idea of this eclectic study, imagine yourself as a child, twirling gracefully with head thrown back to the falling leaves when a danger suddenly approaches. You stop, look around, tightening your body and prepare to run. Nia alternates a graceful flow that feels like you are moving in a bowl of jello with precision, balance, and speed. There is no room for a wandering mind as you move in preparation for the unexpected. As Mark Morris of the Mark Morris Dance Group says,
“ movement is like having a sixth sense, one that helps you understand your position in space.”
As a child I was clumsy and my mother was concerned because I tripped while walking so she enrolled me in dance classes. However, falling at a young age was not a worrisome condition since my body was close to the ground. Now that I am older, a fall could be quite serious, so coordination and balance are skills that I am inviting back into my life. But best of all, with this exercise regime I feel more spirited.
I started to wonder why I have the sensation of being more alert, and decided to do a bit of research about the influence of movement on the brain. What I discovered is that as I practice, signals are being sent from my motor cortex through 20 million nerve fibers in my spinal cord to my legs and arms, enabling me to go through my day with greater ease. A constant internal conversation is taking place between my muscles and my brain. Every small step or blink of the eyelid gives proof that the highway between between these two parts of my body are actively engaged. The brain directs our bodies much like an orchestra leader, telling it where and how to turn, tap, or flow through space. Resulting movement has the effect of improving mood and concentration.
The Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) refutes the popular view of aging as one of decline and decay. They say that “the brain remains flexible and adaptable across the lifespan.” Since most neuroscientists now claim that the brain can continue to expand its neural network, rather than sit lazily at home, we are advised to take on new challenges throughout life. “Change your job, try a new hobby, vary your exercise routine and socialize with others,” is the advice given for building new synapses.
My daily program also focuses on mindfulness, which according to Harvard neuroscientists can change brain structures after only eight weeks of practice. Their research suggest integrating mindful intention into all daily activities including walking, eating, sitting, making the bed, etc. The Harvard study revolved around 45 minutes of exercises that included yoga, sitting mediation and some sort of mindful movement. As a result, practitioners gained a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation along with cognition and psychological benefits that lasted throughout the day. MRI scans confirmed that mindfulness increased gray matter in the areas of the brain involved in learning, memory, emotion regulation, sense of self, and perspective-taking (the ability to take the perspectives of others).
I had been fearful of retirement, imagining that without work I would start to wither. Instead, the opposite is happening and I have a sense that my mind and body are burgeoning. My participation in movement and mindfulness classes has led me to feel, energetic and happy to engage in new ventures.
It would be fun the hear what you are doing to keep your brain developing.
Click the URL at the bottom of this page and respond on the Blog site.
References:
http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/movement/- discussion of movement and dancing and the brain.
Society for Neoroscience- reviewed May 2014 – Dancing and the Brain.
http://www.ascd.org/about-ascd.aspx – Curriculum development for mind-body links
https://nianow.com/practice – Information about Nia.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12793/how-meditation-changes-your-brain-a-neuroscientist-explains.html – Harvard study about mindful meditation.
http://www.cam-can.org – Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience – Recent research on aging.
http://learn.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html – Information about the brain from an exhibit at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute.
Home » Blog » It’s a no-brainer – Secrets of a Museum Junkie
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A young girl innocently practices dancing while elders observe. Will her life embrace the grace and happiness she imagines? With age will her body remain supple? Her brain alert?
It’s a no-brainer
Since my retirement I have been engaged in new exercise classes and am enthralled. At the top of my list is Nia, a program that combines Martha Graham type modern dance with Tai Chi, Tai Kwan Do and mindfulness. Nia’s website claims that “it is a movement and well being program that connects body, mind, emotions and spirit by paying attention to sensation.” To get a better idea of this eclectic study, imagine yourself as a child, twirling gracefully with head thrown back to the falling leaves when a danger suddenly approaches. You stop, look around, tightening your body and prepare to run. Nia alternates a graceful flow that feels like you are moving in a bowl of jello with precision, balance, and speed. There is no room for a wandering mind as you move in preparation for the unexpected. As Mark Morris of the Mark Morris Dance Group says,
“ movement is like having a sixth sense, one that helps you understand your position in space.”
As a child I was clumsy and my mother was concerned because I tripped while walking so she enrolled me in dance classes. However, falling at a young age was not a worrisome condition since my body was close to the ground. Now that I am older, a fall could be quite serious, so coordination and balance are skills that I am inviting back into my life. But best of all, with this exercise regime I feel more spirited.
I started to wonder why I have the sensation of being more alert, and decided to do a bit of research about the influence of movement on the brain. What I discovered is that as I practice, signals are being sent from my motor cortex through 20 million nerve fibers in my spinal cord to my legs and arms, enabling me to go through my day with greater ease. A constant internal conversation is taking place between my muscles and my brain. Every small step or blink of the eyelid gives proof that the highway between between these two parts of my body are actively engaged. The brain directs our bodies much like an orchestra leader, telling it where and how to turn, tap, or flow through space. Resulting movement has the effect of improving mood and concentration.
The Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) refutes the popular view of aging as one of decline and decay. They say that “the brain remains flexible and adaptable across the lifespan.” Since most neuroscientists now claim that the brain can continue to expand its neural network, rather than sit lazily at home, we are advised to take on new challenges throughout life. “Change your job, try a new hobby, vary your exercise routine and socialize with others,” is the advice given for building new synapses.
My daily program also focuses on mindfulness, which according to Harvard neuroscientists can change brain structures after only eight weeks of practice. Their research suggest integrating mindful intention into all daily activities including walking, eating, sitting, making the bed, etc. The Harvard study revolved around 45 minutes of exercises that included yoga, sitting mediation and some sort of mindful movement. As a result, practitioners gained a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation along with cognition and psychological benefits that lasted throughout the day. MRI scans confirmed that mindfulness increased gray matter in the areas of the brain involved in learning, memory, emotion regulation, sense of self, and perspective-taking (the ability to take the perspectives of others).
I had been fearful of retirement, imagining that without work I would start to wither. Instead, the opposite is happening and I have a sense that my mind and body are burgeoning. My participation in movement and mindfulness classes has led me to feel, energetic and happy to engage in new ventures.
It would be fun the hear what you are doing to keep your brain developing.
Click the URL at the bottom of this page and respond on the Blog site.
References:
http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/movement/- discussion of movement and dancing and the brain.
Society for Neoroscience- reviewed May 2014 – Dancing and the Brain.
http://www.ascd.org/about-ascd.aspx – Curriculum development for mind-body links
https://nianow.com/practice – Information about Nia.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12793/how-meditation-changes-your-brain-a-neuroscientist-explains.html – Harvard study about mindful meditation.
http://www.cam-can.org – Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience – Recent research on aging.
http://learn.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html – Information about the brain from an exhibit at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute.
Table of Contents