Articles

Dance for Joy
Growing the connection Between Body-Mind and Neuroscience
on
the Journey to Inner Wholeness

Flying like a winged acrobat, spinning through space, doing back flips, and
soaring through treetops, slipping through narrow passageways, to spiral up through the air
and down, even  through deep water to the ocean floor, and back again to hovering above– myself.
Asleep, deep in the dream of possibility.
It was an expanded idea of what may be possible, that led some inspired and curious scientists, starting as far back as the 1960s, and only recently recognized, to experiment with the seeming limitations of the brain’s adaptability and potential.

Today I want to talk specifically about
HOW We as Somatic Movement  Therapists can effect positive neuroplastic growth  and restoration of neural pathways in the brain and heal the body.

To answer that question I am going to share with you some of the most recent research I’ve come across, on just how plastic, or adaptable our brains,  nervous systems and bodies really are.

The general consensus among neuroscientists, prior to this work, was that the brain had no real plasticity, that is, no real ability to significantly regrow new neural pathways once they had been damaged by stroke or injury. Or, that one part of the brain, specifically used for a particular function, say for example, moving the fingers of the left hand, had any interest at all in auditioning for a new part, say, moving the toes on the left foot, if the left foot neurons were not functioning.
The cortex, or surface area of the brain, is actually mapped out into different sections that correspond to every area of the body. Each part of the body has a little space devoted to it, although the areas aren’t always lined up next to each other the way the foot is next to the ankle, the ankle to the shin,  as it is on the physical body, but rather, they are spatially grouped together according to the events that happen together. If they fire together, they tend to wire together.

Thanks to people like Dr. Daniel Ammen, who wrote about  the use of a nuclear medicine brain mapping device called  SPECT imaging, in his book “Change your Brain, Change your Life”, and Paul Bach-y-Rita, who created a device that taught the brain of a woman with damaged vestibular function or balance, to read the external signals of where she was in space, through receptors on her tongue. Dr. Norman Doidge, in his recent book “The Brain that Changes Itself”, covers a lot of current information on neuroplasticity, some of which I‘m going to share with you.
And  some of you are probably familiar with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, and her book “My Stroke of Insight”. She is a neuroanatomist who had a severe left hemisphere stroke, and was able because of it, to experience firsthand the loss and then subsequent regaining of specific areas of function in her brain, even those related to personality and perception of reality. There has been so much research done in recent years  on the brain, that a growing body of evidence is now  available to people like you and me for our use and inspiration. The potential for using somatic movement as an effective tool to create customized improvements in our ability to think and move is what inspired me to write this.

There is one other very important source for my information on this topic, and that is a neuroscientist and Tai Chi master I found in Colorado, named Susan A. Mathews.
What I find exciting about her work, is the marriage of ancient eastern practices of movement that do exactly what I’m describing, and her scientific  explanation what is going on. If you’re like me, my curious western mind loves to have things explained in concrete terms, and helps me to clarify for others what might have been previously dismissed as wuwu. Coming from Santa Barbara CA, I have a particular interest in having this scientific information to refer people to.

Here are Some of the more pertinent points I came across in this study;

One of the world’s leading researchers on brain neuroplasticity, Michael Merzenich, showed in his work that the brain is remarkably more adaptive and efficient than ever realized. He discovered that the size and shape of the brain maps mentioned earlier that correspond to parts of the body, varies considerably according to how frequently they’re exercised in particular functions.. So the Use it or Lose it adage for skills, starts here.

Dr. Bruce Perry, a specialist in treating trauma in children, has discovered that repetitive movement, usually involving calming music, can lull the part of the brain  responsible for our fight, flight or freeze reactions to threat, called the limbic brain, into a sense of peace and safety, allowing the higher functions of the frontal  lobes to process the therapeutic issues at hand more consciously. As a result, some therapists are using this kind of movement in groups for children before cognitive, or talk therapy sessions.

My movement forms of choice are somatic forms of dance and movement such as qi gong Tai Chi  and Tantric dance. Though  many sports activities also do a very good job, these other forms, as long as one is putting attention on the movement are very effective. I favor these because the result is movement that engenders deep presence, which adds an even deeper level of healing. I’ll talk more about the importance of attention in a minute.

The limbic or primitive brain area, so named because it has to do with basic survival, was discovered as far back as 1950, by Dr. Robert Heath in his  experiments, to be heavily involved in the processing of emotion and the pleasure centers, called the mesolimbic dopamine system. Later experiments showed that the brain learns more easily and quickly when this positive emotion center is stimulated.

Apparently the brain chemical dopamine, can play an important part in stimulating plastic growth of the brain map associated with the activity that produced it.  It’s a positive feedback cycle. A pleasurable experience will produce more dopamine, which makes one want to do more of the activity, which produces more dopamine, etc…And studies are also showing that endorphins are  required to create a lasting sense of contentment, and both of these  are  produced during forms of pleasurable exercise, including somatic movement and dance. So, the combination of the activity, focused attention and a positive emotional state, the pleasure in the movement itself, creates a sharper more efficient brain and body.

The Amygdala , also part of the limbic brain, is the center of emotions such as fear, distress, anger and anxiety, has been quantifiably shown to decrease activity on MRI tests with focused intention for peace, happiness, non suffering, etc Also contemplating unlimited non referential compassion for all beings. So, sending peace, brings peace….

Pascual-Leone  another famous scientist, showed that as well as external stimuli, self-generated stimuli, such as conscious thoughts and meditation, can alter the actual brain, its neurocircuitry and chemical balance, for the better. He also found that the greater use of a certain muscle, the greater the amount of cortical real estate will be devoted to it. And he discovered that by simply  visualizing the same activity, the same expansion occurred for that part of the cortex. That to me has some interesting potential implications for people that are handicapped, or have limitation in their movement.

Neurophysically Rehabilitating Stroke and Brain Damage
Stroke is the country’s leading form of disability. Learning not to use an affected limb has been discovered to be one of the reasons stroke victims don’t regain use. Protocols that teach the brain to reassign a different region to learning how to use the affected limb through  “constraint induced movement” have been shown to be very effective. Even those who had lost the use of their limb more than a year prior to this work. They were significantly improved in only 10 days, by constraining the healthy limb and repeatedly attempting to use the damaged limb.(Train your mind, Change your Brain, pp121-126)

In her book, “My Stroke of Insight” Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor says  that “at the core of my right hemisphere consciousness is a character that is directly connected to my feeling  of deep inner peace, love, joy, and compassion in the world.”
The goal here being; Honoring each hemisphere’s identity and characteristics so we can be more conscious of how we relate to our world.
According to Dr. Bolte’s findings, we have a sense of ourselves as totally connected to the whole, and not separate beings when we are functioning purely from our right hemisphere. Finding the balance, rather than spending all our time in left brain  dominant state is the key. The right brain is the half that responds from emotion rather than logic, it is the heart rather than head response. According to Jill it is also the seat of instinctual, intuitive and body  responses. When her languaging center in the left hemisphere was nonfunctioning, ( where separation through thought labels) occurs  the experience of deep inner peace from the right hemisphere was  accessible,

About Attention and neuroplasticity:
Paying close attention to what one is doing has a dramatic affect on how much space the brain will devote to mapping that area. Apparently divided attention does not lead to abiding neurological growth in the brain.

So, anything, that requires concentration or attention  including movement, done frequently enough, can cause favorable changes to the brain, improving overall function in the body and mind.

Concentrated attention, combined with a positive emotion ( say generated through visualization, imagination, a memory or current experience) can grow neuronal connections to produce a higher baseline or positive emotional state of being.  Even mental rehearsal of physical skills has been shown to grow the corresponding neuronal connections in the brain that the physical practice was thought to alone create. This is probably connected to the discovery that the subconscious causes physiological reactions in the body whether a given experience is imagined or really happening. It doesn’t know the difference.   Combining this imaginal work with movement that requires relaxed but concentrated attention can use the motor cortex, which with regular, repeated, intensive use, WILL remodel itself.

Movement that stimulates the frontal lobes bilaterally, soothes the limbic system and activates creative centers heals the emotional set points, thinking habits and potentially behaviors of students.

Perhaps combining mindful movement, focused on the experience of positive state emotions, such as joy and compassion, peace, etc, through visualization and imagination, can do more than just feel good temporarily. Maybe lasting healing and improvement can occur in this  Dance for Joy, in a mindful state.
In studies done on Buddhist  meditation adepts, growth in the neural connections between the frontal, thinking region and the limbic, emotional center increase through the focused  mental attention in meditation. Studies show that infants with greater asymmetry in the frontal lobes exhibit greater distress, shyness, unhappiness and low sociability. Therefore, activities that encourage bilateral stimulation, increase electrical symmetry in the brain.

Lastly and very importantly I want to share with your Dr. Matthews work on the neurological healing that Tai Chi, and Qi gong can have on the brain and nervous system;

From Susan A. Matthews DVD on Neuroplasticity and Tai Chi;

The latest neuroscience has been able to prove that certain kinds of movement, such as slow rhythmic movement,  Bilateral and Synchronistic movement of the right and left sides of the body, and simultaneous multiple sensory input, mental rehearsal and visualization, including using chi, all can not only clear limiting neurological patterns, but can create new ones at a faster rate than simple mental exercises, and most importantly create stronger, integrated, holistic mind/body circuits that allow for faster learning greater overall functioning of the whole person.
Working with the nervous system as a whole as well as certain brain areas, these practices increase chi and blood supply circulation throughout the body and brain

The 5 things  Tai Chi and Chi gong can do for the body-mind
Rythmicity- Slow rhythmic movement, has been shown to slow the faster uncontrolled tremors of Parkinson’s disease. Deliberate imposed slow movement will entrain these chaotic tremors. Also
Effective for calming the limbic brain , the imposed slower movement sends out a Rhythmic production of dopamine .

Synchronicity- Moving the Right and left sides, same side top and bottom, creates new neural pathways by engaging the whole body (and both sides of the brain) at once, maximizing the growth challenge to the brain and nervous system, it gets stronger, faster, more integrated. Also , Multiple sensory input, using all the senses at the same time, enhances the  same effect.  Paying attention to the sensations of  gravity, skin, temp, sound, sight, maximally engages. = faster, more learning. So here the benefits of using your attention can be amplified, as it increases the effectiveness.

Bilateral Activity- doing mirror /opposite bilateral synchronized movement one uses and creates new mirror neurons in the brain, which are used in learning. It maximizes the challenge to the nervous system to quickly grow new neural pathways. Energy crosses over center line, creates bilateral integration. Using attention while doing movement increases growth.

Mental practice- visualization of doing something, sport, musical instrument, etc, grows brain as fast as actually doing it. Mirror neurons in particular don’t require the actual activity. FMRIs show this to be the case.

Chi
In Tai Chi its using visualization of water as energy, moving internally in  body
Letting body move with the water, as opposed to watching the body move. Something else moving internally that the body is following, creates greater flow. When you visualize this something moving, it integrates even more. More globally activates the brain process to go along with this movement, as opposed to a part by part sense of moving the body.
Balance study–tai chi lasted 2x as long and was more effective than rest. Using somatic movement….

Some general descriptions I want to leave you with to think about for somatic movement work;
Healing body, mind spirit, psyche, emotion, through sacred, inner focused movement. Contacting Deep source as Impulse. Finding Unity consciousness. Assists in chakra alignment, grounding energy, calming, centering.   Creates positive state emotions that rewire neural connections and calm overactive limbic brain, hippocampus, amygdala, mellos glucocorticoids ,

Dancing with your Right Mind, Learning to be Right Here, Right Now. Finding innocence, inner joy, exploring with childlike curiosity. We remember we are not separate, Clear the mind of subtext looping (future, judgment, past). Deep breathing, tune in to the body, what is it feeling, where?

To keep the mind quiet, focus on the body’s experience of sensory  perception right now.
How do I feel, my back, hips, neck, etc.

Soften the eye’s focus. Listen to sounds, and just stay with the sounds here and now.

Focusing on our deep connection to deeper self, to source,

Right mind is fluid and kinesthetic, it learns through touch and experience. It is more tuned into our physiology and the longer wavelengths of light, providing a softer focus, blended edge experience of what we see.

I hope I’ve answered the question and inspired you all to think about  how somatic movement can asssist in restoring the neurological systems of the brain and body to health and balance and given you as somatic therapists, and future therapists  some food for thought.
Thank you,

Bibliography

Dr. Bruce Perry,  website

Train your Mind, Change your Brain, Sharon Begely

Change your Brain, Change your life; Dr. Daniel Ammen

My Stroke of Insight;  Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Dr. Norman Doidge; The Brain that Changes Itself

Integrating Neuroscientific Principles with Taijiquan, DVD; Dr. Susan A. Matthews;

Article #2

Exploring the Natural Healing Connection Between
Somatic Movement Therapy
and
Eye Movement Reprocessing and Desensitization Therapy

Sri van der Kroef

RSME

April 10, 2008

There is a beautiful bridge being formed now and in recent years, between the fields of somatic healing and neuropsychological healing.

The research and work of Dr. Peter Levine on the somatic approach to healing trauma as described in his book; Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma, North Atlantic Books, 1997,  explains that trauma can be fixated in a person’s lower brain processes, or limbic area, which is directly connected to the spine. He has found that allowing the body to clear at the somatic level allows for completion of the nervous system’s response to trauma, and the integration of the lower brain and psychomotor processes with the higher brain’s cognition and feeling centers.

Dr. Bruce Perry’s research on the nervous system’s adaptive response to trauma and his work with people who have post traumatic stress syndrome exploring among other things the chemical changes that take place in the brain as a result of trauma is also  a prominent influence in the creation of this bridge.

A third, and increasingly popular form of somatically based psychotherapy, which is also considered very effective for healing trauma, is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR. It  is this piece of the bridge that I would like to explore with you today.  Because there seems to me to be a natural and complimentary connection between Somatic Movement Therapy and EMDR.

Dr. Francine Shapiro discovered the potential of the EMDR technique in 1987 and has developed effective protocols for its use by an increasing number of psychotherapists around the world. She began to understand, along with others in the field, that simply talking about a trauma, and analyzing it did not necessarily relieve the emotional distress and psychosomatic symptoms that often accompany it. The discovery that the visual memory and the emotional memory of an event reside in different parts of the brain, and can  both be accessed and cleared through the EMDR technique, has been the basis for the success of this work. It is also why I feel that completing an EMDR session with somatic movement patterns would be a very important and beneficial addition to EMDR,  refining it and make it less daunting for the patient.

Dr. Shapiro states in her book; EMDR, Basic principles, protocols and procedures, Guilford Press, 2001, 2nd edition, that EMDR does work well with body based healing modalities, although I have not personally come across a therapist yet that has been using them.

I have drawn on Dr. Shapiro’s work as well as my own personal experience in receiving multiple sessions of EMDR over a period of a few months. It is the intense and delicate nature of my own experience in healing trauma that inspired me to explore this connection and the possible benefits of using Somatic Movement Therapy to refine the work of EMDR.

It became profoundly clear to me  after these sessions that the EMDR protocols, as effective as they are in accessing and releasing the neurological and energetic components of trauma, were incomplete as far as  clearing and integrating the discharged energy throughout the entire body.

EMDR uses different forms of bilateral stimulation of the body either by alternate tapping of the knees, or left/right clicking sounds in the ears via headphones, or simply following the therapist’s finger with the eyes from left to right and back while consciously recalling and speaking about a traumatic memory. This accesses the visual memories and their emotional counterparts at the same time, even though they are stored in different sides of the brain. The resulting discharge of both complexes of energy at once is effective but also can be a shock to the system in and of itself.

I believe that the entire body is effected by these energetic discharges and would be greatly benefited by some guided assistance in finding its new equilibrium  after such cathartic release. The extreme somatic reactions that my body went through after each session, including debilitating vertigo, spasming  psoas, throat and neck muscles that pulled my spine out of alignment, and general disorientation for a least 24 hours afterwards were a few of the symptoms I experienced.

The introduction of  somatic clearing techniques by a trained  therapist at the end of each session would be extremely helpful at this point in assisting a person in finding that new healthier state of equilibrium more quickly and with less distress.

Perhaps  some simple somatic clearing  could have greatly reduced the symptoms I had by completing the body’s movement of discharging, and clearing not only the higher processes of the brain that Dr. Levine describes, but also clearing all the way through the limbic brain, spine and throughout the extremities. This is perhaps where the benefits would be most greatly felt, finally  allowing the integration of the body’s natural patterns to emerge once again through the movement.

From this perspective it would seem that a large opportunity exists for somatic movement therapists to educate those using EMDR with their clients, or educating the clients themselves. I believe that the more we learn as a species about the body/mind connection and the importance of listening to the body’s wisdom, the bigger and more fascinating this bridge is going to become.

For more information on the simple techniques that can assist in this integration process, please see the contact page on this website to contact me.

Article #1

The Flow of Chi
as Dynamic Awareness
From Chaos to Continuity

Sri van der Kroef
RSME, CLMT
March 15, 2009

The softest thing in the universe
Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe.
That without substance can enter where there is no             room.
Hence I know the value of non action.

Teaching without words and work without doing
Are understood by very few

Chp. Forty Three, Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tsu,
written originally over 2,500 years ago.

Medical research into the nature of the relationship between the brain and the heart has revealed that the electromagnetic field of the heart is 5000 times stronger than that of the brain.

That is just one of the interesting things I have learned in my study of the connection between the phenomenon known as chi–and, awareness, or what could also be described as Presence.

I’m sure most of you are somewhat familiar with the eastern concept of chi, or life force, as it is thought of in relation to Tai Chi, Chi gong, or the energy used in acupuncture and other forms of energetic healing.

One of my favorite authors on the subject, Dr. Richard Gerber, describes it in his book; “Vibrational Medicine,” as “the life force, present in a living system…that displays the properties of negative entropy…” In other words, it creates continuity and increased order within a system, and when it leaves the system or physical form, -decomposition, decay, entropy, and chaos result. For this reason chi has been described as an intelligent force in ancient eastern texts, and as coherent light energy, by quantum physicists, the underlying principle of which is the tendency toward organization, growth, balance and the capacity for healing within a living system.

Chi is electromagnetic in nature, and has been discovered in quantum science to actually be responsive to the thoughts and intensions of the observer.  Experiments with sub atomic energy  particles, in particle accelerators, have shown that when one’s attention, or awareness is placed on these energy particles, they respond in accordance with the expectations and desires of the observer, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, where they are expected, and disappearing when the attention is removed.

We use our conscious awareness to observe, and to intend.
And, today I am suggesting the idea-which is not a new one, that perhaps these are multiple aspects of the same energy. The awareness, the intension,  and the chi which is responding to it.
There is some food for thought here, as to whether it is all one field, even the mind as part of it, directing the energy toward healing itself.

I believe, in the field of undifferentiated awareness, that chi is the name for its phase as a dynamic energy that creates coherence, and is therefore healing in nature.
In Vibrational Medicine, Gerber points out that, when using the intension to heal, the energy fields of healers in several studies who focused on increasing the cellular activity and growth in test tubes of enzymes, always resulted in the  greater health of the enzyme cells.

He says, “It was as though this healing energy appeared to have an almost innate intelligence in the way it could therapeutically distinguish between the different test tubes of enzymes.” Even though the healer did not know which enzyme was in them, the focused chi brought about greater health and growth in each of them.

I believe that is why we can direct the chi in our own energy fields toward correcting imbalances in the physical, emotional and mental aspects of our being.

If we can see ourselves not only as physical bodies, but also as energetic systems, it is easier to make use of this undistorted healing energy. It is available to us when we clear our minds of incoherent thoughts and negative feelings, and focus it for healing. It moves through our bodies, pushing open blockages caused by stagnant energy, as water flows down a stream, carrying off debris as it heads back to the source. Allowing the body to  release and express its natural flow in feeling and thought, and return to its original patterns of movement, it creates greater continuity within our whole being.

Glen Rein, among others of the The Heartmath Institute of Boulder Creek California, (which some of you may have heard of), has conducted some fascinating studies in the use of consciously focused awareness on the human energy field. A study using meditators who were in a state of  unconditional love and caring,  showed that they were able to generate greater coherence in their own electrocardiogram patterns. Interestingly, the patterns were characterized by a smooth, sinus wave like form. The waves were separated by a proportionality factor identical to pi, which is the ratio of the golden mean found mathematics and classical art, and the living forms of nature. Pi is considered to be a magic ratio for creating harmony and beauty.

Gerber goes on to state that “The coherent energy pattern of the heart center during moments of love, apparently has the ability to influence energetic patterns in the body, as well as the potential to influence distant events.”
…Rein and his coworkers found that loving meditators, with an increased heart rhythm coherence, had the ability to voluntarily affect the winding and unwinding patterns of DNA in a test tube, for a distance of up to a half mile away,” effectively turning on chromosomes that had gone unused. Those with a less coherent pattern were unable to produce the same effect.

Greg Braden, the author and visionary scientist, quotes these studies in his seminar The Divine Matrix, and explains, basically, Love evolves us.

This is the basis for my interest in somatic healing movement; that we as beings have the capacity to heal ourselves.

Creating time and space in our lives, for the sacred dance between  the expression of our inner body‘s wisdom,  and the healing life force of chi. we can tap into the hidden knowledge there, and find the harmony and the beautiful balance  we as people need for health and happiness.
We also can have more control over our  own destiny, and less dependence on external circumstances than we previously thought.

The forms of chi gong, somatic movement therapy and floor work,  moving meditation, somatic experiencing and psychology,  all assist in clearing the physical, and emotional issues that we hold in our nervous systems in reaction to stress and trauma.

My own experience of images spontaneously arising during somatic movement began for me, – an exploration of the symbolic language of the unconscious mind, and memory.  The information vital to our greater understanding, often gets tucked away, because it is too frightening to experience in the moment.  It can be made available to our conscious mind during explorations designed to invite it out — to be seen, and moved through  outer expression, then integrated and grounded by the movement itself.

Carl Jung revisited the concept of alchemical symbolism as
“archetypes that gave him great insight into the deeper layers of the human psyche,” and “that dwell in our unconscious.” I have found myself that the universal symbols that appear to me during this work are powerful messages illuminating hidden information.

So, now we are going have an interactive exploration, with  ourselves and the chi, not really directing it, but inviting it in to see whatever our body-mind-hearts have to say to us. We can also use visualization to help access the symbolic information that may be helpful to our conscious understanding.
By honoring the sacredness of our inner experience as influenced by our external lives,  and expressing it through intrinsic, internally guided movement, we can see what might emerge for us in this state.

When the heart’s response to life and the experience of being is fully honored, we recognize these inner voices as real and valid, guiding us toward a more authentic and fulfilling life.

This is an exploration in consciously inviting in the chi, the healing presence, and opening ourselves to listening for a deeper level of knowing. It may have something to show you, or movement to express through you, or a feeling.
You can stand, sit or lie down.  It is important to stay internally focused in this experience, it may be easier to keep your eyes closed for part of the time if you feel distracted.

Let’s start by finding a spot on the floor, on a mat or towel.
Let’s take a few deep breaths…
Close your eyes, and try to sense your hands, feel the energy in them that allows you to know they are there.

In order to stay grounded, and yet available to the deeper knowledge, let’s invite the chi energy to flow in through the top of the head into the heart first. See it flowing into your body,
you can see it in a color, or white, knowing that it is a loving, coherent light energy flowing through your being.
Then as you breathe, see it also move up from the earth through base of the spine to the heart, grounding you through the healing chi of the earth.

Take a several deep breaths, …

Keeping your attention as much as possible on this inner experience, notice if it moves through you any area in particular, or moves any part of the body, just let it move as it wishes to

Notice any colors, words or pictures, or sensations.

Just letting the dance have its own life. And

explore going with what happens next.

Sources:

Vibrational Medicine, Richard Gerber, M.D.  pp 526-529

Greg Braden, The Divine Matrix (Workshop, San Francisco, CA, 2007)

The Tao te Ching,  by Lao Tsu

Taoist qi Gong for Health and Vitality, by Sat Chuen Hon

Quantum Reality,  Nick Herbert

Physics of the Soul,  Amit Goswami