12/25/2024
For your brain, the dividing line in your spine is at the middle of your back (your sixth thoracic vertebra, or T6). Does this area hurt on you? If so, you should program more cross-body movements into your day. Try touching your left hand to your right foot and vice versa as fast as you can, and then sing something. Did it help?
12/18/2024
Neuroplasticity (your brain's ability to change) happens our whole lives. But children have a greater degree of it. The three things they need for development are:
1. Getting outside and moving: the more play that kids do in a natural environment, the better.
2. Music: music helps them develop their timing and activates the cerebellum (the most metabolic part of the brain).
3. Cognitive challenges: Discussions, enquiries, and developing of ideas and things activate all areas of the cortex.
12/11/2024
Are your stress levels high? A quick fix is to fill a sink with cool/cold water and submerge your face in it for twenty seconds.
This triggers what is called the Mammalian Dive Reflex. It is left over from our evolutionary days as whales/dolphins and it concentrates oxygen where it needs to be.
One of the cool side effects of this is a lower heart rate and more relaxed state. Give it a try!
12/04/2024
Red has the longest wavelength of any color, so it's a useful test for each side of your brain (called a red desaturation test).
The test is simple: cover each eye and look at the square. Does one side look paler? Less vibrant? That could be the side of your brain that is less active.
11/28/2024
Can’t wait to see and in this hilarious show!
11/27/2024
Either ice or heat could be good for any injury--depending on how you respond, you can learn stuff about your brain.
Cold reduces inflammation, so if the injury feels better after cold, focusing on anti-inflammatory strategies is a good idea.
Heat speeds up nerve conduction. If heat makes it feel better, you can wonder if there has been reduced sensory flow to that area of your body. Once the injury resolves, you can consider doing more sensory and movement drills for that area.
11/27/2024
Very excited to see and in this gorgeous show!
11/20/2024
A synapse is defined as, "a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter."
Every gap is a chance to change the path of the nerve impulse (kind of like a game of Plinko, if you are of an age to have watched "The Price is Right").
What are you doing in your life to improve your brain pathways?
11/13/2024
When your body gets sensory stimulation of any kind (tactile, auditory, visual, etc.), your first reaction is mediated by your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight).
This is because your brain is very invested in you staying alive right now, so it needs to make sure whatever is happening is safe.
After that first reaction, other parts of the brain will modulate the response so it is appropriate to the situation.
I've done sensory testing on thousands of people, and my sample says that, as body maps improve, hypersensitivity of all sorts tends to diminish.
11/06/2024
As much as we like to think that we are highly-developed creatures, our primal instincts are always maintaining some control.
Your fight-or-flight system (sympathetic nervous system) gets priority, and it is always scanning your environment for potential threats.
The better trained you are, the more you are able to inhibit this primal reflex and achieve higher levels of performance.
10/30/2024
You're a mammal. You're supposed to like to move.
The cells in your body like activation. When you put them through a chain of excitation, they wake up and become more robust.
What are you doing that is new in your life?
10/25/2024
In all my years of working in the theater, I'm about to have a first.
Starting November 2nd, I will be conducting an off-Broadway show that I had a hand in creating.
I'll be joining the illustrious Kerry Butler, Laura Bell Bundy, and Marissa J Winokur onstage in "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" at New World Stages (with the incredible Jo Huling on drums).
Seeing the original production of "Hairspray" was a seminal theatrical experience for me, so it is surreal that my arrangements and lyrics are supporting these great artists in sharing their journey from Broadway stardom to motherhood.
If you're in NYC, come out and see us--we're there through December 8th!
https://mamaimabiggirlnow.com
10/23/2024
We're mammals. We're supposed to seek and enjoy novelty.
If you're in a rut in your life, you are degrading your brain. What are ways you can shake up your routine? It doesn't have to be anything monumental--just brushing your teeth with the other hand could be a good start.
10/16/2024
Acute pain (like touching a hot stove) and chronic pain (like a long-term achy back) are very different processes.
Acute pain is good and very necessary for staying alive. It's a warning of tissue damage.
In chronic pain, a rewiring process takes place, and now movement can fire pain signals, even though no tissue damage is taking place. This can cause fear of movement, which degrades things even more.
A good coach can help you reverse chronic pain and get back to moving with joy and freedom.
10/11/2024
Hey friends--if anyone is in LA and wants to have a session next week, I'm teaching there on Tues/Weds. The sign-up link is thesingingathlete.com/la
10/09/2024
If you have chronic pain when moving a certain direction, your brain thinks you are making a mistake.
To resolve these things, you need your coach to help you identify where the confusion is happening.
Is it in the joint itself? In the peripheral nerve? In an opposing joint? In your brain itself?
10/02/2024
Try the drill seen here. Can you feel it happen on both sides?
Your eyes and jaw are intimately connected neurologically. If you have TMJ issues, have you considered how your vision might be playing into the situation?
09/25/2024
All the complex systems of your body are after two simple things: keeping you upright and keeping your eyes steady.
Have you tested your balance lately? What about all your visual skills (not just the ones done at the eye doctors)?