With nearly 30 years of experience working with developmental delays, addictions, and behavioral problems, Nancy is a walking encyclopedia of information on using movement to change your brain. Before I became a practitioner, I was a client of Nancy’s–which started my addiction to brain health.

To make it easy to learn and retain what you learned, we decided to split the class into three Saturdays over the summer. That way you can practice what you learn in the June class for a month before coming and learning just as much in July. Then you take the third class in August.

The dates are: June 23, July 28, and August 25, 2012. We’ll be holding the classes at our beautiful movement studio in Mounds, Oklahoma, just 30 minutes south of Tulsa.

Email if you want to register for the class:
Susan at BrainFitnessStrategies.com.

More details to follow as they become available. You can earn CEU’s with this class.

Although the program is specifically designed to help kids with ADD/ADHD, they can be extremely helpful for kids with a variety of developmental delays. Our tester has a child with sensory processing disorder and it has totally turned his life around! You can read her review of our program at www.sensoryandmore.com.

We are now accepting online clients at a distance, and these videos will provide support to our online clients. If you would like to be one of the few online clients we are accepting at this time, go watch the first video at:
www.HaveABallLearning.com

Enjoy the free video series!

The BA Natural Health Clinic is located at 2001 W. Kenosha in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. For Tulsa folks, that’s on 71st street just east of Aspen (or 145th street) on the south side. You’ll be greeted by a friendly bunch of people who love talking about good health!

Come on out and learn something new and meet local like-minded people! See you there!

Because this is our first release, we are going to limit it to only 12 online clients so that we can give them individual support. Send me an email at Susan at BrainFitnessStrategies dot com if you are determined to be in our first class.

Read what one of our testers said about the results she’s seen in just six weeks at http://sensoryandmore.com/2012/03/11/update-on-sensory-processing-disorder/

Children between the ages of 7 and 12 with ADHD who were given the fish oil experienced dramatic improvement in their behavior within three months. Improvements were still being seen after the study ended, suggesting that a long-term effect was gained from the fish oil. When the researchers compared their study results to the studies of Ritalin and Concerta for ADHD, it was clear that fish oils were more effective.

Most parents are desperate when they make the decision to put their kids on prescription drugs for attention problems. Unfortunately, our pediatricians don’t have drug company representatives educating them about the benefits of fish oil, so they aren’t aware of the simple solution that fish oil offers.

To learn more about how to help your child overcome learning disabilities naturally, attend Rhythm, Reflexes and Movement–An Intro to Brain Gym and RMT. The two-hour workshop is being held on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at Brain Fitness Strategies in Mounds, OK. Call 918-629-2689 or email Susan at BrainFitnessStrategies dot com to register for this $40 workshop. The workshop is being taught by neurodevelopmental specialist and Brain Gym instructor Nancy Peterson.

From something simple like being able to balance a yardstick on their hand for 24 seconds, or be able to draw a lazy eight, or suddenly be able to read. We get to celebrate these major accomplishments every week and it is pure joy!

One client had so much anxiety that she was forced to drop out of school, quit her job, and rarely left the house. After just two sessions, she was able to go on a vacation, went to a big social event, and is now out interviewing for a new job! What joy it is to share her excitement for her accomplishments and see her thrive!

Today I am celebrating how great it is to have this gift to share with our clients. And how honored I am each time I get to witness their miracles. Life is good!

When babies start growing in the womb, the brain begins expanding within days. Brain development is guided by God’s master blueprint that dictates each and every movement that the infant makes from conception to age 3, when the rapid stage of brain development ends. This master blueprint, otherwise known as primitive reflexes, is where we need to look for answers to helping the brain get back on track.

Primitive reflexes are what cause a baby to bond with its mother, to nurse, to raise its head the first time, to roll over in the crib, to crawl, and then to walk. Each of these steps come in a sequential order that has only one goal: to develop a healthy brain. When one of these steps is interrupted, brain development is affected and it can cause poor coordination, poor  communication, and behavior problems which are later diagnosed as ADHD, oppositional defiance, dyslexia, sensory processing disorders, and other common learning disabilities and developmental delays.

So what does this have to do with PTSD? Everything. When someone is traumatized, their most primitive brain is reactivated. That means that their primitive reflexes become active again and cause great problems. The reflexes that are the foundation problem for people with PTSD are the Fear Paralysis Reflex, or FPR, followed by the Moro reflex, which also causes hypersensitivity.

When the Fear Paralysis Reflex is active, it basically short-circuits the brain. It goes into survival mode, which cuts off communication with most of the rest of the brain. Depending on your dominance or learning profile, it can cause you to literally freeze in fear, or it can allow you to keep moving. It can convince you that you can trust no one in this world; it demands that you withdraw from the world. And it causes all the associated brain chemistry that produces stress hormones.

When the Fear Paralysis Reflex is active it can make people feel hyper-vigilant, helpless, hopeless, and acutely reactive to smells or temperatures. FPR keeps people from being able to adapt to new settings, changes in their lives, or changes in temperatures. It can keep people from sleeping, cause a low tolerance to stress, cause you to give up easily, and have a very low tolerance to frustration.

We think of ourselves as evolved adults who should be able to control our emotions. But when your brain has been hijacked by your primitive reflexes, particularly your Fear Paralysis Reflex, you are able to control your emotions about as well as a newborn baby–not at all. Your most primitive reflex of all is telling you that you aren’t safe, that no one is trustworthy, and that there is no hope. And it is quite convincing.

The good news is that there is a solution. Using Rhythmic Movement Training, RMT, a movement-based brain fitness program, you can help your brain move through those primitive reflexes and put them back in their place where they belong. RMT helps you build new neural pathways to allow your adult reflexes to act more quickly and strongly.

Rhythmic Movement Training is based on the movements that infants make in their first year of life. These very specific brain exercises mimic the movements babies make as part of their most rapid brain development stage. Using these movements at any age effectively re-boots the brain. It helps re-integrate and inhibit the active primitive reflexes so that they can sit idly in the primitive brain, ready in case of emergency.

As someone who battled PTSD for decades, I can personally attest that there is nothing like the peace you can feel after you have gotten the FPR back in its place. I count my blessings daily that I had the opportunity to get my FPR re-integrated. I feel comfortable in the world for the first time in my life. And now I have the honor of being able to help others do the same, after spending a couple of years training and getting certified in RMT. There is no greater honor than to be able to help people get their lives back.

If you know someone who has PTSD, encourage them to find a certified RMT practitioner and get help. You can find a list of practitioners by country or state at www.RhythmicMovement.com.

James is a classic example of how fast kids can overcome ADHD through our neurodevelopmental movement program. The program is 90 days long, but kids and their families start seeing results in the first week.

After two weeks in the program, James threw four outs to third base during one baseball game as the team’s catcher. Prior to doing brain fitness exercises, James would get frustrated and over-throw to third base, missing many outs. You can hear how proud he is of his accomplishments. What a joy he is to work with–like all our inspiring clients!

Brain Fitness Strategies is hosting a half-day seminar, Parents’ Academy: ADD/ADHD on Saturday June 4 at 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM at Brain Fitness Strategies in Mounds, OK. register on our Events page.

Tulsa Pets May 2011 Features Story on Gracie and Sassy

Gracie and Sassy didn’t have to be trained to pose for the photographer when Tulsa Pets magazine came out to do an article. The two standard poodles have been in the spotlight for years, having performed in a comedy dog act in school assembly shows from coast to coast.  The dogs were perfectly at ease while the photographer got shots of 7-year-old Seth playing with them during his brain fitness session.

The May 2011 issue of Tulsa Pets features a well-written article about how the dogs help our brain fitness practice and Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT). RMT is a cutting edge neurodevelopmental exercise program that helps people overcome learning disabilities, developmental delays, brain injuries, and other brain disorders.  Seven-year-old Seth recently got the big news from his eye doctor that he no longer has convergence issues with his vision, thanks to the work he did with Brain Fitness Strategies. That means that Seth will be able to focus easily on books so that reading will become effortless.

Recently, researchers proved what people have known all along–spending time with animals lowers symptoms of stress such as blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. Research has proven that viewing and interacting with animals releases the brain hormone oxytocin, which is known as the bonding hormone. This is the same hormone that causes mothers and infants to bond at birth.

When oxytocin is released in the brain, people feel more relaxed, which allows them to have more access to their full brain. It gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you see someone you love, pet a puppy, or hold a purring kitten. When you are more relaxed, you are more able to learn and retain the information. Enhanced learning is what Brain Fitness Strategies is all about, so it is no surprise we would incorporate trained dogs into our program.

Gracie and Sassy apply their “people skills” with clients and their families when they come out for their brain fitness appointments. Sometimes the dogs are used to help new clients feel more comfortable. There’s nothing like a happy poodle politely asking for lap time or for you to toss a ball to make new acquaintances feel more at home! And sometimes they are used during the session with the client; Gracie pushes a big purple exercise ball to Seth so he can push it back with his head like a seal. When I say that the dogs are “used” during sessions, I mean that the dogs are allowed to be their happy selves and enjoy their time with our client–the dogs beg to get to work!

Sassy races an audience member in a Summer Reading Program show.

This summer the dogs will perform in Tulsa Library’s Summer Reading Program to encourage kids to read. Look for the summer events guide in Tulsa libraries for the times and locations that Susan Phariss and the Wonder Dogs will be performing.

Now go play with your dog!

The good news is that there’s an answer for parents seeking a drug-free, natural solution. A recent study using Rhythmic Movement Training with 5th grade students at Bixby North Elementary School resulted in fewer melt-downs, improved reading skills, and increased overall happiness. Melissa Lytle, the Special Education teacher involved in the study reported that after the study was over, the students easily made and maintained friendships.

Rhythmic Movement Training has been used successfully in Europe for over 25 years and was introduced in the USA four years ago. After an initial evaluation by the certified coaches at Brain Fitness Strategies, students are given fun games based on specific movements that allow them to have more self-control and concentration. Clients have reported noticeable improvements in their ability to focus within two weeks and are eager to do the movements.