Price: $18.95
Rhythmic Movement Training Success Stories
Marian and Earl King are clients of Brain Fitness Strategies. With the help of Rhythmic Movement Practitioners Paul and Susan Phariss, their son has improved in school dramatically in school in just 4 weeks!
Marlin Lavanhar of Tulsa, OK, talks about how Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT) has helped his son succeed in school and in life. His son's private school suggested that he wasn't doing well enough to progress to 4th grade and that his parents might want to find him a new school. Marlin and his wife, Anitra, hired certified RMT consultants Paul and Susan Phariss of Brain Fitness Strategies to work with their son. After just three months, Elias went back to his private school in 4th grade on a probationary basis. Now his teachers say he is a model student and can't figure out why they thought he wouldn't be able to succeed in 4th grade. Elias has gained physical coordination, social skills, ability to relate to other kids and adults, core muscle strength, and raised his grades to A's and B's. "He's now excelling in school!"
We met with Melissa Lytle, the special education teacher who worked with us during our controlled study of Rhythmic Movement Training. We asked her to describe the biggest changes she saw in one of our students, Sam. This is what Melissa had to say:
"I ordered your book, Have a Ball Learning, just a few days ago, received it today and devoured it. It is beautifully written and the exercises are so simple and straight forward. I've juggled for years and taught juggling to kids in the schools in my role as an occupational therapist. Thank you for getting the message out to the public about juggling and learning!"
Christine Rockett, OT
West Islip, NY
"I enjoyed our session last week. Some of the exercises were difficult but I could feel my improvements. I remembered both your names with no help other than my own memory, YEAH. I had a very good week since our appointment. My mind worked well and it seemed to have more energy. A somewhat strange thing happened several times: I am finding that I am a funny man. My thoughts are running freely and I just keep coming up with things to say that are funny. I have a sense of humor! The week was a good work week; I had a heavy work load but it went smoothly and to me that is amazing."
John Seber
Joplin, MO
“Tyler came to me as an uncooperative fifth grade student prone to temper tantrums. Tyler would melt-down at the smallest frustration. He would cry, kick, and be generally upset for hours on end. Initially, Tyler would not participate in the exercises Paul and Susan were leading. At times, he would start an exercise but then give up quickly. Paul and Susan were not fazed by Tyler’s unwillingness. Tyler would allow them to do passive movements. The first change I noticed was that Tyler began to recover more quickly from his outbursts. Soon after that, I noticed that Tyler began to participate more during group activities with Paul and Susan. This increased cooperation has carried over to other areas at school. Tyler’s teachers have noticed that he does not become as easily frustrated and is able to interact with his classmates in a positive way. Tyler went from being a reluctant reader to a student who carries a library book with him at all times. He even reads while he is walking! It is really amazing to think about how much progress he has made in a short time.”
Melissa Lytle
Special Education Teacher
Bixby North 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Center
“My life took a bad turn in the summer of 2009 when I fell off a horse and was knocked unconscious, leaving me with a concussion, vertigo, loss of short-term memory, loss of feelings, and a loss of my identity. Two weeks later I thought I had a stroke, but doctors determined it was Bell’s palsy, a paralysis of one side of my face. As a professional actress and stage manager, my career was not looking bright. I was trying to learn lines for a new play and was spending an extraordinary amount of time attempting to learn them and was not making any progress. The opening of the play was drawing near and I began to fear that I would not be ready in time—maybe not ever.
“It was then that I became a client of Paul and Susan Phariss of Brain Fitness Strategies and immediately noticed a big improvement in my ability to learn lines for the play. A couple of weeks later, I began getting my emotions back! The first one to return was anger. I was angry with everyone: in my past, in the present—I was even angry with God. It passed fairly quickly. All my life, I have suffered from low self-esteem and put others’ needs ahead of my own—my needs never even made the list. After another session with Susan, I noticed that I was beginning to include myself on my list of people to take care of. After another month of Rhythmic Movement Training, I had a breakthrough and had the confidence to get a better job. Everything has gotten easier; I get a lot more done. This week I was able to work twice as many hours as I had before without feeling completely overwhelmed. When I initially became a client of Brain Fitness Strategies I was trying to recover from a brain injury, but I have gotten so much more out of it. I am still working through lots of issues, but I am beginning to rediscover myself and see that there is hope of life not lived through a filter of fear and self-loathing, but of strength and self-acceptance. I can’t recommend them enough! I feel better than I have in a long time.”
Julia Chapman
Tulsa, OK
“I have noticed big changes in Sam. Sam was the first student to realize that the exercises Paul and Susan were doing helped him with his moods. He started asking me if he could do the exercises on his own when he started to get frustrated. Sam’s other teachers started noticing a change in his attitude toward schoolwork. They reported increase participation in class as well as an overall happier Sam. At the beginning of the year, Sam was not motivated to read outside of school. Around the end of November, Sam started checking out books from my classroom library. He would ask if he could take 4-5 at a time. Sam has made an amazing gain in the rate of his reading fluency in just two months. He has gone from a reading rate of 70 words per minute to 94 words per minute.”
Melissa Lytle
Special Education Teacher
Bixby North 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Center
Kate came to us desperate for help with her lifelong issue of severe anxiety. She would have panic attacks nearly every time she was in a car, whether she was driving or a passenger. Highways were a bigger challenge. She couldn’t get in elevators. Airplanes were out of the question. She had tried counseling and medications—nothing worked for her.
After her first session, Kate was able to go an entire month without a single panic attack. She says, “I can feel a difference on days when I don’t have time to do the exercises.”
Jake was at the top of his field before his substance abuse took him to the bottom. He went to traditional substance abuse rehab, but it only lasted as long as he was there. When he came to us, he was living in a homeless shelter. After just three sessions (and doing his movements daily), Jake has moved to a new city, started his own business, and no longer has cravings. He is continuing to do his movements and gaining an understanding of how stress causes brain imbalances, how to eat correctly to prevent cravings, and how to recognize what stimulates cravings. He now has the tools to deal with any cravings that may come up.
“Tyler and Sam have both shown dramatic improvements in the area of concentration. The boys are able to demonstrate their improved concentration while doing the yardstick exercises. They are able to balance the yardstick on just their fingers for over 3 minutes. Tyler made it to 4 minutes and 15 seconds today. This is a major accomplishment and source of pride for the boys.”
“My students love the program. They ask me daily, “Is today a brain fitness day?.” They practically cheer each time Paul and Susan enter the classroom. One of my students asked, “Can they keep coming until I grow up?” The strongest endorsement of Paul and Susan’s work came when one of my students asked if he could invite one of his classmates to a session. He explained, “Marco has trouble with reading. He needs to come so he can get better.”
Melissa Lytle
Special Education Teacher
Bixby North 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Center
“Before becoming an RMT consultant, I was an RMT client. After the chronic illness and subsequent death of my first husband, I didn’t bounce back. I became lethargic, unmotivated, withdrawn, fearful, depressed, and started hoarding things in my basement. I developed a phobia of crossing bridges that was beginning to really take a toll on me and my current husband. For ten years I kept telling my doctors that I didn’t have the energy to take a shower, much less go out and have a social life, but nothing they suggested worked—until I tried Rhythmic Movement Training. After one session and a few weeks of daily movements, I suddenly felt like getting rid of all the stuff I had been hoarding. After another session, I felt good enough to enroll in a university course and another art therapy course on grief. In another session, I completely got over my phobia of going over bridges and gained a trust in myself and others that I had never experienced before. I could go on forever about the miracles that have occurred in my own life, which led me to becoming an RMT consultant myself.”
Susan Phariss
Brain Fitness Coach