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June-July 2005
Sense Intelligence: Self-Movement and Balance New Song by Eve Kodiak New CD Available mid-July! Looking Ahead Doctor's Corner with Ann Szaur, CTN, M.Ed., RN View Musings on the Web Musings Archive Sense Intelligence: Self-Movement and Balance This is the second in a series of articles exploring the twelve senses, based on the model put forth by philosopher Rudolf Steiner. The twelve senses are best understood as a sequence, each one building upon the last. Imagine them as a spiral staircase with three tiers. Touch, Life, Self-Movement, and Balance complete the first turn of the spiral, creating the basic physical foundation upon which we ground our existence. Each of these senses corresponds to an organ or system in the body. The Sense of Touch is expressed by the skin, our largest organ. The Life Sense is intimately connected to the Reticular Activating System. Located between the brainstem and the limbic system, the RAS acts as messenger between the lower and higher functions of the brain. Our Life Senseis how we know that we are alive - and how we know what to do, in order to stay alive. The RAS alerts us when there is something going on - a potential threat, a delightful treat, a woozy stomach, etc. - that requires our attention. The Sense of Self-Movement (or, more simply, Movement) corresponds to the faculty of proprioception. To know where we are in space, we combine information from most of our sensory systems - touch, visual, auditory, vestibular, and so on. But the place Movement calls home is in our muscles, in fibers called proprioceptive receptors that measure the stretch of the muscle. These fibers tell us that our arms are extended or flexed, that our stomach is contracted or relaxed, that our jaws hang open or closed. Proprioceptive receptors allow us to gauge distance and direction, so that we can plan our movements. When we add to this muscle awareness the information from the nerve endings in our skin, and our vestibular, visual, auditory, and nervous systems, we know where we are in space. We know whether our heads are up or down, whether we are lying down, or sitting, or standing. We know where our arms are, and whether our hands are out in front of our body or behind our backs. We know how to get food into our mouths, and how to turn our bodies to fit through a narrow opening. This knowing can include, but is different from, the knowing that comes through Touch. When we touch our face with our hand, we know that it is there. The sense of Self-Movement is how we know where our face and hand are, without needing actual physical contact. Touch allows us to internalize information we receive from the outside. Movement gives us an internal map of the external position of our body. When we activate this sense, our movement is infused with consciousness. From the time he was born, my son had a little wooden toy hanging above his changing table. Sometime during his first two months, he discovered that arm movements would set the little toy dancing. As his proprioceptive powers developed, he was able to bat the toy with the end of his arm. At four months, his Movement Sense extended all the way to his hand — and he reached out and grabbed the toy. I still remember the triumph of that moment! The primary organ of Balance is our linked pair of semi-circular canals. These are part of the inner ear, nestled below the petrous bone at the base of the skull, and constructed of tubing, looped in the shape of three-leaf clovers. These "loops" are set at right angles to one another. They measure the three axes of our movement: back and forth, up and down, and side to side. Because fluid runs through the tubing, they are called "canals." The fluid in the semi-circular canals acts as a carpenter's leveling tool. As we move our heads, the distribution of the fluid changes. When the loops of the canals are not balanced, and when the fluid is not evenly distributed, we can feel foggy, confused, irritable, or nauseous. Even a light bump on the head, or a fast curve in an automobile, can cause these delicate organs to get out of kilter. As infants, our head-righting reflexes teach us to keep our heads up, building tonicity in the muscles of the neck and upper body. This practice begins early — our semi-circular canals are perfectly formed at nine weeks in utero! Even at that early stage of development, we know whether we are heads or bottoms up. As we grow and develop, the integration of these head-righting reflexes is essential for everything we later expect the mind to do: Perceive. Remember. Integrate. Create. Analyze. Knowing "where your head is at" is more than a metaphor. There are many reflexes that help us to stand and move in an upright position. One example is the Leg Cross Flexion-Extension Reflex. When this reflex is operating, we can step on a stone and not fall down. This is because we reflexively step down harder, balancing on the offending stone until our other leg can adjust. This communication between the two legs creates a similar communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Because of the connection between contra-lateral locomotion and whole-brain activity, walking helps us to think more clearly. As we follow the cycle of the seasons through the twelve senses, we see that Touch arrives first, around the time of the vernal equinox, just when the ground is becoming bare and the first green shoots are thrusting through the earth. The Life Sense comes into full bloom around "the merry month of May," as the birds lay their eggs and all of nature is bursting with fertility. We find Movement and Balance poised on either side of the Summer Solstice. The word "solstice" means "sun stands still." The sun has reached its northernmost extremity in the sky. In order to change direction, it achieves a motionless moment. That "still point" is solstice. Our Movement Sense prepares us for a change in direction, while Balance poises us to move in harmony with that change. The Summer Solstice is the point of stillness between the plan and the act. Suspended in the energy between Movement and Balance, we discover the seed of creation. Eve Kodiak
New Song for Integrating Movement and Balance
Spin, Spin, Spin is a movement game that takes the vestibular system for a ride! We activate all three axes of movement: back-to-front, top-top-bottom, and side-to-side. By spinning our bodies, tipping our heads, jumping, and balancing on one foot, we give the semi-circular canals a workout. As we increase our comfort level moving through all these axes, we become more balanced in our movement, emotions, and thinking. These three axes measured by the semicircular canals correspond to the three dimensions of Educational Kinesiology. Activating the Focus Dimension, or back-to-front axis, helps create the sense of safety we need to give our attention to a task. Activating the Centering Dimension, or top-to-bottom axis, helps to ground us and organize our relationship to ourselves and our environment. Activating the Laterality Dimension, or side-to-side axis, helps us integrate incoming information into a form that can be understood and communicated. Tapping is a wonderful "wake-up" activity. Through repetitive light touch, we stimulate proprioception and energize the whole body's electrical system. As you sing the song, follow the movement patterns. Feel free to write your own verses, to follow the ways your children need to move. Letting children choose or create their own verses helps to give them a sense of ownership in the activity. Children have an instinct for choosing the right integrative movements for themselves. Hot Off the Presses! Available mid-July!
Looking Ahead July 21, 7pm, Four Points Sheraton, Ventura, CA. 'Tis a Gift is my collaboration with dancer Dana Luebke, of the Sun.Ergos Theatre and Dance company (he's the one balanced on the moose skull up at the to of this issue!) We are opening for Dr. Paul Dennison's keynote address at the 2005 annual Gathering of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation. Dana will be premiering a piece he's choreographed to a Bach Partita‹ and the audience will get to do an "infant reflex" dance to a Bach Invention. The Gathering includes presentations and movement from practitioners from all over the world. Link to Gathering: www.braingym.org Link to Dana and Sun.Ergos: www.sunergos.com July 30, 9-5, Claremont Community Music School, Claremont, CA. A 1-day Rappin' on the Reflexes workshop. We'll explore infant reflexes, and move through the "Rappin' Curriculum." Ann Szaur (M.Ed., RN, and Naturopath) and Dana Luebke (Dancer and Brain Gym® Consultant) assist. Both Ann and Dana have done extensive work on infant reflexes, in educational, health, and arts applications. The incredible price of $75 includes a copy of the Rappin' CD and Guide! Register through the school, at 951 West Foothill Boulevard, Claremont, CA 91711 909-624-3012, fax 909-624-3502 Download Registration Form Download Flyer Link to CCMS: www.claremontmusic.org September 9, 7-9 PM: FREE Rappin' on the Reflexes Lecture September 9-11: Friday 7-9 PM Saturday 9-5 Sunday 9-3 Weekend Rappin' on the Reflexes Workshop Groh Farm Garden Room, 135 Temple Rd., Wilton, NH Fee: $225 (includes Book, CD and lunches) Earlybird Fee (by August 1) $200 We move through each of the 23 "Rappin'" Activities, and discuss when to use them, at home, in the classroom, or in the office. There will be ample time for experimentation and answering questions. Sunday morning will begin with a group balance for remembering and releasing September 11 (we will utilize the reflex movements in this process). My goal is for participants to experience mind/body integration through the reflexes, to acquire the confidence and tools to integrate themselves, and to bring it all home to their families, students, co-workers, and clients. Bring SOUND INTELLIGENCE™ to your neighborhood! Workshops, residencies, concerts, private sessions. Contact eve@evekodiak.com.
Birth Trauma Birth is one of our greatest experiences. At the same time, it can be traumatic, even when lights and voices are low, and hands are skilled and gentle. From our familiar uterine world of warm fluid, effortless nourishment, and soft heart sounds, we find ourselves suddenly bearing down toward a hard bony pelvis. As we try to find the most comfortable placement for our thirty-three cartilagenous cranial plates, our old home, the uterus, presses into us from above. Our head, neck and spine are compacted over and over, as we find our way into a world of air, and new sensations. Entry into our wonderful new life is a sacred time, calling for darkness and quiet. In the hospital birth, we may instead experience bright light, loud voices, and equipment noises. Too much sensory overload can put us into fight or flight, and leave the Central Nervous System (CNS) on high alert for days — or years. Some of our cranial plates, having telescoped to get us through the birthing canal, may remain overlapped on one other, or even pushed onto the brain stem. In this case, the CNS may stay on high alert, since it knows that pressure on the brain is dangerous. Pressure on the cranial nerves can cause visual disturbances, chronic ear infections, lack of coordination, digestive, breathing and speech struggles. Cerebrospinal Fluid . . . Fascia is tissue that wraps around our bones and muscles and organs, creating an interconnected system throughout the body. Cerebrospinal fluid is held next to the brain and spinal cord by a thick fascial membrane known as the dura mater, or strong mother, that flexes and extends with the slow pulsations. CSF completely remakes itself every four hours, delivering one hundred ten nutrients to the brain and the spinal cord. The wondrous, steady flow of cerebrospinal fluid is the only known constant rhythm in the body, pulsing eight to ten times per minute throughout life, matching our respiratory rate while we are in deepest sleep. Unlike the heart and respiratory rates, it does not change with physical or emotional activity. The origin of the cerebrospinal pulse is not yet known, but has been directly viewed by anesthesiologists during brain surgery. The amplitude of the cranio-respiratory mechanism is now considered one of the best measures of overall health. . . . And Autism Most autistic children have a compressed fourth ventricle, the small chamber in the center of the brain where new cerebrospinal fluid is made every four hours. In my work as a CranioSacral Therapist, sensing the amount of cranial tension in some of these youngsters brings me to tears. Releasing this tension often means slipping "hands on" in the brief moments between a child's jumps off the table and bounces off the wall. Patience is rewarded, however. After two craniosacral sessions, one non-verbal six-year old initiated his first conversation ever — with appropriate questions and full-sentence answers. Recognizing Injuries . . . Head trauma occurs whenever the brain moves out of the usual protection of the cerebrospinal fluid and strikes against the skull. Swelling may occur in the brain, slowly increasing and decreasing over a period of days or even weeks. Head injuries often go undiagnosed. Concussions do not always cause loss of consciousness. Even sitting down too hard can cause a head injury, since the impact on the tailbone can travel right up the spine and concuss the brain against the floor of the skull. Slipping on ice, down stairs, on a ball field, or flying off the bottom of a slide - all these can cause injuries more serious than they may at first seem. Even when a child seems to recover quickly, take precautions. . . . And Responding to Them Right after the time of impact, place gentle light hands on either side of the involved body part. A light, light touch will help release the injury. If you are concerned about touching the child, simply place your hands close to his body with the intention of comfort. Keep calm and quiet. Make sure that the child moves very slowly, especially when shifting from the position of the injury. After a fall involving the head, spine or tailbone, have the child rest in quiet and darkness. Since the brain heals three times faster while we sleep, encourage napping, and be sure the child gets plenty of extra sleep at night for a few weeks after a fall. Any over-stimulation of the senses can inhibit healing. Make sure the child avoids parties, shopping, rushing, stressful emotional situations - indeed, much of our zoomy twenty-first century life. Easing Up at School . . . You may want to let school go for a few days, since mental activity can lengthen recovery time. When the child does return to school, ask the teacher to watch for any differences in behavior or academic performance. Sometimes attention spans shorten, and children are unable to sustain a whole day of classes without headache, visual stress, or total exhaustion. By mid-day, injured brains can suddenly cause extreme fatigue, slurring speech, or poor balance and coordination. Such tired children become more at risk for re-injuring themselves through falling. If the child puts his head down, covers his eyes, or verbalizes he just cannot do anymore, teachers and parents need to listen, and encourage rest and quiet. Pushing for more school work can do more damage. CranioSacral Therapy CranioSacral therapy, with a skilled practitioner, can be extremely helpful for many conditions. CranioSacral therapy is a gentle, "hands on" tracking of the cerebrospinal pulse, releasing injury from the fascia and restoring the system to health. Many pediatricians in Europe do cranial assessment on each visit to keep the fascia freed up: after birth, then through the falls a toddler takes while learning to walk, bike accidents, and on. Parents are educated that even a minor fall or blow to the head, back, or tailbone can cause fascia to splint and disturb the symmetrical flow. Awareness about signs of brain fatigue, and the quiet and rest which are needed to allay it, is what helps most in healing over the weeks and months. Ann Szaur is a Certified Traditional Naturopath specializing in child development and anthroposophical medicine. She practices in California, and is available for phone consultations. She may be reached at 614-477-9272, or on the web at ann@annszaur.com. You are receiving this SOUND INTELLIGENCE newsletter from Eve Kodiak because you have signed a mailing list, bought a book, attended a workshop, or verbally expressed interest! 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