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Stories and Insights

Barefoot Walking

6/24/2022

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One surprising benefit I have experienced after my ABM Neuromovement® practitioner training has been my increased ability and enjoyment of walking barefoot outdoors. I often watch my children run around barefoot outdoors on all kinds of terrain. I remember doing the same as a child, but over the years going barefoot has become more uncomfortable and not as enjoyable.
After my ABM work, I’ve noticed that my feet are able to move all the individual joints better (there are 33 joints and 26 bones in the foot) and are able to move and form to the terrain. This is what makes it easy and enjoyable to walk barefoot again.
I had always thought that the soles of my feet needed to toughen up, but now I know that there is more than just tough skin needed. We need mobility, flexibility and the freedom to move that is often lost over years of wearing stiff and confining footwear.
I will celebrate summer and join my kids with being barefoot outdoors!
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Teaching Your Teen to Drive Using the 9 Essentials

6/21/2022

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My oldest son passed his learner’s test this spring and now must spend the next 6 months figuring out how to actually drive safely. This is a new experience for our family, and it brings back memories of my experience of learning to drive as a teen… it’s interesting how I remember the stress, conflict, and insecurity of that process – and we all have seen the stereotypes of anxious parents freaking out as their kids try hard not to make mistakes (and the tension increases since mistakes are inevitable).
I wanted my teen to be able to enjoy the process of learning this new life skill and create great memories of spending time together with me – and I wanted to avoid stress and anxiety for me, too! This brought me to the Nine Essentials of the Anat Baniel Method® NeuroMovement®. I already knew that following these Nine Essentials improves my clients’ ability to rewire their brains and learn new patterns of behaviour; I regularly use them for studying new concepts myself, and now I wanted to see how I could implement these principles while driving with my teen.
  1. Movement with Attention: Bring attention to both the physical and emotional experience of driving. I notice, and help him notice, how his body is moving (feet, hips, arms, head, etc) and sometimes pointing out stress or tension. Movements become more intentional, and unnecessary movement is reduced.
  2. Slow: Break the driving skills into small bits. We practice one or two new skills each lesson and slowly build upon the learning of the previous lesson. When his brain gets tired with all the learning, we end the lesson – giving time to process and take it all in.
  3. Variation: Use different locations to practice each skill, different times of day, etc. It’s more interesting for him, and keeps him more aware of the environment while integrating the essentials of driving that don’t change in new contexts.
  4. Subtlety: Reduce the force of movements, thoughts and actions when giving out instructions. I work on keeping myself relaxed, using a calm voice, and also help him reduce the force and tension when steering or even just sitting – relax the shoulders, no need to drive with your shoulders up beside your ears!
  5. Enthusiasm: Enjoy this time and look for the positives – radiate joy while celebrating the demonstrated skills and character. I try to build him up with encouraging words and with a loving spirit, and share his successes with the rest of our family when we get home – pointing out how he was brave, or remembered to signal before turning.
  6. Flexible Goals: Enjoy the process instead of focusing on meeting arbitrary short term goals. Flexibility takes away the pressure to get it right the first time and the feeling of failure that can accompany this pressure. I have an idea of what we can work on, but I try to embrace the imperfections: “mistakes” actually create crucial distinctions that help him achieve the end goal. This attitude also makes it easier to take advantage of unexpected opportunities (like getting cut off by another driver – a valuable experience that you can’t plan for, and when it happened that was good enough for the day and I drove him home).
  7. The Learning Switch: The brain needs to be in learning mode in order to learn a new skill. When my teen has a bad day, and is not in the frame of mind to have the learning switch on, I postpone the driving lesson and wait for a better time (and hopefully help him deal with whatever’s bothering him).
  8. Imagination and Dreams: Prepare in advance if you will be trying a more difficult skill or route. Imagine this skill and the steps involved before setting out to do it. We planned in advance for my teen before driving on a busy highway – I helped him anticipate what it would be like, imagining what might be different. He could prepare mentally and imagine driving this route and how he could respond to other drivers – or just imagine the right timing for passing a slow driver without actually passing them (“see that space? That could give you enough room”). We also simulated passing imaginary cars when driving on a completely empty highway, changing lanes when no one was actually there.
  9. Awareness: Be actively aware, as the parent, of emotions and physical experiences; doing and sensing as the teacher and passenger in the car. Being aware means I am present with my teen and with myself: noting what’s actually happening – what’s changing, and what’s staying the same. Instead of instinctively reacting, responding to what’s going on, and I encourage him to be aware of what he’s feeling, sensing and doing while driving.
I found that using the Nine Essentials, I was less stressed and was more present to the moment. My teen was less stressed as the pressure to perform was eliminated and we could move in the realm of what was possible. By building the skills slowly and building each skill based on what was learned the previous lesson, my teen gained confidence in himself and in the learning process – we could celebrate each success large or small and actually enjoy our time together!


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The Importance of Slow

6/19/2022

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​This little guy reminded me about the importance of the one of the Nine Essentials - the Essential of Slow.
First of all, while hiking the other day, I would have possibly missed seeing this beautiful snail if my friend had not seen him and pointed him out. My friend was able to slow down and spot the snail, that would have been so easy to miss. By slowing down and being in tune with our environment, with ourselves and how we feel in the moment, we are able to see, hear and feel so much more than if we are rushing around and moving through life quickly.
This little guy also shows us how moving slowly is beautiful and intricate. Slow does not keep us from reaching our destination or our purpose in life.
You need to slow down in order to learn a new skill and feel what you are doing and sensing. Slow catches the brain’s attention and creates new neural connections. You can only do what you know in a fast way.
Remember our friend the snail today as you go through your day's activities. See how you can incorporate slow into your activities and pay attention to how slow makes you feel. Does slowing down bring more awareness to your body, more awareness of the people around you or to the problem that you are solving?
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    Laura Friesen BMR(PT) is a certified Neuromovement Practitioner

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