This article will talk about something that my family has recently witnessed when my wife Marge suffered a brain aneurysm on July 27, 2013. Because of her quick response to it she has survived, but over the past 7 1/2 months has had to work diligently to aid her brain in developing new pathways. Our family is blessed that she has had this opportunity to recover. 

Even though I have been a holistic health care practitioner for 28 years and have investigated how the brain creates and generates the simplest of movements, I have been truly amazed at just how intricate the brain is. In today's world we are hearing more and more of brain injuries, primarily because of all of the concussions in professional sports and the returning veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

A few months back, I had a individual come in with chronic neck and low back pain and during the intake of information I had inquired if he ever suffered from a head injury. He stated, "No, I never had any form of head injury." As many of you know as we begin to release the abnormal tensions of the body through educated touch we also release emotional information that is being stored in the brain. Further conversation revealed he was a veteran of U.S. Marine Corp and had served in the first gulf war. He was exposed to daily barrages of Scud missiles while stationed in Kuwait. Those concussive explosions had altered his posture and did give him BTI.

This is just one example, others would be a Brain Aneurysm, Stroke, Auto Accidents, accidentally bumping your head, a hard sneeze or cough, or someone just slapping you on the back unexpectedly. In the picture, it lists many different forms of BTI that we may suffer from. 

What can someone do to help with these conditions? I will list a few items that I have found helpful and give a brief explanation of how and why. The first being: 

• Art of Massage Therapy - as I have written before, when performed correctly Massage Therapy is a form of passive exercise that stimulates not only the skin but all of the underlying tissues and organs. How does this help me with BTI? It encourages brain stimulation to the region being touched. The brain will first perceive the touch and have to determine its intention and will react to that stimulation appropriately. What this accomplishes is a release of abnormal tension on the brain's stimulation and allows the brain to properly heal itself.
  
• Craniosacral Therapy - this was originally developed by Dr. Sutherland, D.O. when he discovered that by balancing the flow the cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that is found within the spinal cord) that it aided the body in healing itself. The picture above was taken from a craniosacral site and the use of this technique has helped in the body's healing or dealing with these issues. How does it work? Through a very gentle touch by a therapist to specific areas of the skull, the body will re-position the plates of the skull and permit proper movement of these plates during normal breathing patterns. This ability to move will create a proper pumping action that will help facilitate the activity of the spinal fluid that nourishes the nerves that come out of the spinal cord. This nourishment will enhance the nerve activity to the specific organs and help them regenerate the cells within. 
• Ortho-Bionomy - this technique is a form of reprogramming the proprioception, what the brain perceives or sees, so that the body is experiencing its movement patterns. By bringing the body's movement patterns back into balance this technique reduces the amount of unnecessary stimulation to the brain and allows the brain to focus on what it needs to do to heal itself.
• Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® - this form of therapy delves into the tension being placed on the human skeleton and brings about a natural tension to it. In many BTI situations there are abrupt movements that will alter how the body needed to position itself in order to protect the rest of the body. The practitioner will assess and aide the brain in re-patterning this tension. There are two functions, one is accessing the brain to determine the direction the muscle was moving before it was inhibited, and allowing the brain to return it to a proper tension without affecting the fight or flight nervous system. Secondly, this release of tension will once again remove over stimulation to the brain and allow it to concentrate on the traumatized areas.
• Fundamental Movement using Pilates based equipment - when performed properly, Pilates will help in properly re-programming the movement patterns the body naturally wants to follow. With BTI the brain has to re-pattern neurological responses and since movement is an important part of our daily lives, disruption to those patterns will tax the brain. What proper movement education does is reinforce the brain's ability to process the information at more of a subconscious level and make movement once again spontaneous to what the brain sees it needs to do.

Brain Trauma Injury takes on its own form with each individual, and these aforementioned techniques are different ways of taking care of the resultant symptoms. Brain Trauma is more than bumping your head and bruising your brain, it is any alteration to the brain's normal ability to function. As in Marge's case, it was a severe brain bleed, or in a loved one's stroke, a depletion of nutrition to the brain cells, whatever the instance, there is a need to assist the brain to properly function again. Given positive assistance it will respond. 

Give us a call at 216-364-0152 and one of our therapist or instructors will be happy to assist you on your journey of recovery.

On a final note I want to let everyone know I am back on a regular schedule at the office. For everyone that was considerate enough to give me the space and time needed to aide Marge, thank you. Now is a good time to get your body ready for the Spring and Summer weather that is rapidly approaching. 

and remember
there is always a REASON to HOPE!

Dennis

To many of you these seem like two very far off topics but are very close in application. The mind has to be focused in order to accomplish both, whether a deep, calming place you can go to, or moving a stack of weights. I remember one instance when we had Yoga at our studio one of the clients came to me and said I didn't take Yoga to lay there at the end and sleep. I believe the focus of the exercise was lost somewhere between the beginning and end. 

On March 12th Joan Leppla will be leading us in a group meditation session, and she will be explaining all of the fine points to remove the craziness of our brain at that moment and going to a place within, where our brain can become quiet and rest. On March 18th Josh Trentine (pictured above) and myself will be conducting a class on the importance of Strength Training and how it truly takes us within to allow our brain to focus on efficient use of our muscle system. 

Just how do these two tie in together? In the above picture you will see an alignment of different colored circles, these are know as our chakras or energy centers. Many think this is hocus pocus but in reality these are where bundles of nerve endings come together to help us balance our body's systems. Meditation brings these centers into alignment and reduces the amount of stress on the brain as it tries to sort this out among all of the daily chaos. As Joan leads you through the process you will experience a peaceful sensation as these centers of energy become more aligned. 

In strength training much of the same happens, it is not how much weight you move or how many times you perform a repetition, it is using your body's combination of muscle and skeleton in its most efficient manner and isolating specific muscles to perform that activity. What happens is the brain develops a pathway to move through and the more muscle fibers you are able to use, the less stress is on the brain. When performed properly, strength training shouldn't make you look like the Incredible Hulk, it should give you a long lean look. What gives you the bulky look is the increase in the number of fibers that you are now able to access. 

 

Meditation and strength training take on many different appearances. In the picture on the left, Jarvis is performing a move called the gator. Notice how in all of the pictures, you will see an alignment that places the body into a position where it balances the structure. 

So whether its meditation, strength training with weights, or strength training on Pilates equipment we are looking at the same process. We are minimizing stress on the skeleton to allow the brain to balance the internal tension that we need to bring a healing to the whole body. 

Please join us during the month of March as we explore these areas. Go to our web site, www.chagrinvalleywellness.com,  to find out more on the times and cost. 

Thank you and I know I speak for many, Spring can not come fast enough. Stay warm and I look forward to seeing many of you at the center to partake in these opportunities.

Remember there is always....
a Reason to HOPE!

Dennis