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Ok, I hold my hand up (the good one, lol), I’m so guilty… always in a rush, caught in the “fast – track”, that is up until now when life’s cruel circumstance has forced me to slow-down.

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going fast- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why

-Eddie Cantor

Slow movement is the key to the awareness of movement.

Awareness of movement is fundamental to improving movement.

It is is our brain that organizes and decides how we will perform any movement or action. The brain maps our movement from a multitude of our experiences from the time we are born, through this process the brain grows billions of new connections and builds our self -image. Any movement we perform is a brain/body movement…for example when we raise our hand, its not only the hand that the brain has to organize- it has to know where every part of the body is in space and the dynamic relationship between different parts of the body at all times.

As a result of stroke, a part of my brain has been destroyed, consequently the connections in my brain that were responsible for movement and sensation in the left side off my body no longer are getting the right message… I have muscle weakness and muscle stiffness (also known as spasticity), and altered sensation.

I am hopeful that the Anat Baniel Method will guide my brain (thanks to its neural plasticity) to focus on the different areas of my body, and form new connections that will enable me to recover and organize the basic and more complex movements that I have lost.

I started this process last Monday with NeuroMovement for Whole Body Fitness.

I felt quite excited as I began the first lesson. The lessons so far take place lying down, no fighting gravity here! I brought my full attention, and listened carefully….. move slowly, pay attention to how you are feeling, be gentle don’t force movements, don’t go into pain, avoid doing movements that you find difficult or are unable to do at the moment.

There is so much to focus on…. my mind is busy and this does not come naturally to me. I now understand why I’ve been told to do this in the evening, not after therapy or exercise. A quiet mind and  environment is important for the practice.

The second lesson brought a different challenge. The pain in my shoulder interferes so much that I am not able to physically do this movement, and so as Anat suggests I visualise the movements.Thinking and doing are the same in the brain. The same brain regions that are activated when completing a motor skill are activated when mentally rehearsing the same task. This technique is difficult, and will take some practice! The carry over from this however, is that I am beginning to now find myself visualizing tasks that I struggle with, throughout the week.

By the time I reach the third lesson (the pelvic clock) and the end of the week, I do believe things are starting to make a bit more sense. This lesson follows a physiotherapy session that   I had earlier that day, where my therapist worked on my very stiff misaligned pelvis, ribs and shoulders.

I am now beginning to direct my focus, on how movement feels, much more successfully.

Am I seeing changes yet? Honestly not yet.The subtlety of each movement takes a lot of attention. But then I am only 3 lessons  and 1 week in.

As I move into lesson number 4 today and my second week of doing this method, I am finding that I am starting to sense movement more as a whole body experience. I am consciously experiencing movement more now, even when I am participating in my traditional physiotherapy.

Practice makes perfect….. Oh  yes, I am going to need a lot of practice!

* I want to caution anyone reading my account, that I am no medical expert, I am writing this as a personal account of how stroke has affected me, and its my journey of recovery.
 

ᔥ The Anat Baniel Method

Photo montage: iStock/Tori Deux

My goal is to get better, I want to return to the same level of ability that I enjoyed prior to my stroke. Ok ok , I needed to establish this, even if it may seem to you that I am stating the obvious!

I’m finding life after stroke takes a lot of energy. Recovery takes a lot of energy. Feeling exhausted saps motivation big time.

After discharge from the inpatient rehabilitation unit my therapy was, in the main, self directed. I had to wait 10 weeks for outpatient rehab therapy to kick in, and in contrast to the daily sessions that were part of my inpatient treatment I now only receive 1 – 30 minute physiotherapy appointment and 1 -45 minutes of occupational therapy each week.

So, I am responsible to pick up the slack…. and do the work. I am the one who can control the success or failure of my treatment and treatment choices, and I am the one who stands to gain. Behaviour changes the brain, and as a survivor my belief is that my behaviour will play a part in rewiring my brain.

I really believe in “do what you love to get better”. Prior to my stroke I was in pretty good shape,so the first thing I added to my own regime (once I was able to) was walking on a treadmill.Very slowly at first, and then gradually building up the speed, incline and distance.

There is a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, ( BDNF). BDNF has been called “miracle grow for the brain”.BDNF can also protect neurons and lead to neuronal growth. BDNF is produced naturally right after birth – because the brain has to massively rewire after birth. It is also produced after brain-injury, and this includes stroke. The way to pump the brain full of BDNF is with exercise. Both cardiovascular and resistance training will bathe the brain in BDNF. So along with the other benefits that exercise brings, you are helping your brain to rewire. Walking triggers neuroplastic change in the brain.

The limitations of treatment freely available to me, led me to seek additional treatment options.

Like most people I respond to encouragement and positivity , and respond well to practitioners with this approach and energy.

I also started seeing Stephanie, a private physiotherapist who practises using Clinical Pilates. Clinical Pilates is a form of physical exercise that focuses on posture, core stability, balance, control, strength, flexibility, and breathing. This was a good addition to my rehab, given left sided weakness and alignment issues following my stroke.

Part of the body’s ability to recover following damage to the brain can be explained by the damaged area of the brain getting better, but mostly it is the result of neuroplasticity – forming new neural connections. But there are a few more steps to mastery and brain rewiring than just deliberate practice: motivation, positive emotions, and visualization all play a part.

In my research to better understand neuroplasticity and the brain’s ability to modify its connections or re-wire itself, I discovered Norman Doidge’s fascinating book The Brain’s Way of Healing and after reading the chapter on Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, I read Anat Baniels'(a student and colleague Feldenkrais)- Move into Life. Feldenkrais developed practical ways to capitalize on the brains way to change itself through movement, and Anat’s Baniels’ Neuromovement Method has evolved from his teachings.

The Anat Baniel NeuroMovement® Whole Body Fitness focuses on providing the brain with new information, and the brain uses this information to change and improve what we do. Unlike traditional approaches that utilize repetitive task to regain what is lost with stroke, the Anat Baniel Method approaches healing brain problems through the awareness of movement. No part of the body can be moved without involvement of other parts being involved. Awareness of movement is the key to improving movement, and the sensory system is intimately related to movement not separate from it.

I really felt really open to this holistic approach based on self-awareness, and I wanted to try it out so I contacted Anat Baniel, and this week I have started to integrate Neuromovement into my rehabilitation.

* I want to caution anyone reading my account, that I am no medical expert, I am writing this as a personal account of how stroke has affected me, and it’s my journey of recovery.

People who are depressed after a stroke may have a tripled risk of dying early and four times the risk of death from stroke than people who have not experienced a stroke or depression.

“Up to one in three people who have a stroke develop depression,” says study author Amytis Towfighi, assistant professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). “This is something family members can help watch for that could potentially save their loved one.”

Similar associations have been found regarding depression and heart attack, but less is known about the association between stroke, depression, and death, says Towfighi.

The research included 10,550 people between the ages of 25 and 74 followed for 21 years. Of those, 73 had a stroke but did not develop depression; 48 had stroke and depression; 8,138 did not have a stroke or depression and 2,291 did not have a stroke but had depression.

After considering factors such as age, gender, race, education, income level, and marital status, the risk of dying from any cause was three times higher in individuals who had stroke and depression compared to those who had not had a stroke and were not depressed.

The risk of dying from stroke was four times higher among those who had a stroke and were depressed compared to people who had not had a stroke and were not depressed.

“Our research highlights the importance of screening for and treating depression in people who have experienced a stroke,” says Towfighi. “Given how common depression is after stroke, and the potential consequences of having depression, looking for signs and symptoms and addressing them may be key.”

The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23.

ᔥUSC