Category Archives: brain fitness

Brain Power Exercises

brain fitness, handwriting, Parkinsons Disease Information, recovery

Most people choose to suppress the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease with medications or supplements. And why not? If you can begin to feel “normal”, you can begin leading a “normal” life. Brain power exercises are an entertaining and effective way to boost existing neural networks and create new ones.

Whole Brain Power
Michael Lavery, Author of Whole Brain Power

Michael Lavery, author of Whole Brain Power: The Fountain of Youth for the Mind and Body. has invented fascinating and innovative ways to increase and enhance the integrity and functionality of your brain. You read my last sentence correctly.

  • You can get a lot smarter!
  • Your memory and recall can improve significantly!
  • Your handwriting can improve!
  • Your can become more focused!
  • You can lift depression!
  • You can reclaim your life force!

All of this is possible, Michael explains, when you start a program of brain power exercises that exercise your brain in ways you never before even imagined. I like his approach because it puts you in the driver’s seat of your recovery and allows medicines and  supplements to take a back seat rather than front seat.

Joining Michael in my interview with him is Len Fox who discusses his own experience with taking Michael’s program of brain power exercises seriously.

More about Brain Power Exercises

The fine and gross motor controls of the hands help to grow the brain.  This brain growth occurs specifically on the surface of the brain as well as certain anatomical areas of the hippocampi structures, the corpus collosum and the cerebellum. The growth of myelin occurs with improved procedural memories.  When the myelin thickens on the axon sheaths, chemical changes occur with the production of a  master steroid. This process helps maintain homeostasis within the brain.

The brain has the ability to create new neurons in a process called neurogenesis. The brain has much greater plasticity than previously recognized.This is encouraging news for anyone dealing with mild cognitive impairment. People dealing with Parkinson’s  and Alzheimer’s can be inspired to become more proactive with the issues of doing certain brain exercises that can help to rewire both hemispheres.

One of the tenets of whole brain exercises is to work on ambidexterity with handwriting drills and to also work on mirror writing.  This exercise is called “Da Vinci writing.”  It is one in which the practitioner writes from right to left with cursive penmanship.  The other ambidextrous drill is to bounce a golf ball off a mallet and to do so with either hand.

People with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s make tremendous strides in these areas where initially they had coordination problems.

To keep your program focused, Michael Lavery has also published a Whole Brain Power: Workbook & Progress Journal

How to Boost your dog's brain power
Canine IQ Quests

I suspect you may be thinking – really? I thought I was born which a fixed level of brain power. Do you have a dog? If so, I suggest test out the ability of anyone to get smarter – even dogs. Click on the Canine IQ Quests image for information about mind exercises that boost the brain power of a dog!

 

Robert Rodgers PhD
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease

Movement is Controlled by Two Independent Brain Centers

brain fitness, mobility challenges

A formidable challenge with manifesting rock solid walking is that movement is controlled by two independent brain centers.

Peter Strick, chair of neurobiology and scientific director of the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, and other scientists hypothesize there is a brain circuit in Parkinson’s patients that can be switched on and off to control movement.

Strick’s collaborators are focusing on two circuits in the brain that are hypothesized to  control movement. One circuit is damaged by Parkinson’s which results in manifesting symptoms associated with a Parkinsons diagnosis such as tremor, freezing, and poor balance and coordination.

Strick believes there is a second control mechanism that is fully functional.  When accessed, symptoms are quieted. Strick’s hypothesizes the fully functional  circuit is  switched on by strong emotions activated by positive experiences. More simply put, the endless joy of doing something that feeds our soul activates the circuit that facilitates effortless mobility.

The bottom line? The most effective “medicine” is to embrace activities that give you the greatest joy. Acknowledge the profound relief of symptoms that is associated when you “follow your bliss.”

Robert Rodgers PhD
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
Rock Solid Walking Online Course

 

Apoptosis and Parkinson’s Disease

apoptosis, brain fitness, diet, food, genetics, Healing Parkinsons from the Inside Out, inflammation, Natural Therapies, Nutrition, Parkinsons Disease Information

John Rollins PhD discusses the critical role that is played by Apoptosis and why it has such a critical influence on nervous system health.  What is Apoptosis? It is the body’s natural process for repairing, regenerating and destroying damaged cells. Dozens of studies on Apoptosis are being published every day. It is one of the most researched topics out there right now.

Why is that?  Researchers (including myself) have just realized that understanding Apoptosis offers a genuine understanding about what the body needs to heal at the cellular level. What is the bottom line of this understanding?

Most of us actually do not have access to some of the foods that are needed for cells to rejuvenate and regenerate. This explains why so many people who have launched an A+ recovery program have still not succeeded in reversing all of their symptoms.

Dr. Rollins discusses these issues in detail and offers a little history lesson about his longtime relationship with Dr. Bill McAnalley who was a recent guest on Parkinsons Recovery Radio and founder of Aroga.

Dr. Rollins explains how Aroga products and in particular the Core Pathways, Brain and Nerve Plus and Aloe 1 support and nurture neural tissue health. For more information about Aroga food products click on the link below.

https://arogalife.com/parkinsons-recovery

Robert Rodgers PhD
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
https://www.parkinsonsdisease.me

Rewiring the Brain

brain fitness

My guest on Parkinsons Recovery Radio is Annie Hopper who developed The Dynamic Neural Retraining System as a therapeutic approach to rewiring the brain. Thousands of people have applied her novel program for varying chronic illnesses with great success. Focus of the program is to teach participants how to self-direct neuro-plastic changes in the limbic system that normalize threat mechanisms in the brain. This allows the brain and body to move out of a state of survival and into a state of growth and repair, where healing can take place.

What is the Limbic System?

The following is an eloquent explanation Annie emailed to me in preparation for the radio show interview tomorrow.

The limbic system is a complex set of structures in the mid brain that includes the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala and cingulate cortex. It has been described as the feeling and reacting brain. It is responsible for the formation of memories and is constantly determining our level of safety. The Limbic System assigns emotional
significance to everything we smell, see, hear, feel, and taste. It is known as the seat of social and emotional intelligence and is the brains anxiety switch. It is closely integrated with the immune system, the endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system.

When not functioning properly due to injury or impairment, the limbic system becomes hypersensitive and begins to react to stimuli that it would usually disregard as not representing a danger to the body. This results in inappropriate activation of the immune, endocrine and autonomic nervous systems that can lead to varied and seemingly unconnected symptoms.

This hypersensitivity of the limbic system causes over-firing of protective and threat mechanisms in the midbrain. This can result in distorted unconscious reactions, sensory perceptions and protective responses.

Similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it seems that limbic system hypersensitivity, or dysfunction, involves impairment to structures within the limbic system of the brain that alter connectivity to the pre-frontal cortex. We hypothesize that the hyperactivity in the limbic system fosters inhibition of the inhibitory networks, which allows the over-stimulation of survival mechanisms. This gives rise to an unconscious and persistent fight or flight response associated with limbic system impairment. Over time,
it is possible this state of hyper arousal can weaken the immune system, and affect systems associated with rest, digestion, detoxification, mood stability as well as motor and cognitive function.

The Dynamic Neural Retraining System was developed in 2008 by Annie Hopper as a therapeutic approach to improving these conditions and rewiring the brain using neuro-plasticity principles. Thousands of people have applied the program for varying chronic illnesses and have had great success. The focus of the program is to effectively teach participants how to self-direct neuro-plastic changes in the limbic system that normalize threat mechanisms in the brain. This allows the brain and body to move out of a state of survival and into a state of growth and repair, where healing can take place.

Robert Rodgers PhD
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease

Ultra Mind Solution

brain fitness

Linda kindly gave me permission to post this email on the Parkinsons Recovery blog about the ultra mind solution and the miracle of the brain to rejuvenate and regenerate.

Robert Rodgers PhD
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

This is Linda Ralph writing to you. I have written to you a few times now. You may remember me, I am from Victoria and went on the Alaska Cruise. I have something I would like to share with you.

I am  half way through a  newly purchased book, “The Ultra Mind Solution by the author: Mark Hyman, MD. I have had one of Mark’s earlier books , “The Ultra Simple Diet” for years now , and was truly very excited to find two new books  published by him recently,  especially the one having to do with the brain, and healing and fixing the brain, entitled: “The UltraMind Solution”. On the cover of this book it says:

“Fix Your Broken Brain By Healing Your Body First”.

And, I really do believe that to be true. For me, this book reiterates much of what I have learned through your website, Robert. Be it through your blog, your published works or through information that I have heard from radio show guests, or through the personal stories written or told, of many folks who are having successes in coping with PD.

In addition to that, this book is also jam packed with practical information  to help one heal and to enhance the brain. It has realms of information , that although pretty detailed at times, does provide the reader with learning that I feel is relevant and vital. And there are also a personal case studies as well, that seem, ‘bring it all home’, so to speak, as well as referencing to PD.

Hyman speaks of

‘treating the body as a whole and not as separate entities’.

Now this is not a new idea. But it merits repetition. He too, states, that

‘your brain may be broken, but it can be fixed’.

This idea certainly rings true of the last few years findings and new discoveries about the brain. Many books and articles have alluded to the fact that you can rewire your brain, you can change it, and maybe you can even fix it. Outlined in this book is a detailed (but not overly complicated ) way as to what one does to go about fixing the brain and the methods to follow to have success.

Hyman says that by ‘pinpointing the biological problem one can then fix it, by letting the body’s natural healing intelligence take over to repair your brain’. He then goes on provide a program, a simple way to do this through his : Seven Keys to Ultra Wellness. This is a very well written and helpful  book. (Another recent book of his, with over 200 recipes, “The Ultra Metabolism Cookbook“, is also an excellent resource.

If you haven’t heard of him, ( and you probably have) I do believe that you would find this  book of his, to be another delightful addition and resource for your readers. It is a good read.

There may be some merit in your readers knowing about this book and its author. Maybe this author could be a guest on your show??

JUST ONE PERSON’S OPINION
Linda Ralph

Change Your Brain

brain fitness

Here are some resources to share on how to change your brain:

https://www.befitoverfifty.com/pages/thera.htm?source=OverTo

Although the first part is “depressing” to read, the section on “Why Exercise Is So Important” is simple and motivating. There are yet more exercise programs for people with muscular and neurological disorders on this link, but I am not sure of their availability.

I am reading a new book (to me), Train Your MIND, Change Your BRAIN by Sharon Begley, (Ballantine). This is a survey of how the brain adapts to the kind of thinking we do and the feeling modes that we experience.

The Dalai Lama figures in this story with his patient challenge to neurological researchers on the reverse of the belief “the brain creates the mind or the mind is the result of brain activity”–doesn’t the mind affect the way the brain operates? Beliefs in science are hard to confront.

This book is about research on this confrontation. There are stories of experiments in re-training the thinking of people with depression and obsessive/compulsive disorders. As they corrected for their distorted thinking, they experienced relief, even when medication was supposed to give them relief. Re-training our thinking is crucial because our brains respond to the perception of our reality. The experiments related in the book can inspire ideas on working our own programs. Parkinson’s isn’t even mentioned, but strokes are.

The evidence shows that plasticity or brain/neural changing doesn’t occur only in childhood but throughout life. A Tibetan monk, whom the Dalai Lama knew, was imprisoned by the Chinese for 18 years, a time which included torture. When freed, he was found to be the same gentle, mentally sharp man that the Dalai once knew, just like he was before the imprisonment. Was he ever afraid? Yes, he was afraid that he would lose his compassion for the Chinese.

“Because of forgiveness, his bad experience with Chinese not got worse,” said the Dalai Lama.

This anecdote shows that mind is over matter. It is possible to change our brain when we train our mind. The book goes on to explore, from the Buddhist perspective, what mind is or does. The link between Buddhist thinking and scientific neurological research is attention and attention training.

Thanks for all that you do!

Alan

Robert Rodgers PhD
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery