Team Franciscan Center: Feeding Our Brains with Movement

Dr. Jack Harless

Manager of The Franciscan Center

"Neuroscience has discovered that our brain's very design makes it sociable, inexorably drawn into an intimate brain-to-brain linkup whenever we engage with another person. That neural bridge lets us impact the brain—and so the body—of everyone we interact with, just as they do us." 1. I find the above quote fascinating and exciting for a variety of reasons. It has many implications for us as humans, but specifically, those of us involved with very physical components of the eight Vital Life ecologies can understand that the brain is also impacted equally by the body. Said differently, this is a two lane highway. Not only does what we think affect the body, but how we move, touch, and breath with our physical being, conversely affects the brain. There is no separation between the brain & body! In fact there really should be a term for this inseparable unity. Many have started to call it the bodymind. This has far reaching affects and when one considers that exercise physiologists now consider movement to be a daily requirement, much like daily nutritional requirements, exercise becomes not an option, but a mandate! Because we are not just physical beings, movement/exercise affects every aspect of our being. Researchers such as Candace Pert, PhD, have demonstrated that alteration to the body's basic patterns of movement, breath, & touch create pschyo-spiritual changes from the smallest chemical neuropeptide to whole body reductions of tension and stress that even extend to others around us! Very simply, the more we move, the better we are as humans. We have more energy, we tend to resist stagnation & decay in all of the eight ecosystems. When we move with others, as we were created to do, we extend the holistic benefits exponentially! If you have been feeling a little stagnant lately, try moving, breathing & stretching your body in a different way. When you get that feeling in the early afternoon, instead of reaching for the soda pop or extra cup of coffee, get up and take a 2 minute walk around the office. You're bodymind will thank you. Brain & Mind Fitness News Blog – Social Intelligence & the Frontal Lobes, Oct. 14, 2006, http://sharpbrains.wordpress.com/2006/10/14/new-directions-social-intelligence-and-the-frontal-lobes/