Human connection, in its purest form, is a collaborative concept. Two unique and independent individuals come together in cooperative engagement. Someone is guiding through an experience, and the other is allowing that care and attention for a moment in time. When I empower my clients and their caretakers to practice rhythmic movement exercises on their own, I’m inviting this gentle dance of give and take.
As a multi-modal therapist based out of Florida’s Majestic Oak Therapy group, Timalee became aware of Thrive through her continued education on reflex integration. By applying rhythmic movement therapy with her clients, she quickly discovered the concept that less is more.
Roxy the sloth serves as an example of a dominant parasympathetic nervous system. Sloths are exceptionally good at regulating stress in this state. Our own rhythmic movement exercise based on this creature helps to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and regulate overactive fight or flight behavior, to support the integration of Moro.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 3 in 5 Americans feel their mental health is negatively impacted by the holidays (2021, NAMI). Holiday season, where later nights, travel and packed schedules often disrupt routine, can be particularly hard for children to navigate. We take a loop at coping strategies for the whole family.
Our reflexes work to support the strengthening of our neural pathways and underpin our daily behavior, an important connection in our reflex integration work. In this more comprehensive review of our early reflexes, we’ll take a look at how immaturities may manifest in potential social, behavioral or even physical challenges as we develop.
Our reflexes work to support the strengthening of our neural pathways and underpin our daily behavior, an important connection in our reflex integration work. In this more comprehensive review of our early reflexes, we’ll take a look at how immaturities may manifest in potential social, behavioral or even physical challenges as we develop.
Our proprioceptive system plays a vital yet unseen role in sensory processing, motor control and our survival instinct. Our body’s ability to sense its position in space is a complex automatic process, essential for coordination and balance in movement. When external and internal cues fail to result in successful processing, developmental and motor challenges may occur.
We often refer to early education as foundational. Children unlock the ability to read and write by drawing upon an understanding of the body’s two hemispheres that comes from reflex integration. The ability for children to remain attentive, focused and cooperative in a classroom setting is also closely connected to the integration of our primitive reflexes.
Our Amphibian reflex emerges once several earlier reflexes are integrated and we gain an understanding of the independence of our upper and lower body. Much like cross-lateral movement patterns, the Amphibian reflex enables balance and postural stability for upright movement.
In this case study, the teenage client was dealing with extreme social anxiety, school refusal and separation challenges. By working toward integrating defensive reflexes and promoting client agency in our work, our sessions focused on fostering independence, self-initiative and a sensation of safety.
