According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), 20% of five-year-olds and 10% of seven-year-olds experience nocturnal enuresis, or frequent bedwetting issues. While the age range for toilet training varies, it’s widely thought that bladder control is something that may not develop fully until age seven. 

While bedwetting has been attributed to a number of causes across research, from anxiety and ADHD to a genetic predisposition, the primary biological issue is the body’s inability to feel when the bladder is full. When nerves that control the bladder are slow to mature and muscle tone in the region remains low, a child’s brain may not receive those bathroom signals while in a deep sleep.

Our reflexes emerge and integrate during our early months of infancy to help us grow and develop. These movements are purposeful, teaching survival skills from navigation to balance, from understanding threats to exploration. Our reflexes help us as to find food, build attachments and ultimately live independently. Among the many systems impacted by our reflexes are those that expel waste (bladder, bowels).

The Spinal Galant reflex, which emerges with sensations along the spine on the lower back, is closely aligned to the delicate nerve endings that support bladder function. That’s why, when testing a newborn, strokes on the lower back to the waist will almost always result in a release of urine. As Spinal Galant, the side-to-side movement from the hips, strengthens and integrates, so does the nerve and muscle tone that supports bladder function and control.

When addressing bedwetting, there are a number of easy tips available to parents, from controlling evening fluid intake and eliminating caffeine to moisture alarms that help a child wake at the onset of a leak. Plastic mattress covers, nightlights in bathrooms and handy clean clothes may help rough nights but ultimately, the root of the issue needs to be addressed to see progress toward a dry, sound sleep. 

By identifying an active Spinal Galant reflex, and working on targeted rhythmic movement exercises to support its integration, the bladder will also be supported and strengthened. Along the way, it’s important for parents, caretakers and siblings to understand this is something most children cannot control. Avoid reward systems as much as shameful language along this journey. Instead, empower your child to play a role in understanding their body and the movements that work to support their development overall.

Grounding is a purposeful practice within yoga that supports our feeling of stability, or rooting, to the Earth. Grounding poses include any position where we connect our body to the ground below. Warrior II or even the simple standing Mountain Pose, for example, offer two powerful opportunities for our feet to touch the earth and our minds to feel secure and centered. 

When grounding, we send energy downward, putting pressure on the soles of our feet from our heels to our toe pads. We might imagine growing deep roots, as if we’re a tree.  In yoga, we wiggle our toes to feel them as distinct and we stand tall in the energetic connection to the Earth. In Child’s Pose or even in Downward Dog, we spread our fingers wide and channel that energy downward through our palms.  In a sense, we’re employing our reflexes in our hands and feet to create these grounding sensations. It’s the curling and extending movements that enable us to channel that energy, while at the same time feeling safe in our own bodies in the present.

We often hear about chakras from yogis as well. The root chakra, located at the base of the spine, is thought to be aligned to our sense of safety and stability. It brings to mind how our symphony of reflexes works together to create our sense of connection and place in the world. 

When we practice exercises in a Thrive session, we’re building upon our earliest reflex movements to support a greater sense of our awareness of our bodies and their capabilities. Just as yoga encourages presence of mind, I encourage my clients to be aware of how they feel as they move. I’m supporting the feeling of being grounded, of knowing yourself and your unique and special place in this world.

As connections to the higher parts of the brain form, pathways are established and reinforced. The cerebellum, home to nearly 70% of those neurons, plays a role in organizing those early primitive movements upwards from the brain stem. The better we build on these connections, the more we gain control over our movement. By encouraging exploration through practice, we’re helping children to learn coordination in their movement. Higher connections, like those to the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia, come later, enabling us to act with more focus and consistency. 

The structures that make up our brain never work in isolation and it’s important to create strong connections that reinforce how each work together. Poor connections to parts of our brain may result in aggressive behavior or the inability to process sensory information effectively. Speech and language, as well the ability to maintain focus and attention, are two areas that are also highly reliant on neural linkages.

Oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus and stored in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. As not only a hormone but a neurotransmitter, it’s released by electric signals from parts of our body back and forth to our brain. As one of the few hormones that function off a positive feedback loop, the release of oxytocin stimulates even more to be released from the pituitary gland. Oxytocin has an important physical function in the labor process, as the baby’s downward pressure initiates oxytocin-induced contractions that aid in childbirth. The hormone is also responsible for lactation, signaling the release of milk when an infant begins to suck.
 

The “love hormone” is commonly associated with positive emotions, supporting healthy social interactions in a number of ways. Oxytocin in released with physical touch like hugging and cuddling, which in turn triggers feelings of attraction and attachment. When a parent offers a newborn skin to skin contact, the release of oxytocin triggers powerful feelings of attachment and that bond tell the infant she is safe. Oxytocin has an important behavioral role, helping us build trust through recognition and contributing to our ability to make safe, healthy connections with others. 
 

When we think of our friend Roxy the Sloth and the cling stage of the Moro reflex, we’re reminded that oxytocin helps balance the stress-induced hormone cortisol with calming regulation. It is released as part of relaxation response mechanisms from the parasympathetic nervous system. The feeling of stability and support associated with this oxytocin may also play a role in lowering anxiety and other social and emotional challenges. 

Developmental immaturities, and reflexes that fail to integrate within the first twelve months of life, may lead to educational challenges for children when they reach classroom age. Right now, we’re beginning to see linkages between infants born during or after the pandemic and a reduction in cognitive function, likely due to stress and retained primitive reflexes. Powerful research is emerging around this topic. 

According to a 2023 study published in the Journal of Neurology & Experimental Neuroscience, students may benefit significantly by the incorporation of rhythmic movements in a classroom setting. Over a ten-month period, the study found that a statistically significant increase in reading scores across a group of children ranging from six to eight years of age. The children were divided into two groups, with the test group participating in RMT exercises for five minutes at least four times weekly.

As infants mature and children grow, their primitive reflexes integrate and are replaced by cognition and active choice. Movement pathways are the key to this integration, and the exercises selected for this classroom-based study targeted the cerebellum for its support in attention and concentration. 

Feedback from the teachers participating in this New Zealand-based school study was remarkable. The test students all showed signs of improved confidence, participation and interactivity with the reading work. Not only were reading scores improved, but steady, sometimes larger than normal, jumps in progress were reported. 

RMTi is extremely beneficial for young students struggling with classroom activities. When it comes to MAP scores and other methods for measuring progress, proper developmental milestones need to be met in tandem with coursework challenges. By incorporating key movements into a young student’s week, their learning will not only improve but just may soar.

JOIN ME to learn more about exercises like those in this study, that support focus and academic success.