Lean into Learning

Being ready for reading, ready for writing and, most of all, ready for focusing on a full day’s curriculum involves fundamental connections within our brain. A few weeks in, if you’ve noticed a child who struggles with sitting at their desk or paying attention to their teacher, there may be a link to immature reflexes.

Thrive will be hosting a one-day workshop on October 3rd to explore how we can apply rhythmic movement in therapy to address learning, emotional and behavioral difficulties. We’ll take a look at the brain connections critical to learning and the impact of immature reflexes on outcomes in the classroom. The course, ideal for parents, teachers and educational support staff, explores how reflex integration work supports posture, reading skills and visual tracking, as well as the fine motor skills required for writing. We’ll also cover how our reflexes contribute to a sense of calm and emotional stability as our students interact with each other in a new environment.

This is one of our most popular workshops and offers hands-on opportunities where participants model therapeutic exercises and learn how to put key movement patterns into practice both within a classroom setting and as part of a family’s daily routine. This fall, let’s create supportive habits and foster confidence in our children for a wonderful school year ahead.

/by

Thrive on the Road

“Each time I attend a workshop with Elizabeth at Thrive, I have a light bulb moment! RMTi has expanded my understanding of reflex integration as a whole and has led to increased confidence in the ability to meet the unique needs of each person I’m blessed to work with.”

Occasionally, I have the privilege of taking Thrive’s workshops on the road. The feedback I receive, like the quote above, proves that no matter the therapeutic background of my participants, there is always a place for deeper learning. By employing the principles of client-led rhythmic movement exercises, we’re enabling a stronger connection to our bodies. Our hands-on workshops lead to plenty of a-ha moments of self-discovery for professionals. 

Often, these trips involve interdisciplinary professionals that want their entire team to experience our workshop learning first hand. While several groups I see incorporate reflex integration into their client work, this alternate modality represents an opportunity to support client development in a new way. RMTi emphasizes working toward goals with intention, whether that’s learning to implement the power of choice in client work or embracing that, often, less is more when it comes to movement-based therapy. 

I frequently receive the feedback that attending Thrive workshops as a team, be it a family unit or a group of professional colleagues, creates productive and meaningful connections. Going through training together presents a tremendous opportunity to bond. Down the road, that means more peers to collaborate with and support as the modality becomes interwoven int client work. 

If you’re considering a team training or an onsite workshop, let us know how we can support you in your educational journey. Until then, may learning and travel go hand in hand this summer!

/by

The Value of Hands-On Learning

Recently, I was listening to a Huberman Labs podcast featuring special guest Dr. Terry Sejnowski, who has pioneered the field of computational neuroscience and learning models. The discussion, which turned to training AI with reinforcement and repetition, touched on the valuable difference between cognitive and procedural learning. Simply put, theory and fact need to be put into physical practice to solidify learning development. 

Cognitive learning, which takes place in our brain’s cortical system, is what we think of as book learning. It’s the consumption and memorization of facts, step by step. Below our cortex, at the basal ganglia, procedural learning takes place. By engaging the entire body and sensory system, learning is unlocked in a meaningful way. This is learning by doing, where the brain is actively engaged in repetition and reinforcement with growing precision. Consider golfing, a sport my sons love. With practice, the muscle memory and motor learning are refined. They feel when the swing is a good one. 

In Thrive Therapy’s workshops, we compliment the discussion of RMTi in our textbooks with hands-on demonstration. For caretakers, this is a particularly powerful part of class. The opportunity to feel movement in your body and to demonstrate an exercise in a partner’s body brings rhythmic movement therapy to life. With practice, we feel our body’s limitations and are primed to understand the signs of fatigue in others. The mother of a client once shared this with me: 

“My husband and I took a workshop together, and after this, we had SUCH a better idea of what we were doing for our children, what movements felt like when they were effective and when they were not, when it was too much, and WHY it worked for our kids.  It was a complete eye-opener for us, and allowed us to do the exercises at home with SO much more confidence and effectiveness.”

/by

Do I Feel Safe?

When I shared my work with Karen Hargot, a somatic therapist in Montreal, reactions came almost instantaneously. Through her work with adults facing complex developmental trauma, feelings of trust, safety and security are fundamental to the healing process. As we explore connections between the body, the nervous system and how clients experience both of these in tandem, the impact of unintegrated reflexes becomes clearer. 

By integrating RMTi into her practice, Karen has seen phenomenal results. Importantly, in this work, we’re watching how the body responds. We’re facilitating that understanding with clients, working together and choosing how and which movements to attempt. Karen’s clients have gained a greater understanding of their experience and less shame. It’s an appreciation for how their primitive reflexes might not have integrated as they should have earlier in life. 

I’m traveling to Canada this November for a workshop in RMTi fundamentals, teaching even more therapists and caretakers the meaningful connections that Karen now incorporates in her practice. Our goal is to spread the word, so we may refer the waitlists of patients to a greater number of practitioners that employ rhythmic movement therapy.

/by

HOW ARE YOU SUPPORTING EDUCATION THIS SCHOOL YEAR?

Being ready for reading, ready for writing and even ready for focusing on the day’s curriculum involves key brain connections established from an early age. A few weeks in, if you’ve noticed a child who struggles to sit at their desk or pay attention to their teacher, there may be primitive reflexes that require strengthening, or integration.

Thrive hosts a two-day School Readiness workshop that not only digs into the fundamentals of reflex integration, but also unpacks those brain connections critical to learning. Rhythmic movement training, which strengthens and supports those pathways in the body, can help improve stress release, empower speech and social-emotional skill building and address behavioral challenges. 

The course, open to therapists, teachers and caretakers alike, explores specific reflexes applied in a classroom setting. Connections that impact posture, positioning of hands and feet in gross and fine motor activities as well as reflexes for emotional stability will be explored in detail. Importantly, we will also explore why unintegrated reflexes are often a major factor in students experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties, including sensory processing disorders, dyslexia, ADHD and autism.

The workshop will also focus on the role of rhythmic movement exercises on the senses and the importance of play in practicing reflex integration with young children. Throughout the session, participants will model therapeutic exercises and learn how to put key movement patterns into practice through classroom games and activities. Through an interactive, hands-on approach, the Thrive team will also share techniques for bringing movement-based therapy into a family’s daily routine for successful development, during the school year and beyond.

Participants will leave the workshop with a solid understanding of reflex integration, brain connections critical to classroom learning and core exercises to address physical and emotional behavioral challenges. They will learn how to implement therapeutic movement into a child’s routine and how to recognize the positive impact of the process.

/by