Enhancing Brain Integration for Peak Performance By Tania O’Neill McGowan
Co-author, along with Dr Charles Krebs, of Energetic Kinesiology: Principles and
Practice (Handspring Publishing)
Whether your child is struggling at school, socially, on the sporting field or in any other life arena, knowing how to help can be incredibly challenging for parents. Many mums and dads worry their child has a learning difficulty, a diagnosable developmental disability or another underlying medical condition that needs to be addressed. Ruling out these things is always smart. Very often, however, after parents have been assured no specific issue is behind their child’sstruggles, knowing what to do next to help them achieve their best becomes harder than ever.
A little-known issue that causes a range of difficulties for kids – and adults – but can be addressed – is a loss of brain integration. This loss is usually triggered by stress (keep in mind that all new learning of any type is
inherently stressful) and subconscious as well as conscious stress can be to blame. What exactly is Brain Integration? If the integrity of certain brain functions is compromised then, according to kinesiology, the brain is not fully integrated.
World-renowned brain specialist and kinesiologist Dr Charles Krebs states that 3 things are required for our brains to be fully integrated:
1. Access to specific brain functions
2. Ability to integrate these brain functions
3. Maintaining integration of these functions under varying degrees of stress
Brain integration allows for optimal brain performance so, when brain integration is lacking, it can cause a total or partial loss of mental and/or physical performance.
What does Brain Integration loss look like?
Essential daily tasks – such as reading, dressing, planning, making decisions etc – not only require access to specific brain functions, but also require a number of these functions towork together effectively. When the functions required to perform a task are inaccessible or not well integrated, we may quite literally lose our ability to think. In this state of stress, no degree of clear explanation will help us. When a child is asked to learn a new maths skill or is left out of a game with friends, for example, it may trigger a stress response, especially if they’ve experienced a similar situation and have memories of it being difficult for them to deal with.This stress response impacts brain integration and may make them unable to manage these situations well, or at all. How big an impact the stressor has is linked to how much loss of brain integration is experienced.
How does kinesiology improve Brain Integration?
Very few people have full brain integration all of the time, but it is possible to improve a person’s brain integration so they can be all they want to be and do all they want to do. Kinesiology is a non-invasive treatment modality that allows the kinesiologist to – via monitoring muscles of the body – directly investigate brain function and provide a direct readout of stresses impinging upon subconscious mental functions. Armed with this specific information, kinesiologists can work to remove any existing blocks and re-balance the body so brain integration is enhanced. While we all go in and out of brain integration, kinesiology helps to reset the brain to be better able to work optimally, even in the face of stressful situations.
