Difference between traditional therapy and the NeuroMovement method.

I would like to explain the difference between traditional therapy and the NeuroMovement method.

Take a few minutes to read. It's useful information and you will understand at the end why the lessons are worth the money. Or watch the video, if you prefere.

The body as a mechanical model

In many traditional therapies, the body is viewed as a mechanical model. This makes sense because from birth on we are confronted with gravity. So we learn from an early age that if we want to move something - be it our own body or an object - we have to use force. And we find that the more force we use, the bigger or stronger the movement. This often even applies to the use of our voice or our emotions: the louder, the stronger the reaction (whether this then turns out the way we want it to be is another matter). So the mechanical model is omnipresent and important. It is a source of experience and information for our nervous system. If we view the body as a mechanical model, we see that this model can be repaired if something is broken. This is the case with broken bones, for example. These can be repaired and they probably heal to their original state more or less. And there are situations where therapy is just the thing.

First, neural connections must be formed

However, when we look at a child with special needs, the situation is different. We cannot heal a function that was never there before. We can only start from what is. The same applies to brain functions that have been lost due to brain trauma or stroke. We have to recreate them. And this is where our plastic brain comes into play.

The Anat Baniel Method® NeuroMovement® is a learning method. And of course so is the Feldenkrais Method, The NeuroHorizons experiental movement method and others.

All of them are not therapy. That's why we don't have patients, but students. The method uses the principles of neuroplasticity. This holistic approach enables the brain to create new neural pathways that open up incredible opportunities for learning and help to grow beyond current limitations. This approach improves brain function, which in turn helps to learn and think better, overcome pain, move better and reach new levels of performance. Leading neuroscientists such as Michael Merzenich and Norman Doidge recommend the NeuroMovement method.

The body as an information system.

The brain is designed to respond and create configurations, but has no control over the creation of these patterns. It creates what it learns and does not distinguish between good and bad. The brain responds to the perception of differences, which leads to the creation of patterns and enables the organization of actions. So we have to be very skillful in helping the student to create useful patterns.

Stimulation is not information.

An example of how sensitively, slowly and with the utmost attention a practitioner must work to support his student in forming new, desirable connections in the brain is that stimulation alone is not information for the brain. Stimulation only becomes information for the brain when a difference is perceived. In order to perceive differences, we must proceed very gently, slowly and precisely. We must pay attention to what we feel when we move so that our student can perceive even the smallest differences, connections and changes and thus has the chance to learn what he cannot learn on his own due to his condition.

Anat Baniel has formulated the 9 essentials.

They form the basis of our work and their application is essential for success.

These are:

Movement with attention to what you feel.

Slow.

Variations.

Subtlety.

Enthusiasm.

Flexible goals.

The learning switch.

Imagination and dreams.

Awareness.

Honest internalization of the understanding of movement

We practitioners - be it ABM, NeuroHorizons or Feldenkrais - learn the method during many hundreds of hours that we spend on the ground and learn movements like a baby learns them - from the very beginning. Only when we have really embodied all the connections between our skeleton, our muscles, our nervous system and everything else that belongs to the body can we use this physical knowledge to help another person.

Detailed descriptions of the 9 Essentials can be found on Anat Baniel's homepage as well as on mine and on that of other ABM practitioners.

Read here the 9 essentials in German

https://move2smile.com/wp-content/uploads/9-Essentials-kids.pdf

Anat Baniel has also written a book entitled "Kids beyond Limits" in which she describes the 9 Essentials and their use in everyday life in detail. I can recommend this book to everyone. It has already been translated into several languages.

Basic requirement for learning: safety.

Another basic requirement for a person to be able to learn is that they feel comfortable and safe. Otherwise the brain is not able to learn. This sounds logical, but it is often not the case, because in many places patients are asked to do something they cannot do, in positions where they have to use a lot of strength to protect themselves (for example, when someone who cannot walk is asked to do just that).

Paradigm shift from "fixing to connecting"

The NeuroMovement® method is a paradigm shift, away from "wanting to fix what is broken" to building a connection with the student to reach their brain through movement. With NeuroMovement, the brain gets better and stronger. Parents constantly tell us about positive changes in all areas of their children's lives. When the brain does its job, it can organize actions, make sense out of nonsense, and bring order to disorder.

Unexpected successes

We NeuroMovement Practitioners take note of your children's diagnoses, but do not let them limit us. Because the brain is plastic, it can learn at any time. This opens up possibilities and learning successes that go far beyond the expectations of conventional medicine.