Brain Gym  is a program of 26 physical movements that enhance learning & performance in all areas. Developed in the 1970′s through the work of educators Dr.Paul & Gail Dennison in response to their quest to seek more effective ways to help children & adults with learning difficulties.

In nature, the brain’s neural pathways & connections are developed through movement. Brain Gym works by promoting specific movement experiences which assist in facilitating optimal achievement of mental potential. All acts of speech, learning, vision & coordination are learned through a complex repertoire of movement.

Check out this wonderful website that includes many books as well as music and movement programs for children and adults!

and then for fun TRY THIS…I think I am going to have the entire JBMT team do just that this Thursday at our team meeting – wish us luck!

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Author : Jennifer Buchanan

JB Music Therapy is a socially conscious, hard working, talented group of professionals who desire to make a difference.

To book a music therapy session, conference presentation, or purchase a related product visit our website at www.jbmusictherapy.com

May’s Theme: Music, The Brain and Ecstasy

If you have not yet read our book review of The Brain that Changes Itself you can find it here.

Thanks to Jimmy Downey, of our Music Therapy Team to compile the following excellent articles to support our theme of the month!

PBS News Hour. (2012) Spencer Michaels (Presenter). The Healing Power of Music.
This is a link to a video that aired on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. This video aired a few months ago and it follows the stories of many people and their music therapy treatment. It discusses the difference between music and music therapy, some of the science behind music therapy and the brain and a little bit about the training process for new music therapists.

unicef.org (2012) UNICEF: “Capoeira Therapy” Brings Joy to Iraqi Refugee Children [online exclusive]. Rob Sexsmith (presenter)
This video shows how a Brazilian music-martial art called Capoeira is used in Iraq as a wellness program for children in a refugee camp. It is an initiative of U.N.I.C.E.F. Canada to give the children a non-verbal form of expression and social interaction. Capoeira combines dancing, singing, martial arts, song-writing and playing a variety of instruments into a game first developed by slaves brought from Africa to Brazil hundreds of years ago.

Bambury, B. (2011, November, 18). How Music Therapy Soothed the Bullet-Damaged Brain.CBC News Canada.
This article is a CBC story about the recovery of Arizona Congresswoman Gabriel  Giffords. She was shot in the head which resulted in left-hemisphere brain damage. The article details how specific songs supported her recovery with several breakthroughs in her speech therapy. There is also a description of what the music did for her neurologically and how music affected her brain during the recovery and relearning processes she undertook.

Kwan, N.,Pedraza, M.,Lutz, B.J. (2009). Research Shows Music Can Heal the Mind. NBC Chicago. 
This article has a brief overview of some of the populations that can be helped by music therapy. This article is accompanied by a video that delves further into one specific case of a woman recovering her speech with the jazz standard Fly Me to the Moon.

Cromie, William J. (November 13, 1997) How Your Brain Listens to Music. The Harvard University Gazette.
This article gives the reader an idea how music, the ear and the brain turn sounds and music into stimulation and information for the brain. There is a brief description of how music affects one’s ability to learn and how damage to the brain may affect the listener’s ability to hear and understand music. There is also a discussion about the universality of music.

Hermann, T., Lauritzen, P. Braindance. Creative Dance Centre. (Retrieved May 2012)
This is a page from the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, Washington that describes a program used there, called BrainDance. These movements are based on the natural movements of infants exploring their bodies and environment and redesigned for children and adults. It is used as a brain and body warm-up but has many therapeutic possibilities as well. It is also based on the  way the Central Nervous System works as a whole relying on many parts to work, focusing on these parts individually as a whole body and mind exercise.

Available June 1

by Jennifer Buchanan

$14.95

Route 66, Moonglow, Georgia on my Mind, As Time Goes By, Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Available June 1

by Jennifer Buchanan

$14.95

Jennifer Buchanan wrote the songs for “We Are Making Music,” after 10 years of directing music therapy programs. These songs came out of those programs and aim to develop motor skills, language acquisition, and the imaginative process.

Available June 1

by Jennifer Buchanan

$14.95

OUR REVIEW

The Brain that Changes Itself, written by Canadian author Norman Doidge is aimed at anyone who is curious and willing to discover more about their own abilities to learn and change as we age. Dr. Doige through real life accounts illustrates that the brain can rewire itself based on the “use it or lose it” model.  He uses many stories to demonstrate this principle.

An import aspect of this book is Doidge’s acknowledgement of neuroscience research and the people behind the research – individuals he holds in apparent high regard as he identifies their work as nothing short of miracles.

Chapters 1 and 2 contain inspirational stories that lure the reader into to the lives of the people behind the stories. Chapter 3 is for people who are interested in becoming smarter by sharpening perception, improving memory and increasing their speed of thought.  Chapter 4 discusses the role of neuroplasticity in love and sexual attraction. A couple of therapists commented that this might have been the most surprising of all parts of the book.   Chapters 5 and 6 address specific areas where brain plasticity helps people who have sustained serious neurological impairment and Chapter 7 explores the negative side of brain plasticity including brainwashing – the flip side of this is then addressed in Chapter 8.

Science is now clearly articulating that the brain is not so much hard – wired and if anything is vulnerable to its environment.  This is one area that Doidge wants the audience to comprehend.  The impact of media and television are showing significant impact on the mind and not necessarily for the better.  Disorders are becoming more prevalent in today’s young people – and parents, peers and leaders all make a significant contribution to the structure of our brains – and while it can be changed it is not always easy to do so.  He also points out that our brain doesn’t necessarily need to slow as we age – there are continued opportunities for us to develop our malleable brain.

Where some common perceptions continue to be debunked is in Chapter 9.  Here Doidge shows how and why “talk therapy” causes structural, positive changes in the brain and that these changes can be more effective than drugs or surgery because the go to the root of the problem instead of masking or muting the symptoms.  Chapter 10 discusses why the liver and other organs can self-repair but why the brain can’t and finally the 11th Chapter is the story of a woman who has only her right hemisphere – a chapter that again dives into the miraculous.

Although JBMT is full of enthusiasm occasionally a little cynicism creeps in to keep us interesting.  During this particular read one common theme from a few of us is that this book almost seemed too good to be true and that the reader should remain wary to quickly jump in and believe that these outcomes are typical.

However, even with this note of warning there is no shortage of research to back up what is being stated. The reference section is over 80 pages in length – about 20% of the book.  Where the questions come into play is if this work is demonstrating such miracles when will the resources be shared with every person facing some neurological impairment so they can move forward into a better life.

We do not yet know the limits of the brain and how to drive the brain to its limits.  But some fixed ideas we had about the brain seem to be shattered by this book. Overall the book delves into intense scenarios while maintaining an optimistic, upbeat point of view.  We highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the brain, how it works and desires to finds ways to make it better. All we need is the right activities, the right training to unlock the door to our brain improvement via neuroplasticity…..and at JBMT we can’t think of a faster way to boost the mind than through music.

One question we discussed at the end of our book review was : If we could provide music therapy more often – such as on a daily basis what would be the potential outcomes?

Currently we have week long camps that we are promoting for the summer for preschoolers, children and teens.  If you are interested in trying out music therapy everyday for a week this is a great opportunity.

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Norman Doidge, M.D. is a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst on the faculty at the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Centre in New york and the university of Toronto, as well as an award – winning writer.  He has presented his scientific research at the White house.

Calgary Public Library (Shawnessy)

1:00 – 2:30 pm

Keynote by Jennifer Buchanan

Calgary Public Library (Louise Riley)

2:00 – 3:30 pm

Calgary Public Library (Nose Hill)

10:30 am – 12:00 pm