I also think that being pushed to right handedness in everything causes an imbalance between the hemispheres.
Same applies to those who are left dominant.
The solution is to use your other side more often in order to balance things out. For example, I eat with my left hand and sometimes use tools with the left hand when needing finesse. Some are fully ambidextrous and we see that in young children, as they aren't rushed to "get things done" yet.
A great channel called stop chasing pain on YouTube has a great video on eye and tongue exercises to do as they're both linked to brain activity and fine muscle control of the head and neck!
Yes, trying things with the "off" hand, and exercises with the strongest eye closed is a good idea. One of the best therapies for recovering movement after a stroke is to constrained the working side, so as to forrce the use of the affected side. There is an a chapter in Doides "the Brains Way of Healing" about a device that stimulated the tongue to help with chronic symptoms,. including pain. I think the FDA refused to allow it though...
It does make me think of children who are labelled as clumsy, or dyspraxic, when perhaps they are just so nerve wracked about being blamed for accidents that in a vicious cycle, they become clumsy.
I also know that, at a time when I feel I was subject to a heavy dose of radiation (5g), I was producing what felt like massive bursts of adrenaline, and my hand-eye went out of sync to the extent that I was watching my hand as it attempted to open a cupboard etc - it felt like a delay between my brain telling my muscles/nerves to act and them actually acting
I have been playing ukulele for several years ( before my PD diagnosis). I recently started learning ukulele bass which involves a different tuning and more finger activity. I will endeavour to learn more bass, but continue with my beloved low G ukulele.
First of all , I love the bit of periwinkle blue eye shadow on the image of the eye ! Super pretty - YES - the hand eye energy creating dopamine -- this is the strange outcome of knitting , in that it engages the knitter with intense excitement -- the flood gates are open ! And the knitter races to the end of each row just to start back up the next one ! If you hang out with knitters , they are VERY excited about their "hobby" - For me , I really love writing , especially with the key board , and literally know now that I get my Energy Fix via sitting and writing for about two hours a day , supplementing that with Piano as well . I am contemplating Ukelele , for the same purpose . Love this article Gary , you got this !
We’re on same wavelength. I remember sewing on my machine whilst singing along to Broadway musicals I loved since my youth. Bliss!
I would highly encourage you to look into cursive handwriting, as opposed to keyboard. A workbook from Cursive Logic is brilliant and intuitive. They even have beautiful coloring books to learn cursive, as well as poetry. I currently use as a 1st grade classroom volunteer.
Have you tried the Rock Steady Boxing program for Parkinson’s? My husband has benefited greatly from it. Fast twitch muscles! There is also the Dance for PD group in NYC and online.
No, I have developed my own dance/movement routines, but I am sure of the benefits of boxing as therapy... helps to process trauma along the lines of Peter Levine's work....
You have just reminded me how great it is to use a rebounder whilst jumping to music that you can sing along to, and dance moves as well. Many whammies for joy there.
I like your hypothesis, Gary! As a professional musician who sings and plays multiple instruments, I can attest to the fact that, for me, making music is both technical and creative, and so it uses multiple faculties simultaneously. It's hard to focus on pain when there is so much else for the brain and body to be doing! Writing music and lyrics adds even more depth to the creative process.
I would, however, caution against using the word "therapy" in such casual parlance. My husband is a trained, board-certified music therapist. We know that doing arts and crafts *can* have a therapeutic effect, but it is *not therapy* unless it is facilitated by a qualified therapist. I'm only saying this because we know many musicians who play songs for special needs children and in senior facilities and say they are "doing music therapy"; that simply is not true. Thus, using the term loosely does a disservice to the clinicians who studied and practice actual therapy and to the individuals who falsely believe they are receiving carefully designed treatment.
Anyway, I am happy about your hypothesis and your experiments along those lines! I look forward to more of your articles about your findings!
Music brings in a thrid portal into the nervous system the ears. Fair point about using the word therapy to loosely... I will remember this for fiuture posts...
I'm yet to read your article, Gary, but I happened on this one in Unz Review and it seemed like it belonged here: https://www.unz.com/article/synaptically-seductive-sequence. More when I get a chance, which will be after aerial conditioning and then dance, and Mary McLaughlin is visiting (the Art of Freedom https://marypoindextermclaughlin.substack.com/) so we have much, much talking and sense-making to do! But I love your sense-making (literally, in this case?) and will be back.
Fascinating! I have mindful colouring in books and had no idea they could be helpful in this way. Interesting that as an ADHDer, I've always struggled with certain kinds of fine and gross motor co-ordination (sewing and driving were nightmares for me) yet found typing and knitting easy and natural.
As far as ADHD apparently has aspects of low dopamine [due to too much adrenaline] I thiink these ideas could beneficial too. Interesting that sewing is difficult but knitting is easy as these seem not to be so different [I am with you on driving, that is/was a very stressful activity for me, and I had to take the test many time as I found the needed movements and reacting fast difficult] - could there have been some trauma/stressful episode when you first tried sewing as child?
I took 8 tries to get my driver’s license so I feel you on that! I think knitting is a much simpler and more repetitive activity whereas the logic of sewing always defeated me, and yes, I was given a hard time by a teacher on my first pitiful attempts so that created a negative loop! I thought as much, re the ADHD dopamine link. Thanks for the helpful info!
You might really like cursive handwriting for those reasons. Connecting letters smoothly is connecting hands and thoughts. I have used a book called Cursive Logic. It is brilliant and intuitive. They even have beautiful coloring books to practice cursive, plus poetry. Try using a comfy lap desk (Yogibo). I would love any intuitive knitting recommendations—to shape anything with it causes me stress…
I also think that being pushed to right handedness in everything causes an imbalance between the hemispheres.
Same applies to those who are left dominant.
The solution is to use your other side more often in order to balance things out. For example, I eat with my left hand and sometimes use tools with the left hand when needing finesse. Some are fully ambidextrous and we see that in young children, as they aren't rushed to "get things done" yet.
A great channel called stop chasing pain on YouTube has a great video on eye and tongue exercises to do as they're both linked to brain activity and fine muscle control of the head and neck!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Di_8IQDwCjI
Yes, trying things with the "off" hand, and exercises with the strongest eye closed is a good idea. One of the best therapies for recovering movement after a stroke is to constrained the working side, so as to forrce the use of the affected side. There is an a chapter in Doides "the Brains Way of Healing" about a device that stimulated the tongue to help with chronic symptoms,. including pain. I think the FDA refused to allow it though...
I'm always amazed at how these brain trusts come up with complicated devices and drugs to do what one can do just exercising mindfully.
Same thing with vagal nerve simulators. Why bother when breathing properly can do it? (4 secs in 8 out etc)
oh how interesting!
It does make me think of children who are labelled as clumsy, or dyspraxic, when perhaps they are just so nerve wracked about being blamed for accidents that in a vicious cycle, they become clumsy.
I also know that, at a time when I feel I was subject to a heavy dose of radiation (5g), I was producing what felt like massive bursts of adrenaline, and my hand-eye went out of sync to the extent that I was watching my hand as it attempted to open a cupboard etc - it felt like a delay between my brain telling my muscles/nerves to act and them actually acting
I have been playing ukulele for several years ( before my PD diagnosis). I recently started learning ukulele bass which involves a different tuning and more finger activity. I will endeavour to learn more bass, but continue with my beloved low G ukulele.
wow Ed, who knew? not i!
This is good as it brings a third portal into the nervous system -the ears!
First of all , I love the bit of periwinkle blue eye shadow on the image of the eye ! Super pretty - YES - the hand eye energy creating dopamine -- this is the strange outcome of knitting , in that it engages the knitter with intense excitement -- the flood gates are open ! And the knitter races to the end of each row just to start back up the next one ! If you hang out with knitters , they are VERY excited about their "hobby" - For me , I really love writing , especially with the key board , and literally know now that I get my Energy Fix via sitting and writing for about two hours a day , supplementing that with Piano as well . I am contemplating Ukelele , for the same purpose . Love this article Gary , you got this !
We’re on same wavelength. I remember sewing on my machine whilst singing along to Broadway musicals I loved since my youth. Bliss!
I would highly encourage you to look into cursive handwriting, as opposed to keyboard. A workbook from Cursive Logic is brilliant and intuitive. They even have beautiful coloring books to learn cursive, as well as poetry. I currently use as a 1st grade classroom volunteer.
Have you tried the Rock Steady Boxing program for Parkinson’s? My husband has benefited greatly from it. Fast twitch muscles! There is also the Dance for PD group in NYC and online.
No, I have developed my own dance/movement routines, but I am sure of the benefits of boxing as therapy... helps to process trauma along the lines of Peter Levine's work....
You have just reminded me how great it is to use a rebounder whilst jumping to music that you can sing along to, and dance moves as well. Many whammies for joy there.
Any suggestions for people who are right-handed but who have lost a right eye?
I like your hypothesis, Gary! As a professional musician who sings and plays multiple instruments, I can attest to the fact that, for me, making music is both technical and creative, and so it uses multiple faculties simultaneously. It's hard to focus on pain when there is so much else for the brain and body to be doing! Writing music and lyrics adds even more depth to the creative process.
I would, however, caution against using the word "therapy" in such casual parlance. My husband is a trained, board-certified music therapist. We know that doing arts and crafts *can* have a therapeutic effect, but it is *not therapy* unless it is facilitated by a qualified therapist. I'm only saying this because we know many musicians who play songs for special needs children and in senior facilities and say they are "doing music therapy"; that simply is not true. Thus, using the term loosely does a disservice to the clinicians who studied and practice actual therapy and to the individuals who falsely believe they are receiving carefully designed treatment.
Anyway, I am happy about your hypothesis and your experiments along those lines! I look forward to more of your articles about your findings!
Music brings in a thrid portal into the nervous system the ears. Fair point about using the word therapy to loosely... I will remember this for fiuture posts...
I'm yet to read your article, Gary, but I happened on this one in Unz Review and it seemed like it belonged here: https://www.unz.com/article/synaptically-seductive-sequence. More when I get a chance, which will be after aerial conditioning and then dance, and Mary McLaughlin is visiting (the Art of Freedom https://marypoindextermclaughlin.substack.com/) so we have much, much talking and sense-making to do! But I love your sense-making (literally, in this case?) and will be back.
Fascinating! I have mindful colouring in books and had no idea they could be helpful in this way. Interesting that as an ADHDer, I've always struggled with certain kinds of fine and gross motor co-ordination (sewing and driving were nightmares for me) yet found typing and knitting easy and natural.
As far as ADHD apparently has aspects of low dopamine [due to too much adrenaline] I thiink these ideas could beneficial too. Interesting that sewing is difficult but knitting is easy as these seem not to be so different [I am with you on driving, that is/was a very stressful activity for me, and I had to take the test many time as I found the needed movements and reacting fast difficult] - could there have been some trauma/stressful episode when you first tried sewing as child?
I took 8 tries to get my driver’s license so I feel you on that! I think knitting is a much simpler and more repetitive activity whereas the logic of sewing always defeated me, and yes, I was given a hard time by a teacher on my first pitiful attempts so that created a negative loop! I thought as much, re the ADHD dopamine link. Thanks for the helpful info!
You might really like cursive handwriting for those reasons. Connecting letters smoothly is connecting hands and thoughts. I have used a book called Cursive Logic. It is brilliant and intuitive. They even have beautiful coloring books to practice cursive, plus poetry. Try using a comfy lap desk (Yogibo). I would love any intuitive knitting recommendations—to shape anything with it causes me stress…
Thank you, I will look into this