Kinesiology for Kids

What might a Kinesiology for Kids session look like?

For babies, children and teens (0-16) the session structure will be a little different. 

The initial session will be 60 minutes and there is an opportunity to book a 30 minute session from then on, and there will be less counselling and goal setting, and more exercises and integration. 

We try to keep it fun and different so that the child remains involved throughout the session.

The first session might involve a range of different assessments, some of which include:

1.    Marching and crawling

2.    Balance (static and dynamic)

3.    Postural assessment

4.    Throwing and catching

5.    Eye tracking

6.    Reading and writing (or drawing)

7.    Memory games

8.    Visual and auditory processing exercises

9.    Brain integration checks

10.  Primitive and postural reflex assessments

This gives me a good indication as to what is happening in your child's mind and body and the areas where there is stress.There might also be some talking or drawing to ascertain any fears or anxieties, and to also enable me to build rapport with your child.

Kinesiology is gentle modality and areas of concern or stressare identified specifically by the muscle testing. Therefore if your child is not particularly talkative or doesn’t have the ability or want to communicate, I can use muscle monitoring to ‘talk’ to their body thereby eliminating any additional stress on the child.

For a baby or a child that cannot be muscle tested or lie still long enough for a successful balance then I can use the parent as a surrogate, so the child can play or read while I use you as the surrogate to identify what correction or remedy will help your child, and then the correction can be applied to directly to the child.

Examples of some these ‘correction’ techniques for your child might be: stress energy clearing, acupressure holding points, meridian running, identifying tapping points, flower essences, movement activities, nutritional awareness, crystal, relaxation and meditation - all very simple and gentle.

The power of Kinesiology is in rebalancing energy in the body, on a conscious and sub conscious level, releasing stress and energetic blocks which hinder your child from being their best version of themselves.

Once these energetic blocks are cleared and released from the physical, mental and emotional body, there is space for children to thrive and return to, or grow into, happy, secure and confident kids.

I recommend a minimum of 3 - 4 sessions (with up to 6 sessions) on one issue, one or two weeks apart initially and no more than four weeks between sessions.

Often an improvement can be seen in the child after one or two sessions, however I do recommend the minimum of 3 - 4 because it means the child will have a more immediate improvement and ability to integrate fully for the longer term and it also enables parents to see changes clearly and quickly.

The number of sessions required will vary depending on the individual child, as some will thrive after 3 and some will require more than 3. It is always discussed at the end of the session and I wish to stress that I won’t recommend any more than I think absolutely necessary and it is your discretion as to whether you choose to follow this recommendation.

Consultation fees

Children’s Kinesiology Session 60 minutes - $80 

Children’s Kinesiology Session 30 minutes - $50

Please note a Kids Kinesiology session is for children 16 years and under. I hold a current Working with Children check and I am accredited with the Australian Kinesiology Association (AKA).

Brain Function and the Nervous System 

The Brain and the Nervous System

The brain is made up of three main sections: the forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain.

The forebrain is the largest and most complex part of the brain and it consists of the cerebrum — the area with all the folds and grooves typically seen in pictures of the brain — as well as some other structures under it.

The cerebrum contains the information that essentially makes us who we are: our intelligence, memory, personality, emotion, speech, and ability to feel and move. 

Specific areas of the cerebrum are in charge of processing these different types of information. These are called lobes, and there are four of them: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes.

The cerebrum has right and left halves, called hemispheres. They're connected in the middle by a band of nerve fibers (the corpus callosum) that lets them communicate. These halves may look like mirror images of each other, but many scientists believe they have different functions:

The left side is considered the logical, analytical, objective side.

The right side is thought to be more intuitive, creative, and subjective.

The outer layer of the cerebrum is called the cortex and information collected by the five senses comes into the brain to the cortex. 

This information is then directed to other parts of the nervous system for further processing. For example, when you touch the hot stove, not only does a message go out to move your hand but one also goes to another part of the brain to help you remember not to do that again.

In the inner part of the forebrain sits the thalamus, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland.

The midbrain, underneath the middle of the forebrain, acts as a master coordinator for all the messages going in and out of the brain to the spinal cord.

The hindbrain sits underneath the back end of the cerebrum. It consists of the cerebellum, pons, and medulla. The cerebellum— also called the "little brain" because it looks like a small version of the cerebrum — is responsible for balance, movement, and coordination.

The pons and the medulla, along with the midbrain, are often called the brainstem. The brainstem takes in, sends out, and coordinates the brain's messages. It also controls many of the body's automatic functions, like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing, digestion, and blinking.

In young children, the brain is highly adaptable. In fact, when one part of a young child's brain is injured, another part often can learn to take over some of the lost function. But as we age, the brain has to work harder to make new neural pathways, making it harder to master new tasks or change set behavior patterns. That's why many scientists believe it's important to keep challenging the brain to learn new things and make new connections — it helps keeps the brain active over the course of a lifetime.

Memory is another complex function of the brain. The things we've done, learned, and seen are first processed in the cortex. Then, if we sense that this information is important enough to remember permanently, it's passed inward to other regions of the brain (such as the hippocampus and amygdala) for long-term storage and retrieval. As these messages travel through the brain, they too create pathways that serve as the basis of memory.

Movement. Different parts of the cerebrum move different body parts. The left side of the brain controls the movements of the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the movements of the left side of the body. When you press your car's accelerator with your right foot, for example, it's the left side of your brain that sends the message allowing you to do it.

Basic body functions. A part of the peripheral nervous system called the autonomic nervous system controls many of the body processes we almost never need to think about, like breathing, digestion, sweating, and shivering. 

The autonomic nervous system has two parts: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for sudden stress, like if you witness a robbery. When something frightening happens, the sympathetic nervous system makes the heart beat faster so that it sends blood quickly to the different body parts that might need it. It also causes the adrenal glands adrenal glands at the top of the kidneys to release adrenaline, a hormone that helps give extra power to the muscles for a quick getaway. This process is known as the body's "fight or flight" response.

The parasympathetic nervous system does the exact opposite: It prepares the body for rest. It also helps the digestive tractmove along so our bodies can efficiently take in nutrients from the food we eat.

What is ‘fight or flight’ response?

A ‘fight or flight’ response is described as a reactive state from perceived stress, threat or ‘danger’ caused by the activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) in the body. When the Sympathetic Nervous System is activated, in order to ready the body to mobilise it, it needs to tone down the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) therefore the ‘non-essential’ bodily systems are switched off or slowed down. The body is geared up for a fight or flight response so it slows the systems it doesn’t require for use in this situation, for example the digestive system, immune system, thyroid and reproductive system. 

In children the activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System can sometimes be attributed to a traumatic birth, early childhood event or fear conditioning. If a person/child learns to associate fear with a common stimulus, for e.g. an angry loud voice, then they can be triggered more often. 

When triggered we become more reactive to stimulus and this hypersensitivity makes us more likely to be triggered again, therefore a constant triggering will maintain high Sympathetic Nervous System response. In part, it becomes a vicious cycle of constant trigger and alert, which then most commonly is seen physically as anxiety, fear or in some cases exhibited through anger and rage responses.

Often it will not be clear as to what event has triggered the child, it can be the meaning that we give to these events rather than the reality, and it is that common stimulus that activates the Amygdala, the nervous system, to respond with an immediate survival response. Often this triggers a ‘fight/flight’ response, or in some instances a reaction of rage, anger, shock, fright or freeze. The same incident or event that may trigger you may not affect a person/child the same, as the reality vs meaning will be different for each individual.

The Amygdala (part of the Limbic system) is a nut shaped mass located deep in the brain and is involved in the processing of our emotions and motivations, particularly those related to survival. However it is also involved in emotions such as anger and pleasure. The Amygdala is the part of the brain that creates both fear and anxiety and it is the reason we are afraid of things outside our control. It also controls the way we react to certain stimuli, or an event that causes an emotion, that we see as potentially threatening or dangerous. The Amygdala is also responsible for determining what memories are stored and where the memories are stored in the brain. Therefore it is thought that this determination is based on how large an emotional response an event evokes.

It is the emotional processing in the Amygdala that we will be looking to balance, to ensure that the child is only being ‘activated’ in situation or events where there is actual danger present rather than just perceived or can at least reset immediately once the ‘danger’ is identified as ‘perceived’ only.

What is Brain Function-Integration?

Brain Integration describes the state where the communication within a child's brain is properly functioning and optimal. They have full access to all their faculties such as reasoning, the ability to manage their emotions, handle and deal with everyday stresses and challenges. A state of optimal brain integration can be likened to a well conducted orchestra. All the individual musicians are playing their part and are in harmony and time with each other musician. The conductor is in communication with all the musicians within the orchestra and they are responsive and receptive to his instruction. The result is a beautiful sounding piece of music. 

This is similar to a how a child feels and behaves when they have optimal brain integration-function. Their behaviour is relaxed, balanced and they are happy, and learning new information, skills or knowledge is easy and automatic from a state of optimal brain function.

Just as with the orchestra the music sounds terrible when the harmony disappears, so does the quality of a child's behaviourwhen they lose this integration-function. When a child is lacking in brain integration-function they can experience a wide ranging number of symptoms. 

It is important to remember that they symptoms not the cause of the problem. A child who is feeling excessively anxious or fearful or even angry and aggressive is not deliberately intending to do so. But rather their brain is doing its best to try and cope with the limited resources it has currently available. When there is a lack of integration or function a child will literally feel they are limited in their choices in how to respond and behave in situations.

Because of this lack of communication, or function, within the child they are severely limited in how they respond. One of the first functions a child 'loses' is the ability to reason. Consequently children are very often only left with the ability to emotionally respond. This is why it is so difficult to 'talk and reason' with a child in the middle of an outburst.

Kinesiology is very effective at restoring brain integration forchildren allowing them to have greater capabilities available to them to deal with life. A variety of different Kinesiology techniques are employed to determine what is disrupting the brain integration-function in the first place as well as to restore it. Kinesiology employs physical techniques like simple exercises and movements to help restore function and gentle emotional and stress diffusion techniques are also employed, via acupoints, flower essences, crystals, tapping points, meditation, etc. 

This is very beneficial for children who are struggling with feelings such as fears and anxieties, with their brain functioncoming back into balance, feeling such as fears and anxieties start to automatically fade because they no longer need to feel them. Which also translates into greater levels of resilience and resourcefulness for children.