Marcus Pearson has been using sport, exercise and music for over 25 years to help himself and other individuals and groups better tune in to themselves and one another.
He now provides positive outdoor experiences and enrichment sessions for individuals and teams through Be Super Ltd. These experiences are of significant benefit for a team seeking to enrich their team coherence. Click here for further details – or read on . . .
How does sport, exercise, music, positive outdoor experiences and enrichment sessions help individuals and groups better tune in to themselves and one another?
How does it help with coherence, trauma and stress?
A focus on quality interaction:
“For more than 15 years I ran my own professional sports coaching and mentoring business, with more than 1,500 individuals taking part every week. It was not until I later focused on supporting people on a more personal basis (1:1 and in small groups 1:4 max) that I truly gained insights into the benefit of physical exercise and music for overcoming a state of stress – and improving wellbeing and finding and living as your true self.”.
Marcus Pearson
Unchallenged and safe environment:
Only when you provide someone with an unchallenging environment can they start to relax and be themselves.
Experiencing an unchallenged period in your life is essential for finding and being true to yourself. It is particularly beneficial for anyone seeking greater coherence, or who has experienced or is going through trauma, stress and anxiety. Anything that challenges you on a physical, mental or emotional basis is going to prolong the ‘firing of neuron/electrical patterns’ in your brain and heart that maintain a negative state.
Movement and touch help overcome resistance:
In order to promote activity of the PNS:
- You must remove everything that encourages negative patterns to fire.
- You must create an environment where LESS IS MORE.
- This environement must be supported with as few people as possible, and they should be supportive and caring and focused on this unchallenged provision.
- Physical activity / movement is then required that is unchallenged.
- Somatic support (physical interaction) provides an amazing opportunity to further active and maintain time in the PNS.
- It helps improve motor skills and creates new patterns of vibrations around the body and brain.
It is difficult to overcome on your own – you need a guide;
The use of sport, exercise (including touch) and music and creative art may be used in such a way as to provide this movement in an unchallenged manner – however, it is very difficult (but not impossible) to maximise the benefits of movement on your own. It is much better with an experience guide (bad support provides a negative cycle). Movement and support should be done in a way that ‘tunes the guide with the individual’ and vice versa.
If you are the guide:
A range of ‘activities and sounds’ (sounds rather than music) – should be made available for the individual to choose should they feel inclined. Any verbal communication should be done with the correct intonations and gestures. Any activity should be gentle; as this better supports and facilitates moving to a positive state when actions ( and touch) are mirrored and complimentary – (the guide and the student mirror one anothers actions rather than compete).
Positivity with movement!
Positive play, fun, success and lots of positive eye contact and smiling are preferable ‘whilst moving’. However, too much movement or the wrong type of exercise stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and subdues the parasympathetic nervous system – and this will prolong a state of stress (this is not what we want). The movement should be gentle and quite often should follow the feelings of positivity – until the positivity has been generated, (perhaps by the individual simply observing the guide play (eg bouncing a ball using a bat/raquet; or by doing something creative such as colouring or painting – or by listening to certain soft sounds or certain music) – then movement alone may be too challenging.
Simply being gentle . . .
Simply being with someone and being gentle in nature (gardening is also good for this); as it promotes a changeover from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic nervous system. Providing a range of unchallenged (yet stimulating) options is desirable. Allowing someone to be silent and simply feeling a positive presence creates a feeling of trust and safety- this is the most important aspect to develop.
Progressing from this secure and trusting base with joint activity / movement using sport, exercise and music etc may be of benefit for individuals who like this approach; however, many individuals do not like the physical approach – and Marcus has recognised this and now uses a range of tools and devices to overcome this.
For more detail please ring Marcus on 07931 326 164
Further support:
Marcus provides further discussion and insights that focus on how you self create visual and verbal affirmations and support them with physical action to achieve this.
These insights are of use within alternative education for hildren and young people with trauma.
