Embodied CognitionA role in rehabilitation?

Derek Jones PhD MBA Anatomical Concepts (UK) LtdFixxl Ltd

Cognition is

what?

The brain does not

issue commands - it

hosts “conversations”

“A brain without a body cannot think”

Brain is Servant Not

Master of the Body

Mens sana

corpore sano

in

345 AD

Historical view of the Mind and Body as separate entities

I think ….

therefore I am

interconnected electrical and chemical communication systems

binding brain, heart, muscles, organ systems, senses and more

Musculosketal SystemOur bones, joints and ligaments are not just passive mechanical structures - they reduce the

cognitive load

We don’t walk like Lions because ….

States of the body modify states of the mind and vice versa

A Basic idea..

Your State .. Your thoughts,

feelings, emotions

DETERMINE what behaviours are possible

for you

Your movement, position, posture,

environment

Cortex

Thalamus

Amygdala

OurResponseis..• Instantaneous • Doesn’t involve “thinking” • Influenced by Early Learning • Emotionally DrivenBehaviour - Physiology - Immunology

Perception of Stress

The Brain is not the only cognitive

resource we have to solve problems

Radical idea..

ANS Balance

❖ High Effort❖ Fight of Flight❖ Adrenaline

❖ Low Effort❖ Relaxation❖ Acetylcholine

Sympathetic PathwaySignals flow from our brain to the

heart, adrenal glands, blood vessels etc speeding up these body systems. Shaped by our

perception

Parasympathetic PathwayOpposite effect to the Sympathetic

and acts to slow down or “cool down the heart and other organs

“Accelerator” “Brakes”

Hormonal System

Positive EmotionWell/Being

Success

Negative EmotionSubmission

Despair

Many hormones - “Molecules of Emotion” are produced including DHEA (Precursor to Testosterone and Oestrogen)

and the body’s main stress hormone Cortisol

DHEA Cortisol

Imbalance is linked withmany chronic diseases

Hormonal

Long term

Short TermANS

Physiology

High Performance

Low Performance

High Arousal - Effort

Low Arousal - Relaxation

Fight Flight

Positive

Emotion

Negative

Emotion

Ha-ka “To ignite the breath”

Ha Ka - To ignite the breath

The Whole Body Speaks

Your State .. Your thoughts,

feelings, emotions

DETERMINE what behaviours are possible

for you

Better State - Better Behaviours - Better Results

If you want to lead someone - go “there” first

Aimee Mullins

Functional Proprioceptive Stimulation

Faced with “Change or Die advice”

Seven out of Eight would rather die than

change

Finding a Flow State

Finding a Better State• Fuel - nutrition

• Move - it affects how we think

• Breathe - ignite the breath or relax

• Listen - we entrain to strong rhythm

• Risk - moving beyond our current experience

Derek Jones PhD MBA Anatomical Concepts (UK) LtdFixxl Ltd

Higaonna Sensei - age 74

ControllerCentral Nervous System

Mechanical SystemMusculoskeletal System

Sensory SystemSensory Receptors

Task environment

External Physical Stimuli

Sensory Feedback

Motor Commands

Internal Physical Stimuli

Information Self-Structuring

Body Dynamics/morphology

Mechanical FeedbackMovement