How does falling make you feel?
On Move With Adell this month, we're working on our arm balances, and often gravity gets the best of us in those shapes #faceplant.
Here's why it's important to have a positive view of falling, in this week's
"Brainy What-Why-How"
Your weekly nibble of brain-based tips to help you move and feel great!
🧠
What:
Celebrating failures such as falling, and changing our attitude from "oh no, that's bad!" to "awesome, that was actually okay!" can influence our natural brain chemistry to help us learn faster and better.
Why?
Our brains are really only wired to want to repeat things that we succeed at.
When we fall (read: fail), the dopamine levels in the brain change (⬇️) and that makes us feel like "ew...I do NOT want to repeat that."
Furthermore, with that decrease of dopamine, studies* show even if we repeat the task, we're less focused and more likely to make mistakes.
What this means is that we can use our neocortex (the part of our brain that makes us "human", which uses skills like logic) to override the more basic instincts and emotions of the old brain ("stay safe! Don't try that again!").
How:
By turning a fall (or any failure) into something worth being celebrated, something that feels like a success, you can help your dopamine levels give you more of an "I want to try that again" feeling.
If you faceplant in your crow pose, think "woohoo! Now I get to try again!"
If you topple over in your tittibhasana, laugh and smile and take a deep breath and do it again.
By controlling your attitude towards the falling, your brain will do the work of helping you stay focused the next time you try it.
Today's newest upload on Move With Adell is a balance-focused flow for crow pose, with vestibular drills! So you may not fall, but if you do....you know what to do 😉
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“Lean towards the pain and ask 'why does this hurt?'” - Dr Luana Marques
Thank you for reading!
And please share with a friend or colleague who might find this valuable.
Wishing you happy failures!
Adell
*Here's an article on this. P.S. Don't miss your opportunity to train in NeuroYoga with me -- I'm sharing EVERYTHING I know about the brain and how it relates to movement! Click here for details