People learn…but we all have different ways we learn best. Some people tune in better when they “hear” a message, others may “see” it, and others “feel” it. Most of us learn by some combination, but there’s generally a bias towards one channel. Visual training is important for most learning, but to most effectively modify body motion the best ways to modify body motion is by using one of 3 cueing modalities: Verbal, Touch or Kinesthetic.
Choose a cue and observe. Since nearly all our control of body motion is done on auto-pilot, they may not “hear” the cue with their body, so if they don’t respond, choose a different cue. Avoid overloading someone with cues, as our attentional focus can be focused on only one thing at a time.
TRY THIS: Silently, say the words to “Mary had a Little Lamb” in your head. Simultaneously, hum a song—I like Yellow Submarine, by the Beatles. Can’t do both?
HERE’S WHY: Despite the popular notion of people multi-tasking, the truth is that humans have one thought at a time. Channel-surfing is a strategy many use to divide attention and simulate multi-tasking. However, one of the causality of modern life is the lag time from switching thought channels and refocusing represents both a loss of effectiveness and increase in stress.
So if we cannot focus on more than one thing at a time, how do we reprogram a complex kinetic chain of motion? To make a change and “reprogram” a complex motion pattern you must, in a logical sequence, focus training and then build on the newly trained pattern.
The progressive sequencing of the StrongPostureTM exercise protocols are designed to direct attention focus on something specific, and then training that until it can be performed on auto-pilot.
Verbal cueing uses words to guides motion with the formula:
Action + Direction (….& add focus). GOOD. Repeat.
In other words, tell them what they should be doing, then add what you want them to do….and then (possibly) add one more thing.
Touch cueing introduced Must/Try logic (also known as Imperative/Effort) using one of two imperatives- Maintain Contact OR Avoid Contact. Each body motion focus is either something the MUST do for strong form, or something they should TRY and do.
i.e.: In WallTilts, the MUST is keeping head level, the TRY is pressing the head towards the wall.
Kinesthetic cueing is using an external object or perception to connect someone with their awareness of their motion. It might be a TheraBandTM stability trainer (the blue foam pads) between the knees in BallTilts. Or a kinesthetic cue might be when a CPEP uses their forearm to fix hand and forearm alignment (karate chop vs. waiter wrist) in Arms Up, PostureAngels or BandAngels. In both cases, the effect is to align someone perception with reality.
Kinesthetic cueing is a third modality which combines elements of both verbal and touch cueing. The goal is to use one cue at time, and then add another…and then another…to retrain and reshape motion patterns, and posture, to help people move, feel and be well.
