What if your pain is getting in the way of your health and fitness goals?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about setting goals around pain.  I discuss why calendar-based goals can be a trap, what happens when pain gets in the way of your performance goals, how I think about goal-setting for my own training, how I help my clients achieve their performance goals, setting goals around consistency, how to set neuro-specific goals for yourself, and more.  I also talk about the ephemeral nature of pain, why it's better to focus on process rather than outcomes when it comes to pain, how chronic pain differs greatly from other forms of pain, why the salience of performance goals can actually help reduce pain, and why getting benchmarks of your own performance is often a better first step than looking at standards.  This is a must-listen if you are setting goals for the New Year. 

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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What if tracking is hurting your progress?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about tracking in its many forms and how I think about it in the context of my own training and applied neurology practice.  I discuss some more common tracking practices like steps, calories, macros, heart rate, weight/reps/sets, sleep etc. as well as some more neuro-specific practices like tracking pain, breathing, balance, and cerebellar testing.  I discuss the pros and cons of these methods, identify the ones I use most personally and with my clients, and offer some insights into how to think about tracking not as a goal unto itself, but as a tool to inform your training and lifestyle habits or to educate yourself as an athlete or coach.  I also discuss the relationship between interoception and chronic pain, and how focusing inward is a powerful tool that can sometimes be counterproductive.  This is a free-ranging conversation around the many forms of tracking with many powerful training and applied neurology insights sprinkled throughout.  

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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What if your ability to move well is shrinking?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about the concept of the 'movement box' and why creating a varied movement practice can be the key to a healthy, pain-free lifestyle.  I discuss the neurology of movement and how movement can be trained through exposure, what happens when you don't have that exposure to varied movement, and why a lack of varied movement may have other, less obvious side-effects.  I give my number one recommendation for the sedentary individual that is looking to improve their ability to move, some of my favorite exercises to add to a regular strength training program, and my thoughts on picking up new physical fitness modalities or sports.  I also discuss the concept of "optimal" movement in strength training vs "functional" movement, why I believe lifestyle stress is the greatest contributor to injury, the difference between flexibility and mobility training, the active vs passive gap, why you should treat your training like a practice, why speed of movement matters, and more.

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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What should you do if chiropractic adjustments aren't helping your client?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about using applied neurology to support chiropractic care.  I discuss what is happening with chiropractic adjustments from a neurological lens, the state and diversity of the chiropractic industry, common misunderstandings about chiropractic adjustments, some of the tech-based approaches that have been embraced by chiropractors, and more.  I outline the importance of assessments to any practice and describe some gait, cerebellar, and range-of-motion assessments that can be done quickly in a chiropractic session to help inform adjustments and exercise prescriptions.  I talk about the active vs passive gap and some strategies to add more active interventions to your practice.  I also give some advice on how to structure your practice in a way that supports more personalized care for your clients and what to do if your interventions aren't yielding positive results.  This episode is meant to be a companion to any chiropractor or manual therapist that is looking to incorporate applied neurology in their practice, and has plenty of great actionable advice that applies outside of chiropractic as well.  

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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Did your child skip some developmental milestones or seem a little behind in hitting them? Do they struggle with things like catching or throwing a ball, playing sports, or even making friends? Or maybe you were that kid once upon a time?

In today’s episode, I’m chatting with pediatric occupational therapy assistant Rachel Harrington all about primitive reflexes—what they are, how and when they develop, and how they impact both kids and adults in daily life.

We dive into how these reflexes get kick-started during the birthing process, how many are guided by the visual system, and why it’s so important to integrate them as children grow. We also talk about how primitive reflexes can actually come back after trauma or as part of the aging process, acting as a protective mechanism.

Rachel breaks down the signs of poor reflex integration—things like ongoing anxiety, vestibular dysfunction, feeling ungrounded, poor left/right coordination, ADHD, bedwetting, IBS, trouble sitting still, speech or articulation challenges, and more.

We nerd out a bit on the neuroanatomy behind primitive reflexes and get into practical tools like breathing exercises, motor control drills, and vestibular activities. We even chat about how these concepts overlap with applied neuro training.

Plus, Rachel shares activity ideas for kids who struggle with emotional regulation and explains how to choose drills based on whether a child is over- or under-responsive.

Huge thanks to Rachel for sharing her deep knowledge of pediatric occupational therapy and for creating such incredible resources for both parents and practitioners.

Click below to follow and work with Rachel and her team at The Sensory Project and Sensational Brain.

Websites:  

https://sensationalbrain.com/

https://thesensoryproject.com/pages/integrative-achievement-center  

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/59C6E9E1-DEC9-4839-80BA-1B21D5D9D87F?ingress=2&lp_context_asin=B0FM8MQC2F&lp_context_query=the%20sensory%20project&visitId=ec71f4a3-c3c9-4710-8da7-88f70d8effd5&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto&ref_=ast_bln   

Instagrams:       

@sensationalbrain  

@thesensoryproject208  

Podcast: https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast 

Freebies: Reflex checklist:  https://masterful-flower-376.myflodesk.com/pijs6q3tr7

Sensory checklist: https://masterful-flower-376.myflodesk.com/free-sensory-checklist 

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What if most people are fundamentally misunderstanding how pain works?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about how I think about pain through an applied neurology lens.  I discuss the psychology of pain, how we usually associate pain with injury, how pain is a construct of the brain related to threat, and why understanding the true nature of pain can be the single most powerful revelation for many of my clients.  I also discuss how I approach acute pain related to injury vs chronic pain, why movement tends to be so helpful for pain, the threat bucket, the concept of nociception, muscle pain vs joint pain, referral-based visceral pain, what's actually causing headaches, pain disorders and more.  I also discuss some of my favorite interventions for dealing with pain ranging from techniques such as blood-flow restriction and breathing exercises to trigeminal nerve activation and lymphatic drainage techniques.  This episode is a great review of many essential applied neurology concepts around pain and includes some of my go-to tools and insights for dealing with pain when nothing else seems to be working. 

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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What if listening to music in just one ear could make your pain go away?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about how we process sound and why it can be an incredible tool for improving balance, posture and muscle tone as well as decreasing pain.  I discuss how audio is processed in the brain, what pathways it follows, what related systems it is connected to in a neurological context, and how a hearing deficiency can have some wide ranging and surprising effects on the body and performance.  I lay out a simple assessment process for evaluating your hearing, as well as how to use specific sound stimulation techniques to target deficiencies in hearing or to support other systems such as the trigeminal nerve and the vestibular or sympathetic systems.  I also discuss phenomena like tinnitus, whether different frequencies in the audio spectrum have different effects, why hearing deficiencies that have neurological effects may not be considered diagnosable by an audiologist, how your brain can compensate for deficiencies in hearing, tone generators, tuning forks, bone-conduction headphones, stacking, and more.  

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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What if a simple drill could dramatically reduce your pain and improve your performance, but you just don't know what it is yet?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about how to find your high payoff exercises and drills.  I walk you through a step by step process to establish a baseline for assessment, choose what movements to assess, and then experiment with and evaluate different drills and their impact in real-time to find what actually works for you.  I discuss what to do if your results aren't consistent, the psychological aspects of dealing with pain, the importance of monitoring dosage, how long you should stick to a drill to see if it's working, why strength training can be such a powerful tool in and of itself, and more.  I also give plenty of examples of specific drills worth trying and assessing as you find your own high payoff drills for pain, mobility, and movement. 

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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What if kegels aren't working for you?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, all about the pelvic floor.  I discuss the anatomy around the pelvic floor, common problems you might not realize are related to poor pelvic floor function, an old injury I had that caused asymmetries and tonal issues with my pelvic floor, why I think most pelvic floor rehabilitation like kegels aren't that successful, and why focusing on the reflexive control of the pelvic floor may be the more fruitful path.  I discuss drills and exercises that can improve pelvic floor function that go beyond just voluntary contraction work, such as spinal mobility work, breathing drills and techniques, bilateral complex movements, vibration, vestibular drills, tongue drills, stacking, and more.  This is a fantastic topic for applied neurology due to the reflexive nature of pelvic floor control and the often indirect paths you need to take to affect its function for the better. 

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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What if elevating sympathetics could actually help with pain and stress?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, all about the much-maligned sympathetic system.  I discuss the neurology and anatomy of the sympathetic system and explain how it works in tandem with other systems to achieve the correct balance needed for movement, strength-training, and more.  I outline cases where this balance isn't being met, and how raising sympathetics, even when it may seem counter-intuitive, might be the solution to problems with pain, decreased mobility, and anxiety.  I go over signs that the sympathetic system might be under-performing, and give you drills and assessments to activate the sympathetic system in a targeted way to improve outcomes without raising threat and causing more issues.  I also discuss the idea of intentionally raising sympathetics to actually provoke a parasympathetic response later.  This episode includes discussion of vision drills, breathing techniques, using light and sound, circadian rhythms, cold temperature, acupuncture tools, vigorous workouts, stretching and more.  

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

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