Fire Up Your Dendrites

I was recently taking a Somatic Flexibility class from Linda at the Y. She had just returned from a conference on this topic and was very excited and wanted to share some of what she had learned with us. The first thing she started talking about was dendrites. I remembered the word from high school biology, but couldn't remember what they were. She explained that they were tree like branches that grow out from the brain. The more the better for your intellect and movement and balance. She was saying how important it is to try new things, challenge our brains, make those dendrites grow and work.

  Take balance, for example. As we age, our balance gets worse, but there is so much you can do to reverse this, in fact make it better than it was years ago. Repetition of a movement teaches your brain to remember. If you practice "tree pose" every day for a month, you will be shocked at how much better you are. You're using your dendrites! The old saying "use it or lose it" applies to us all. Dendrite strengthening can be achieved in a number of ways. I just spoke about the repetition of a movement to strengthen dendrites, but you can also strengthen them in other ways. Repeated chanting, as in religious prayers, strengthens dendrites. Treatment of chemical or emotional dependence may involve a combination of dendrite dissolving and rebuilding. Alcoholics Anonymous and Weight Watchers are also examples which emply repetitive actions and realizations in an effort to solidify new dendrites. Dentrites affect our intelligence. Researchers have found that each neuron (brain cell) can grow up to 20,000 dendrites. It is acknowledged that the number of connections in our brain affects our level of intelligence. People who have more dendrites and hence more possible connections between them tend to be more intelligent.

  This raises the question, "how do we grow more dendrites?" The simple answer is by using the brain. Most schools cater to left brain learning, like math, logic and science. These activities only develop the left side of the brain. Students who develop the right brain from activities such as music, song, dance, puzzle solving, and playing chess, develop both sides of the brain, grow more dendrites and become more intelligent. This may be a little more than you want to know about dendrites, but the bottom line is that we need to continue to use our brain, both left and right sides, throughout our lives. You will continue to grow dendrites throughout your life

. One of the hardest things I have done in recent years is learn to tap dance. That was something I never learned as a child, but always wanted to learn. I am no dancer, but through repetition I actually learned steps I never thought possible. If a clutz like me can learn to tap dance, anything is possible. Just keep challenging yourself, both physically and mentally. Keep those dendrites fired up!