Ilchi Lee

We have all heard it at some point in our lives, “practice, practice, practice…practice makes perfect.” The question is: what are we practicing, and how are we practicing?

Research suggests that if you can read up on and mentally train for your game for 20 to 30 minutes a day, three or more times a week, you will have a one up on those who only practice the physical game.

According to Gabriela Cora, president of the Executive Health & Wealth Institute in Miami Shores, Florida, "The more that you maintain your brain activity, the easier it's going to be to be in better shape."

Mental training helps you play better under pressure, read and predict your opponent’s moves, concentrate better and make you more confident in your performance.

A book written by Olympic Champion Lanny Bassham, “With Winning in Mind,” discusses mental conditioning. Bassham suggests that mental reinforcement—the more you think, write and talk about something—the more likely your brain’s subconscious is figuring out ways to make it happen.

Mental visualization is another great technique for training. The same parts of your brain become active when you imagine yourself doing something as when you actually do it. So if you want to be successful, picture yourself doing something successful. It’s the best preparation for developing a winning attitude—and mind.

Adam was going through some old family photos in the attic when he stumbled upon his family tree. He studied it for a couple minutes then went back down stairs to tell his wife about the family tree. The problem is, Adam didn't study it long enough to remember the whole thing. He only remembered a couple of things about it, as well as recent memories.

Can you help Adam figure out his family tree?

Clues: There are two grandparents who had two children, who both got married and had 2 more children each, for a total of 10 people (Alex, David, Jamie, Jessica, John, Justin, Lincoln, Martha, Mary and Tina).

1. One of Jamie's ancestors was David.

2. John's sister gave birth to Tina.

3. Mary went bowling with her nephew last Saturday.

4. Alex is cousins with one of the girls.

5. Justin married Mary.

6. Jessica is not an ancestor, nor cousin of Tina.

7. Lincoln's brother showed Justin's son his baseball cards.

Scroll down for the answer.

Answer:

Martha and David are the grandparents.

They gave birth to John and Mary.

John married Jessica, who gave birth to Lincoln and Alex.

Mary married Justin and gave birth to Tina and Jamie.

For many, these mental lapses usually begin in our 40s, or as Ilchi Lee would put it, our “roaring 40s,” a time when the brain faces increasing danger of decline.

Research has shown that in some people the parts of the brain involved in memory and cognitive function start losing their ability to perform as early as their 40s. However, there is a lot we can do to slow down the process, if not prevent it.

According to Jeff Victoroff, M.D., associate professor of clinical neurology at the Keck School and director of neurobehavior at Rancho Los Amigos, “we are long overdue in recognizing a simple fact: Cognitive loss is largely preventable. This is a watershed point in our understanding of dementia.”

Take a look at yourself inside and out. Look in the mirror. Do you work out? Do you eat a balanced diet? Do you challenge yourself to experience new things? These all have an effect on your brain and how well it functions. You have the power to control at least 70 percent of your aging process by making positive lifelong choices.

Both Victoroff and Ilchi Lee agree that exercising, getting eight hours of rest, lowering stress and challenging your brain at new activities are the key ingredients to slowing the rate of cognitive decline in your brain.

Used by many dancers and professional athletes, the pilates method—a system of low impact exercises termed contrology by Joseph Pilates—can reawaken formally dormant brain cells and give rise to greater brain activity and cognitive function by fully engaging your mind while you exercise. It is a method used to work your whole self—mind and body.

According to Ilchi Lee, originator of the Brain Education System Training (BEST) and author of In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging, “You will find that you have a dominant side of the body, just as you have a dominant hand.” It is important to reawaken the non-dominant side of your brain for better coordination with your body.

Practicing body-brain coordination exercises will give your whole body a workout and this requires the coordination of many parts of the brain at once. Lee recommends the following exercise, spiral dance, as an exercise that will work all of the joints in your body.

From Ilchi Lee (Excerpted from In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging)

• Place a small paper plate in your right hand. Hold it on your palm, without using your fingers. Spread your legs shoulder width apart and keep your left hand on your hip.

• Slowly bend the arm inward under the armpit, keeping the palm upward with the plate balanced on it. Swing the arm upward and to the front and over the head, creating a spiral motion. Move the hips as needed to facilitate the movement.

• Return to the original position, using a downward spiral motion. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

• Switch the paper plate to the left hand and begin the same spiraling movement on the left side. Repeat 5 to 10 times. Switch direction and repeat 5 to 10 times.

Recent studies in neuroscience labs are showing evidence that our brains are much more aroused by receiving money today rather than waiting until tomorrow to receive even more. The only time a similar arousal in the brain was triggered was when the suggestion of a significant amount of money was offered at some point down the road.

According to one study led by two New York University researchers, the typical person views 20 dollars now as a better option than 23 dollars three weeks from now or 47 dollars six months from now.

“When our emotions are charged, we have a hard time waiting for a reward,” said George Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University and author of a different study—college students taking a sip of fruit juice now versus a slurp later. Receiving a slightly bigger reward tomorrow doesn’t have the same stimulating effect on the brain that getting it today has.

These findings suggest that your brain plays a role in your wanting to spend today and not save for tomorrow. The good news is that, when it comes to spending, knowing immediate gratification exists can make you more aware of, and improve, your future financial decisions.

You are in charge of your brain; you are in charge of your life. Be mindful of your choices, break habits and save for your future. You’ll soon find that getting out of the red and getting ahead may not be as difficult as you thought.

Researchers from University College London conducted a study on the brains of 105 people, 80 of whom were bilingual. The results showed that learning another language altered the area of the brain which processes information—similar to the way exercise builds muscles.

The study shows how learning languages develops plasticity in the brain. In fact, the younger the participants were when learning the second language, the more likely they were to have the advanced gray matter.

According to experts in a Newsweek article, “A child taught a second language after the age of ten or so is unlikely ever to speak it like a native.” Proven by extensive studies, linguists support this statement. And according to Andrea Mechelli, of University College London, “It means that older learners won’t be as fluent as people who learned earlier in life.”

Experts attribute the ease of learning a second language at a younger age to physiological changes that occur in the maturing brain as a child enters puberty.

However, if you are still young at heart, learning another language will challenge your brain regardless of your age. It will encourage creativity and better problem solving skills in your everyday life. It may even help you with your dinner order next time you’re traveling abroad.

Most of us live life fast. There is always something to do or somewhere to be. Do you ever stop to smell the flowers? Listen to the rain hitting the pavement? Or savor the meal you are eating? If not, you’re missing out on a big piece of life.

One of the blessings of an aging brain is the deep reservoir of existing knowledge stored within it. This experience allows you to gain immediate perspective on a situation, providing you with insight—more so than when you were young and your brain was larger. The benefit is that as you age your brain’s ability to stop and truly be in any particular moment increases, provided you take the time to let it.

By stopping and taking in the moment, or paying attention to the details, you are challenging yourself to do something new, which creates new neural connections that support cognition, imagination and creativity.

So ask more of your self—ask more of your brain. Unless you are forced to figure out something new your brain can become lazy. Paying attention to detail—noting how the rain hitting the pavements sounds like crackling oil in a skillet—and seeking out new answers is a spectacular exercise to ward off brain complacency.

According to Indie Cooper-Guzman, RN, “massage can be so helpful and calming to the mind, body and spirit…it can lower blood pressure, ease aches and pains and rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit.” She encourages anyone who suffers pain and/or stress to turn to human touch for help.

Acupressure, a hands-on approach to healing used in China for thousands of years, was found to be more effective in reducing low back pain than physical therapy was on 129 Taiwanese patients during a study in Taiwan.

According to Ilchi Lee, originator of the Brain Education System Training (BEST) and author of In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging, “Human touch is one of the best methods of emotional healing. Sadly, touch is often discouraged socially in our culture.”

Below are three healing techniques that will be beneficial for your brain.

• Shoulder massage – squeeze the trapezoid muscles (muscle extending from your neck to your shoulders), release and repeat several times. Then work your hand down the sides of the shoulders. Last, use your thumb and palms to release tension around the shoulder blades.

• Hand massage – squeeze the hand, moving from the wrist to fingertips. Then work the center of the palm, pushing firmly with your thumbs. Last, gently pull and twist each finger, working down to the fingertips.

• Foot massage – squeeze the foot from the ankle to the toes. Next, flex the foot in both directions and rotate the ankle. Finish by pushing the thumbs directly into the area just below the ball of the foot and massage in a circular motion.

According to Sharon Kolasinski, M.D., an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, “A third to half of doctor visits deal with musculoskeletal issues. They are one of the most common health problems.”

Osteoarthritis often starts as our bodies begin showing the effects of aging. However, joint pain can affect anyone at any age.

Ilchi Lee, originator of the Brain Education System Training (BEST) and author of In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging, writes: “Keeping the joints functioning smoothly is very important for lifelong mobility and is absolutely essential for brain heath, because inactivity leads directly to the decline of the brain.”

In the following arm fling exercise, which promotes basic body and brain maintenance, Lee recommends that you try imagining you have the loose, carefree body of a child as you bounce up and down.

From Ilchi Lee (Excerpted from In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging)

• Relax your shoulders and bend your knees slightly.

• Keep your feet planted on the floor beneath your shoulders as you swing your arms side to side.

• Bounce your knees to the rhythm of the movement.

• Repeat 20 or more times.