Neuro Performance Training Changed My Life
Neuro performance has transformed my life in the best of ways. I began working with my magnificent coach - Steve Madama, a Master Z-Health trainer - a little over a year ago. My health - and life - improved instantly. I know, I know! How could anything have such an immediate impact?! Having done various forms of physical therapy consistently for 17+ years without life-changing effects, no one was more surprised than I was when, after one session, my vocal range increased on both ends, I could back the car up into the driveway perfectly on the first try, I was able to walk down the stairs with a laundry basket without feeling unstable, and my swallowing difficulties disappeared.
Within just a few sessions, I noticed improved energy, improved digestion, improved breathing, no more brain fog, and much less pain. I went from sustaining EDS-related injuries on most days to going days on end without any injuries at all. Any injuries that did occur were far less severe and much easier to recover from - and I developed the tools to be able to recover from the occasional stumble and to do so in an educated and empowered way.
This neurology-based training is what I’d been I’d been searching for my whole life. Now, a year or so in, I feel like a healthy human - for the first time in my entire life. BIG F*CKING DEAL!
I think of neuro performance training as a combination of the following: physical therapy, occupational therapy, vestibular therapy, vision therapy, functional neurology, personal training, performance coaching, and life coaching - with a strong emphasis on neurology and anatomy. My favorite part of this approach is that my trainer looks at me as an athlete whose performance he’s trying to optimize, rather than a patient he’s trying to make less sick or injured. (And just to be clear, I never considered myself to be an athlete - and I certainly didn’t feel like one when I first started this training - but I do now!).
Aiming to optimize someone’s ability to perform in life - whether mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. - brings about a dramatically different impact than what comes of just trying to make someone less sick or injured. And from personal experience, I can tell you that the latter option sucks and doesn’t get the patient - the human being - as far as they have a right and a capability to go. The former is what gives us the chance to show up in the world as sparkly stars that are able to live our best lives. And don’t we all want to live our best lives?!
The underlying gist of neuro performance training is that we each have unique nervous systems, and with the right customized, comprehensive exercises, we can make mounds of progress and teach our brains and bodies to develop skills that perhaps seemed out of reach.
Most of my social media posts are dedicated to sharing demonstrations from my work with my trainer and my lessons learned. I’m dedicated to sharing my journey because people deserve to know the resources that exist in the world that can help us feel our best and reach our potential. Most people have never heard of this training approach - and that’s a problem. And even for those that become aware of this training approach, it’s often not accessible - that’s also a problem. My hope is for my story to reach medical providers (maybe even those who accept insurance!) who will become intrigued enough by my experience to take the Z-Health training programs and incorporate this approach into their practices - because patients deserve better than the care that’s typically available to us.
People frequently ask me how I discovered neuro performance training. Below is a video of me explaining my path toward this life changing approach!
Neuro Performance Training Changed My Life - Here’s How I Found It