For the last few months this idea of understanding how rhythm can influence our movement has been a fascinating rabbit hole to go down. At a recent workshop we spent time diving into that very topic, and it was amazing to see the differences in the smoothness and accuracy of movement when a rhythmic stimulus was added to their practice.

Daniel Levitin is a neuroscientist and musician who studies music and rhythm and the effects on the brain. He has written at least two books on the subject, “This Is Your Brain On Music” and “ I Heard There Was A Secret Cord: Music As Medicine”. He says “ The coming together of rhythm and melody bridges our cerebellum and our cerebral cortex.” These areas of the brain control the initiation of movement and improvement of coordinated movement, so it makes sense that providing an external rhythmical source could improve our fluency in movement.

I’m excited to continue to explore this topic more deeply and expand ways I can use these tools to help my clients.

“Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances” - Maya Angelou