What is holding your development back

When looking at developmental delays, whether it be sensory processing, coordination, balance, speech or emotional maturity there are usually primitive reflexes still active and holding back natural development.

Early movements are controlled by primitive reflexes which trigger involuntary reactions to either a sensory input (noise, light, touch ...) or to a change in position. These primitive reflexes develop in the womb and are active and essential for the first few months after birth. These reflexes should integrate, or go dormant, in the first year of life because their only purpose is for survival and to initiate neural pathways for higher brain development. The higher brain then takes over and the primitive reflex is no longer needed and should become dormant.

If the primitive reflexes remain active they act as a barrier to natural development and learning. Rhythmic Movement Training helps to integrate (deactivate) these reflexes enabling development to move forward. There are many primitive reflexes and they all have a different role to play in development, such as:

Fear Paralysis Reflex (FPR) - people with an active FPR often suffer from anxiety and tend to lean towards negativity preventing them from living a happy outgoing life. This reflex keeps the brain in survival mode and hinders receptiveness to change.

Moro Reflex - When the Moro stays active, the person struggles to filter sensory stimuli and the survival system easily activates (fight or flight). An active Moro can hinder many areas of development leading to insecurity, anxiety, poor sensory processing, mood swings, emotional immaturity, poor motor coordination and a compromised immune system.

Babkin Reflex - A retained Babkin leads to feelings of mistrust and insecurity and hinders the ability to make healthy connections to others.

Rooting Reflex - A retained rooting reflex often results in immature thinking, making it challenging for individuals to grasp complex concepts and navigate peer-to-peer relationships effectively. It can also impact speech development.

Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) - When the ATNR is still active communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain is compromised. This leads to difficulties with coordination impacting on motor skills, eye movements and auditory processing. This impacts many areas which include difficulties in reading, riding a bike and tying shoe laces. A retained ATNR is frequently linked to learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Let's integrate those reflexes, it's time to thrive.