Each Tuesday Hank and I venture to the gymnastics class to hang out with Coach Greg and his class of three year olds. For now, I get to do the exercise routine with Hank which mostly includes assuring he does not fall off the balance beam or the bars. Greg does a great job of keeping the kids involved and active and I love the approach, at this age it is just important that the kids are learning and having fun. Hank loves exercise and maybe his favorite part of the class is chasing the hula hoop around the mat at full speed. Why is this important? New research conducted at University of Illinois has shown that fitness helps kids to remember and learn. The study also found that “kids that were physically fit even had better developed brains.” The hippocampus is part of the temporal lobe and is involved in emotions as well as making long term memories and spatial navigation. The study reminds us that the brain uses the hippocampus to help create, organize, and store memories. interesting that chronic stress can shrink the area in the brain. In these days of high stress and non stop information overload, it appears that exercise and fitness are invaluable. I highly recommend exercise for all ages.
As I was reading about exercise, I came across an article about mindfulness; Dr. Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap, describes it as becoming consciously aware of what is going on around you in the present moment It is about the here and now experience. This is the opposite of “tuning out” or perhaps multi tasking. Mindfulness is a key skill to building a great parent child relationship. “‘Children learn a lot about themselves by the way adults communicate with them. They need us to be both physically and mentally present at these times of communication.” The author cautions that as parents we should not break conversations with our kids when prompts or messages appear on our technology. I would take this one step further and say any one on one interaction deserves both parties full engagement. Hank was telling me a story and I may have been distracted – he put his hands on both sides of my head and made sure I was listening and understanding. His approach was a great reminder of the importance of being in the moment.
I played golf this week in Palm Springs. Hank reminded me that I should aim, concentrate and hit the ball. It works-clear your mind of any negative thoughts and let the muscle memory take over. I also relied on advice from Stewart Cink, who realized his play improved when he did not let the ups and downs of his game dictate his attitude. It also helps to have great company.
Hope you have a positive week end. Mike