55. How to Look at Your Body Through Brain Patterns / Trent McEntire
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Trent McEntire has been helping people gain back their mobility – a story he knows well. Born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy, Trent experienced pain and stiffness every day from the time he was a child. However, Trent's creative problem-solving abilities, and ability to connect the neurology to improving movement capabilities, it transformed his life and became his life's work. Today's episode we talk about how to view the body through the brain patterns. We dive into the eyes & inner ears to investigate how focusing on these inputs, can actually change the quality of your movement capabilities. Anyone dealing with disorders, diseases, brain injuries, or pain in the body - this could be a game changer!
Episode Topics:
How does the brain take in information?
Neuroplasticity: your brain can change at any age
How do we look at the body through the brain patterns
Brain Speed Ball
Parkinson’s, MS, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, Sensory Integration, Traumatic Brain Injuries
create stronger more positive patterns
Key Ingredient: Have Fun! Keeps the brain willing to explore and be curious
Trent Mcentire
I'm happy to be here.
Katie Graham
Yeah, it's a pleasure having you. I'm just really excited when we contacted through email and hearing your story and hearing hearing about your business. I just feel like this is going to be so inspirational, so impactful, because whether you know, we're dealing with a specific disorder, or disease or body dysmorphia, or if we're just experiencing the limits of the ego and the mind and the subconscious, and we have self doubt and judgments on our body, we can all relate in that way of just like being in that limited space, being in that confinement, and then the ways that we can all break out and the ways that we can find more expansion and possibility. So I'm really thrilled that to have you here. And I want to just dive into your story, Trent. So if you wouldn't mind just telling us a little bit about your disorder, and then how you move through that?
Trent Mcentire
Sure, yeah. So there's, there's really like two main roads that have informed what has become a 25 year career. So my own life became my life's work. And that's where, you know, I'm so passionate and fueled with the people that I work with, in my help. And so the first thread, the first kind of road, is that I was born with cerebral palsy. Now, the story goes like this, I actually didn't know that I that I was born with cerebral palsy. And so I grew up just thinking the way that my body felt, and the way that I moved was normal. And I've come to learn that you have what you would call a class one cerebral palsy. And so to look at me, or to look at anybody with a class one, you wouldn't know that there was a brain injury of birth, you would know that there's movement limitation necessarily, because it takes to class two to three, before you see a marked gait, you know, we're walking looks different than you might expect, or, you know, class three, you definitely you tend to bring in some walking devices, canes, or walkers or things like that. So not having any of those things, you know, I was never looked at as different. But I had such limitations. I mean, I couldn't lift my arms above my head, I couldn't touch my knees level on my toes. And it was it was a limitation. But I was really athletic. So it just became something where this is normal, I don't feel good. In my body, I have a lot of stiffness, and I have a lot of pain and discomfort. But I was athletic, and I played basketball. And when I was 17, I got into dance. And it's an unlikely path for someone who grows up on dairy farm to become a professional dancer. But for me, it was like a possible way out into the world like a way to, to go to college and to to expand my horizons. And when I started taking dance classes, I felt better. Like in my body, I'd never felt more comfortable and more free and more flexible. And so it was it check the box for being an athlete, or check the box for being creative and check the box or feeling better in my body. And I had some skill and some talent at it. And so I was able to go to college and, and get a scholarship to get a four year education. first in my family, which is kind of a big deal for me. And while I while I was in college, I was had a very demanding schedule. And I had 15 performances in one week. It was it was a big demand. And it was a lot of work that I was doing. And at the end of it, I could barely walk in the morning I would get up and like hobble to the shower. And I thought this this could be career ending. This doesn't feel like something I could get over this feels really dangerous. And I couldn't I couldn't really figure out what was going on. Well, that break coincided with holiday break. So I was home for the holidays, and just kind of complaining to my mom. I was like I don't get why I have all of this tightness and all of this pain from the knees down. It's like very specific from the knees down. And I just don't get it. And she looked at me. She said, Well, Trent that's because you were born with cerebral palsy. And at age 19 to hear that for the first time. I was like, wait, what? Like a what is that? What do you mean he didn't tell me? Like I was just blown away, right? So she's like, Yeah, don't you remember when you were three? And I'm like when I was three I don't know if I remember much when I'm three but when you were three. The doctors cast you flat like cast her heels flat, because I learned to walk in the balls of my feet because my Achilles tendon was so short that I wasn't physically able to put my heels down. And that was a side effect of the brain injury that had suffered at birth. And, and so I was like, suddenly had this memory of these two casts, having garbage bags, put over them in the winter. So I couldn't go in the snow and getting them wet. And I was like, Yeah, and that was the only thing I did, there was no surgeries, there was no other invasive procedures, which is really great. Because sometimes those can be more hurtful than helpful. But I was like, Yeah, but being a poor college student, I didn't have the resources to get any kind of therapies or do physical therapy, or any kind of, you know, outside support. And my degree, I happen to have a lot of movement science, and kinesiology and movement therapies built into the program. So I decided to just use my own body as, like a guinea pig and see if I could solve this problem. And I was able to rehab my own injury. And that was really like the start of what has become my 25 year career. It's like, well, if I can do this on myself, can I do this with other people? And that's when I really started to explore that that as a possibility.
Katie Graham
But into air pods for some reason. Can you hear me? Okay, I can hear you. Yep. Okay. Okay, I heard that. It just like flipped, right? At the end, I was like, I don't have air pods anywhere near me. So I'll make sure maybe somebody walking by. Anyway, yes. Like, this is such an impactful story, I really feel like I personally can relate to what you're talking about is like, you never felt normal, like, quote, unquote, normal. And I feel like a lot of us can feel that way. But for you, you are actually dealing with a disorder in your body. But I feel like a lot of us have this like internal shame. And it's almost like, you don't know what's like what it's from, you don't have a reason. And I've recently learned in my trauma training was, there's a generational trauma, so we can all experience up to five generations. So if you think about your great grandparents, your great great grandparents, like, then experiencing trauma can actually show up in your life. And so when I think about this, there doesn't necessarily need to be a y like a specific why, why do I feel like this in my body? Why don't I feel normal? Why am I you know, just like aching, or just like feel heavy in my body? Or mentally? Or why am I reacting to this specific thing and having an anxiety. And in your story, I think it's so relatable and just like not feeling good, and not having a reason to why you don't feel good. Until later, we're actually somebody recognized you and you actually got that recognition. And I bet that kind of felt like a little bit of a relief. I know, for me, it's like dealing with depression, anxiety, like trauma, like specific things where the therapist recognized me or the body therapy, like it was like, Oh, my gosh, you know, I feel like, I have been recognized Finally, for feeling this innate feeling of just like, I'm not good enough, something's not normal. And so on that level, I feel like it is like almost giving us permission to be like, quote, unquote, normal, like, you don't have to fit some sort of mold. And also you can give yourself recognition for not having a specific why, like, we want to always search for like, there's a reason like, why am I feeling this way? Like, why am I dealing with body dysmorphia? Why do I have judgments on myself? Why do I wake up every morning with high anxiety or have like judgments or this negative cycle? So in that way, I could relate to your story and just like giving us all permission, that one like quote, unquote, normal, like, we all feel a certain type of like, not feeling perfect, right? And it might not be something we normally talk about. And then to just like, for you, you had that recognition and that why and it's like, for a lot of us, we will find that later down our journey. But in the meantime, it's like, okay, like I can relate to Trent because, you know, I don't feel that great in my body. And maybe I can just give myself permission for like, maybe something did happen, maybe something like generational happened. And so it's like dealing with these different disorders and disabilities and diseases. I think it's all like a good thing to remember that we can all just give ourselves permission to meet exactly where we are you exactly where we are in our bodies and mentally and spiritually. So that part of the story I really find inspiring. And then secondly, like, let's dive into your business. So like, you realize that you had this movement restriction, and it's connected to your neuro, so your brain and so dealing with these limitations, and then you're like, Okay, I want to help other people with this same disability, can you dive into, like, what inspired you to like, start helping other people?
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, I have to say that, I think the inspiration to help other people came before I was told that I had cerebral palsy, because I had, I had a fifth grade teacher, that was way ahead of his time. And Mr. Berlinski, he was incredible. In the sense, I didn't know it, then I just know it now. You know, totally, you know, when I was when I was in fifth grade, the, the kids that were labeled, like special education, had their own classroom, their own teacher, and they were kept separate from the entire school. And so, the teacher had brought a student into our social studies class, quote, the normal class, okay. And, and Mr. Belinsky, said, you know, what, somebody will be willing to raise their hand, and partner up with this student from the special ed class to like, lead them in our social studies class. And that was the only one that raised my hand, it was just like a no brainer. To me, it just seemed like it made sense. And so for the rest of the year, he was my buddy in social studies, and I made sure to keep him on track, or the way we were reading, and, you know, and it really started, like, planted the leadership seed. And I think, having that planted so early, and seeing that it was inspiring for me, and developed my own leadership capabilities at a young age, being willing to be different than the other 25 kids in the class to do to hold space for somebody in fifth grade, because most of this graders aren't holding space for other people. So to learn how to do that was tremendous. So I think that that was planted early on. And so once I had recovered my own injury, and could continue to dance without paying and, and in, in go on to do professionally. It was like, Yeah, this is it made sense. Naturally, it just seemed to make sense to help other people. And so then it became a question of, well, this worked for me, will this work for other people, and I just had clients that were willing to be my guinea pigs. And, you know, at the time, I was working at a Pilates studio, and so it was sort of like couched in Pilates. But it wasn't really just Pilates, it really was bringing all of the, the, what I know now to be the brain work the neuro work and looking at the body from a sense of brain patterning and building new patterns that are stronger than the older, full of compensation patterns. And what what started to happen as I was working with clients is that books are being published on the brain. And I was like, I should read these, these might be really good for my work, I don't know, like, this seems like it's like right up my alley. And as I'm reading them, I'm realizing that this is the work that I've been doing. For years, I didn't have the vocabulary for it, I didn't know, I was just following my intuition and my instinct and what worked for me and how I was able to overcome things. And all of a sudden, there's a language for it. And there's vocabulary, and there's resources, and to learn that the brain is plastic, and that it can be changed at any age. And that's really what I was leveraging, I was leveraging that brain plasticity with my clients. And, and that really, those worlds kind of merged together, you know, naturally. But, you know, earlier I said there was a second pathway. And that second pathway is that I've always struggled with reading, and I actually failed first grade, because of my inability to read. And by the time I was in third grade, you know, the teachers solution, when my reading was subpar, was to give me more reading to do. So that thing that you're really bad at, we're gonna give you more, it's gonna be at home. I already had homework as a third grader, and back then you didn't have homework as a third grader. I did because it couldn't read fast enough in school, so I had to bring everything home. So I had that homework plus extra reading to do so school felt miserable. I just felt like a failure. And, and then not only did I have to do the reading, I had to do like a quiz for every little booklet that I read in my series. It was just terrible. And I later learned in my life when I was in my 30s that It wasn't that I didn't have the didn't have the ability to read. It's that I had an issue with my eyes, that my eyes didn't work well together. They weren't coordinated, so that both eyes would see the same image at the same time.
Katie Graham
So give me a break your heart, like, it's just like, Oh, my God.
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, I mean, it does. And it doesn't, because it was something I was able to really incorporate into my work. But I know that I'm not alone. So it breaks my heart for the people that have never discovered that that's really what's going on. And that they struggle with reading, but it's not because they're, they're not smart. It's because their eyes are weak, and they're not coordinated. And they have gone, it's gone undetected. And, and so, you know, to have that discovery. And then for me to then take that discovery, and bring it into my practice was a really important decision that I made, because it was such a profound change that the funny story is this, like, I, I had so much shame around my weakness and reading that I would do audiobooks. You know, once I was out of college, I would do audiobooks. And I would say that I'd read a book, you know, like, what books are you reading, and I would say, this is a book that I'm reading, but I'm listening to it, I'm not reading it. But I had so much shame. And I wouldn't say that I was listening to it. And so I was telling a client of mine said, you know, I'm reading this great series, and it's, it's actually for young adults, but I'm really finding it really entertaining. And I gotta get the next book, I said, you know, and so, again, totally selling the fact that I was reading an actual book. And so I had a trip coming up, and I was gonna be going out to a conference and her next session, she brought me in a copy of the next book in the series. She's like, here we go. So you can read it on the plane. And I was like, Oh, thank you. So now I have to get this finished. Before the next time I see you because so they graded this whole thing, where now I have to, like, fulfill this lie, that didn't really matter. But it mattered to me because I had so much shame around it. So I took the book with me knowing that I was never going to read the book. And then I had to download the audiobook and try to listen to it. And so then when I, when I was at my conference, I actually had a booth that I was working with my program, but that I had met a vision therapist, and they ran some eye exercises with me. And that's when we discovered them, and it didn't work well together. And just a couple of exercises sparked such a response. So when I got back to my booth, a friend had stopped by and I had missed them. And they left me this kind of long note. And I read it so fast, like I've never read in my life. I was like, wow, there's really something to this. And so that then sparked the second sort of leg of my career, because this then becomes about how does the brain take in information. And this really is like, you know, when we think about moving your body, we can think about strength and mobility and range of motion coordination of our joints and our muscles, that's like the common place we go. But those things are also needed for your other senses. So the brain takes in information from your senses, and especially your eyes, and your inner ear. So when you're talking about the important senses of the body, those are the top of the list. And so I decided to incorporate visual and vestibular exercises into the work that I was doing. And that's when they've just everything took off. And I was able to work with in help, just such challenging cases where people were suffering and not finding solutions.
Katie Graham
Wow, oh, my gosh, Trent. So when you're talking about the reading, like we all develop these limiting beliefs when we're younger, and it could just be a teacher telling you you're not good at math. And then from that moment on, you just believe that you're not good at math. And it's like, I was reading a return to love by Marianne Williamson, and she was talking about, you are perfect, just as you are when you're born. And then everything you've added on since then, we have to remove because there's just Layers of Fear and disappointments and limiting beliefs. And it kind of struck me because I'm like, Oh my gosh, like I've been trying to improve on myself and work hard. And like, I carry all of this fear. I've realized, you know, just through my life, like layers and layers of fear that really underneath was like this really big hearted, open person. But I really believe that I should just be an introvert and I should just do work that doesn't include anybody and I should just keep to myself and it's just kind of interesting how we get these ideas like locked in our head of how we should be or how all of this evidence has put Reuven that we can't read, like just that, that like, can't read, not smart enough, like it's creates these layers and then what you're talking about, it's like, you had a lot of shame around it. And it's like the nuts like, we can't feel like we can show up as our true authentic selves. Yeah. And it shows up in the body, like the body, and disabilities and judgments like pain, physical pain, like we can hold on to emotional beliefs. So it was really fascinating to realize, like from your story, and from all of our stories, we have all of these layers where it just takes an instant to realize, oh, my gosh, like, this is a false belief I've been holding on to or like for you the guidance to this vision, like this vision therapist and realizing like, oh, my gosh, it wasn't at all what I thought it was. And so that was just like, really one of the things you said that really sparked my like, oh, my gosh, yes. Like, yes, yes, yes, we are so programmed in the subconscious, that we're living our lives through fear, through things that are completely untrue. And we can just let go of. And so like what you're talking about, also, looking at the body, you said, we look at the body from the brain patterns. I was like, Oh, my gosh, like, what is that all about? And I know, you kind of talked a little bit on that. But can you just like dig in a little bit more? And tell us more about? Like, how do we really look at the body through the brain?
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, so this is what I call the whole brain approach. Excuse me, when, whenever I'm working on myself or with somebody else, that whole brain approach is the lens that I'm looking through, because you have three main categories that the brain relies on, to take in information, decide what to do with it, and then create the output. And we know the brain, the better the input the brain receives, the better the output. And so we want to maximize the input. And so when we, when you look at how the brain prioritizes information, it puts the eyes at the top. So if your eyes are open, the information the eyes are giving the brain are prioritized. And that could be related to your spatial awareness, your coordination, depth, perception, reading, you name it, everything that I see, and down to your range of motion, because if your eyes are weak and have limited range of motion, you won't move your body very big, because you'll you'll be perceived as being fearful to move bigger than what you can see. So it's pretty profound. And so when you look at, you know how people in, especially in the US, but I, you know, this, this is, this is a big problem where people, they have a diagnosis of they have some kind of disease or disorder or an injury or something could be Parkinson's, or MS or a TBI, or it could be any of those things. And they go through the medical system. they've exhausted all of their, all of the solutions that are provided there. But they're not recovered. They're not better. And they fall into what I call the movement gap, this gap where yeah, like I I've done all my therapies, I've been everything that's kind of been available to me. But I don't know how my quality of life back yet. And there's a reason for that. Because if you if you don't have this whole brain approach, you're missing huge parts of how the brain actually builds new patterns. And, you know, it also, you know, it's worth noting that when we talk about building a new pattern, we're talking about building a pattern that is productive and positive and stronger than the compensation pattern. And you can't stop doing something, you don't stop doing a pattern, you build a pattern that's stronger, that can override the old pattern so that that one can become less influential in your life. And that's why you'll see like when you have stress, or lack of sleep, those old patterns that are ingrained, more so than the newer patterns can kind of creep up. So the healthier we are the more sleep the better nutrition and all those things, the better chance you have as those new patterns being what's kind of driving your life. But it's like this, like I work run people through this exercise where you can imagine a piece of paper and you have a yellow highlighter. And you just you go back and forth and you're making a bringing pattern laying down that neural pattern in your brain and you have a very solid pattern that set for an ability name it then we think okay, well, you know, I stretch I go for walks, they get a massage once in a while, you know, and you're just making like, like with a black sharpie, like little dots over that big pattern that's full of compensation so it doesn't really ever go away. So you get a massage but then two days later you feel just as as you did after the massage or before the massage, right, and so it's about then taking that Sharpie and building a pattern that totally covers that old yellow highlighter, so that the new pattern is more productive. And you build those bigger patterns by talking to the senses that the brain relies on to get information. Because like I said, the better the input you have, the better the outputs you have. That's really what it boils down to.
Katie Graham
Oh, my gosh, okay, so let's dive into this a little bit more. So you're talking about, we're doing all these little things like going to massage therapists doing this to help doing this help. And you're saying those little things are not actually overriding the pattern? Are you saying that? Are we combining those things over long term to create a new pattern? So it is that transformation? Yeah,
Trent Mcentire
yeah. So let's be really clear. All these therapists, and massage therapists, all these things are fantastic, really important. And I rely on those people as referrals to support my clients. And myself. The issue is that if you don't have a whole brain approach, and you are addressing your visual, and your vestibular system, you're just going to be putting little dots over that big yellow highlighter. So if you do those things, you get the massage, but you also do eye exercises, you also do inner ear exercises, the results are so compounded that you have a much better chance of building a productive pattern. And so it's really just, you know, you could, you can get a massage every single day. And it would be wonderful, but it's not going to feed your visual and vestibular system, balance is not going to improve necessarily, because the balance lives in your ear. And if your eyes have weakness, unless you strengthen those eyes, there's the keep informing the brain with those weaknesses and lack of coordination. So, you know, I could practice reading every single day. But the issue wasn't my ability to see like that there are words and I have to know what they mean. It wasn't comprehension, it was the physical ability to track words on a page. That was what I was missing. So someone, for someone like that, that's my ability that I filled in. So for someone, maybe, where they're trying to have a better quality of walk, they go for a walk on their hip always hurts. So they get a massage. Okay, well, that hip pain can actually be coming from a weakness in the eyes and the inner ear. Because posture and coordination in the body is fed through those major sensory systems. So you can get a temporary fix, but that old pattern is going to show up because it's actually being caused by a higher order sensory system. Does that make sense?
Katie Graham
Yes. Okay. So I'm, yeah, I'm connecting the dots now. So this can be for people dealing with, like a disorder like Parkinson's or ADHD, Alzheimer's. And then also it can relate to people just experiencing like hip pain, back pain, is that correct? Because it's like this brain body kind of like you're, you're we're addressing like the body through physical therapy and different things. But then you're Trent addressing the brain like the neuro part.
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, we need physical therapists, we need an occupational therapist, I know some really wonderful people. They mostly work in that proprioception that muscles, nerves, joints category, we need that. But when you only have that category, you're missing the visual and vestibular piece. And it really is all three that creates such results. Even we were talking about trauma earlier, for those that have experienced trauma, myself and my clients and just about everybody that I know, you know, regulation is a really important thing, being able to self regulate, and to feel what that was like. When you start doing visual and vestibular exercises, regulation becomes very possible very quickly, within just a few minutes, you can really shift your regulation. And because you're going to a high order sensory system that brands like, Okay, I'm paying attention. This feels good, this pattern is like helpful, and then your systems can calm down and you can regain sort of a grounded sense. You were talking about Alzheimer's, and one of one of my clients that I've learned the most from, was an Alzheimer's patient. And at the end of his life, my role with with him was playing brain speed ball, which is a ball that I invented that has letters and numbers on it. And it's a visual tracking game. Well with him at the end of his life, he didn't have much speech capability. But somehow he could find a way to track the ball if I threw it to him. And just the act of playing that game and kind of watching it the best he could and tracking it into his hands would shift his mood. And he'd go from being like, the more belligerent grumpy, angry side, too happy, joyful, smiling, laughing the best that he could, and that would result in him being compliant with healthcare workers. needing to give him a bath or his his wife care caring for him or whatnot. So it translated beautifully into his life. Because I was tapping into his higher order sensory systems. I couldn't, I couldn't do proprioception and couldn't do exercises, physically with him because he didn't have the ability, nor could he really follow many instructions. So what was left as his high order systems and what just happened to those and he just would always have a better day after we work together, we would only work at the end of his life for maybe 1520 minutes. But he wasn't he was a client of mine for about 15 years. And I knew a lot about him, it was such a privilege to be able to have that, that continuum of care and that that spectrum of time with him. And you learn so much in the situations.
Katie Graham
Wow. Yeah, I'm sure that you're just filled with so much gratitude, being able to help people through your work. And I just like I love what you're saying, because it makes so much sense. Like, we know the mind body connection, but rarely do we really focus on the mental on the brain, on the neuroplasticity, what you're talking about. And, and when you're talking, I kind of am thinking, I know that it's not relating to the census, but meditation, it's like, I'm building new neural pathways so that when I repeat my meditation practice, I can take that out into my life. And it does feel like I literally live my life differently with new patterns. And, and so I can, like, it just totally makes sense what you're doing and the work that you're doing, really focusing on the brain, and actually was taking, I took a kundalini yoga class last night, and anybody that doesn't know Kundalini, it's a lot of, it's very different than normal yoga. It's like a lot of chanting and mantras and breathing and, and he was talking about the Kundalini teacher was talking about, the body never lies, the body will always tell you the truth. What tells us lies is the mind, the mind is on repeat will tell us lies over and over. And I was just like, when you're talking, I'm like, kind of thinking about this. I'm like, Oh, my gosh, it makes sense in that way, too. Because it's true. It's like, we have this like, mental story going on and all the time and, and then the body's like telling us what we need to know. And when we tap into that place, it's like, the physical pain, like, it's like, oh my gosh, like, I like what I was talking about the beginning, it can be emotional, it can be trauma, it can be a lot of different things that we just aren't really aware of, because we're not looking at the neurology, we're not looking at the brain. And even on like the surface level, we're not even looking at our thoughts or what the mind is telling us.
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, for sure, for sure. I think it's really beautiful that right now, the conversations that are that are expanding and becoming commonplace around trauma, and around these neurological conditions are becoming more commonplace. And it's really beautiful. Because for so long, any of these conditions, including trauma, we're like, not talked about and was like, you know, our mental health care doesn't, I mean, in my opinion, virtually doesn't exist in our country. There's not, there's not really a strong support and understanding in the commonplace now, underground. Like, under the radar, there's lots of people like yourself that are doing work. In this space, like me, like friends of mine, like colleagues of mine, where we have the advantage of being able to plug these things together and have them make make them make sense for people. Because the typical medical model doesn't help people make sense of what's going on in their brain and body. And in fact, it separates them like as if the brain is separate from the body. And when you can help people integrate it in their understanding, and how it feels in their own body that they will it is the same your brain and body. They are connected. They are not on two separate shelves in two separate buildings down the road from each other. They are they are talking to each other.
Katie Graham
Yeah, and the typical model like that's what we see over and over and over again, it's like this confirmation bias and that's why we're not finding like That's why why we're not in this sense of curiosity, wondering like tapping into our intuition because there's so many people out there that are doing different modalities and doing different healing like you try it's like, yes, you're not like fitting in this bubble of Western like you are but you aren't at the same time. Like these are new concepts. These are new things that we are just not subject to. And that was one big reason I started the podcast, it's like, there's so many people out there that have literally dedicated their lives to helping and healing, because it's helped them. And because they're so passionate and most of the time because it doesn't fit into the mainstream. And it's just like such a great space to bring in more possibilities and expansion. I feel like it's almost like this up leveled wellness, because it's like, we're reaching outside of our standards, and what we're seeing and our subconscious beliefs that just keep us stuck. And what like, you're talking about trends, like you're helping people that, well, you're helping many people with different types of pain and disabilities, but you're specifically really helping people with diseases and like, You're talking like Alzheimer's, like, things that like that we need help with, that people have lost hope in the hospitals and the mainstream approach. And it's like, there's so much out there to just like, give us a little hope, give us a little possibility. And it's just so great that you're out there trend you're helping and, you know, you're reaching out to podcasts, like talking about what you know, because it's like, it can just even a conversation can add a little spark, it can be like, oh, like, I never really thought about that, or, you know, just little things, or specifically the work that you're doing. It's just like so eye opening, and actually allows us to see like how much abundance and possibility there really is out in the world. That's not in our little tiny bubble that we like, you know, just see, because that's like, what we just like our, you know, two feet around us at all time. So it's really cool that you're integrating this work. And I want to just ask you a little bit more about improving the eye movements, because I want to like just to like dive into it a little bit to get an idea of like, what is this? Like? What a maybe a specific practice? Or how is it integrating? Like, I see you're on your bio, it's like strength and range of motion and coordination. And then it's like balance regulation, confidence throughout the entire body? Like, can you elaborate a little bit more on like, what is that specific eye movement?
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, so it's actually, I invented a game. And it's, I'll show on the video. And for those that are listening and are watching, you know, it's called the brain speed ball. And it's a bright orange ball that has a through z and one through 12, printed in black on it. And so if you and I were playing, we're throwing the ball back and forth. And you're going to catch the ball. And then you're going to tell me what you see on the ball. And so as you catch the ball, you've had to track it into your hands. And then you said, Okay, I see a three, and then you say the three out loud. And what that does is it combines the visual tracking, and the movement of the head with the natural brain processing, which the brain takes in information, decides what to do about it, and then takes action. So it's like this sense, decide, Act cycle that happens over and over again, if you're sensing where the ball is, you catch it, you decide you're gonna say it out loud. And then you do say it out loud. And so by tapping into that natural brain cycle, and then using the eyes and the head for tracking, you have this like one, two, punch the brains like, Yeah, I'm paying attention, I'm getting stronger. Literally, the muscles of your eyes are getting stronger, you're getting better tracking. And when you look at it is it is in essence, very simple. strength, coordination and range of motion of your eyes and your inner ear, which means head head movement improves just about everything in our body. So that lifts your head off it like it improves so many things. And so it's simple. It's a simple, fun game to catch like one to five minutes. And you can see incredible results. And I'll tell you just a couple examples of some really beautiful things that I've seen happen. I had a gentleman, he races, motorcycles, and then he's going like 6070 miles an hour on these, these jet powered motorcycles. And I got a call from his wife, who said he had been in an accident, and he hit a lost control of his bike and hit a cement wall, going about 60 miles an hour at a 45 degree angle headfirst. And she was like on the way to respond. She called me on her way to go see him because he was out of state doing this. And she said when he's well enough to see you, I want to bring him in and I'm like, let's do it. I don't know if and what I can do for him, but let's just see what can happen. So at the point, you know, a couple months later when he was able to actually come in, he was just a few days off of using any kind of walking device crutches or a walker to assist him. And so he had what he would call or a drunk penguin walk and sort of like side to side and having to hold the wall mostly to feel like he wasn't going to fall over. And so we did brain speed ball. And I spent about 10 minutes with him and had him walk again. And it was like he'd never had any problems in his gait. He had a natural, easy gait, no drunk penguin. And he was like, wow, like, this feels totally normal. This is amazing. And so you know, then then the question is, well, will that stick? Will it stay? You know, is this how it is now? Is it going to come back. And so we went back, super excited to tell his family I found out later on, and his family was skeptical, naturally, like, Oh, that's great that you feel like that today. But let's see tomorrow, how you feel in the next week, how you feel? Well, his gait never went back. It stayed that natural positive gait. And he was able to continue his recovery, and go back to his job full time. He's an engineer. Just really beautiful. With just a few minutes. I saw him one time for a few minutes. And it was tremendous.
And a young girl that I worked with, she's on the autism spectrum. And her mom was like, I really would like her to bring bring her by to your booth at this conference, and have you work with her. And I said, that would be really great. But I want to not make it about, like her condition or a label or a disease or something like that. I say, can we make it about something she loves to do? She's the girl she loves to dance. I'm like, that's perfect, because I have some experience in that so we can make it about dance. And then you can see how you see it affects, you know, her her behavior and her brain patterning with autism. But with her and I it'll be about dance. And we're like, Okay, deal. So she comes by, and I was like, you know, what's what's like the one thing that your dance teachers always telling you like, what I'm sure every dance teacher is getting on your case about something they always do. So what is your dance teacher getting any case about? Well, she wants me to jump higher. And now I'm always looking down. And so I said, Well, why don't you just like in the ballroom here? Why don't you just show me what your what your jumps look like your leaps look like? So she's leaping across the floor in this ballroom. So okay, let's play a game of brain speed ball. We played for a few minutes. And then I said, Okay, try your leaps again. And she jumped higher. And her eyes are up and she got she got finishes, like, what did you do to me, tell me everything I need to know all about this, it was just an incredible response. And so we kept playing with different dance movements and the brain speed ball just to feel those things improve and, and just kept it kept it to that. So she went on her way with her mom, rest of the conference. And after the conference was over, I got a note from the mom, saying I gotta tell you that, you know, at these conferences, you know, we tried to explore whatever city were in Jaipur. I bring her with me all the time. And she's like, 13 at the time, I think we explore we go to the after parties, things like that. She said, But what you don't know is that the day before I brought her to see you, we were out it was Las Vegas, we were out on the strip, she wanted to see the lights. And she was overwhelmed by all of the sights and sounds and she kind of collapsed and she had to be carried while they were trying to cross the street. And she had to kind of like carry her off the road to safety because she was just so overwhelmed by everything. And then she saw you and then that night, it was the party. It's like a three hour DJ lights overwhelming party. And she said normally we say for about a half an hour, then we have to go back to the room so she can kind of regroup. And she said Trent she said the whole party all three hours, went back to the room. That overwhelmed no issue. And she has that's the first time in her life that something like that hasn't overwhelmed her. And I thought that was really beautiful. You know that we don't have to you don't even have to talk about the condition. We don't have to make you feel other or like, Oh, you're in another therapy session because how many therapy sessions have you been to? You know, how many professionals have you seen and now you're, you're again trying to be fixed by somebody. So for me, it was really a beautiful experiment to see if we can make this nothing about, you know, the side effects of her being autistic but instead about something she loves to do. So that for her could be a positive experience. But yet still touch on that that sensory overwhelm and regulation that is so important to her quality of life.
Katie Graham
Oh my gosh, I love that. And I love just like being able to approach with this, like curiosity and kind of childlike quality and just like create some more fun and play because especially what you're talking about when it comes to like things that we're trying to change, trying to fix or change. It's just like it can get so hard and for me and my back pain. It's like, I get into this mindset of like, oh, another thing I'm trying and I almost block myself because I fall into this like hopeless feeling. In which I really believe that it's like, if you believe and trust in what you're doing, that's gonna support you maybe more than the actual thing that you're trying. Like, if you have a belief in yourself and your body that you can move through it. And so it's like, for anything that we can bring in more sense of wonder and hope and curiosity. It's like tight, like, think of something that you really love and like, do that. And then, you know, integrate some kind of like way that you can maybe a different modality of healing and what your modality is, is with the ball, and it's just like, so awesome that you can provide that type of inspiring healing to somebody, like, that's just cool in itself, just approaching it in that way. And I also really love this concept of building a stronger, more positive pattern. Like, I know you were talking about that at the beginning of our conversation, but as we kind of have been talking, it's like this whole concept of building that new gateway that is stronger, that is more positive, it just reminds me that like, in a second, we can change that. And it's almost like the brain and the body, they it wants that, right? Like it wants that stronger, more positive pattern. And it as we introduce it, it just like will latch on to it. And it's like you're talking about with the motorcycle, it's like, okay, it's there, it's stuck, like, it's, it didn't go away in a few hours or a day, you know, it's like, it's there, and the brain remembers it. And it just like brings in that faith and belief that the body really does want to heal you like you deserve to really feel good. And that's what it wants. It wants to feel light and abundant and happy and, and so does the brain. So it's it can add in more hopefulness. And I love how you how you kind of talk about that trend is like building a stronger pattern like stronger positive pattern. Yes, it's really helpful.
Trent Mcentire
It has to be fun for the brain to pay attention and stay curious. That's, that's really the secret. If it's not fun, the brain is like I'm out. I'm not curious. I don't want to go any further. This brings fear and anxiety and pain. I do not want this, I reject this. And so it takes a lot of coaching, I find people are used to having pain, they used to having everything cause pain, so at some level, and so when I said to them, you know, we're gonna work together, but at no point can this be painful? And if it is, you're gonna let me know. So we can make a change. And they're like, oh, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. Really, they're experiencing pain. Well, as soon as there's pain, there's fear and anxiety. And the brain is like, Nope, I'm not going to keep this pattern, this is not productive, I'm going to rely on something that feels more productive and easier for me to rely on. And so fun, opens the door, you know, it's really what opens the door, it keeps the brain curious and willing to explore. And as soon as the fun stops, you might as well just take a break. Because when it's not fun anymore, then you're not going any further.
Katie Graham
Oh my gosh, it's so good. Like, it's so juicy, because we don't hear that, like we don't hear like, include the fun and the positive. And, like we always think like has to be hard. And that's just a society concept that we've learned over and over again, like you have to work hard, you have to improve, you know, you have to fix things. And so it's such a breath of fresh air to be like, have fun, like have curiosity, just like enjoy it, and you're gonna heal from it. Like what like that definitely triggers I feel like my mind, like my limiting belief. But I know in my soul, like I know what you're saying is true, I can feel that. And I was just gonna mention that when you're talking about dance, like your whole energy lights up like you are just like, you've lifted. So I feel like any way that you can integrate dancing and like Who doesn't love dancing. So like if you're dancing, like I think that's just like a whole bunch of fun. Like, if I were to come to you, I just want you to be lit up and your energy and like dancing just seems like it just lights up your soul. So that's so fun to see Trent. And so like ending our conversation I always love to just ask like if you have any last words or messages that you want to say to the listeners? And if not, no big deal. And then also please share your own wellness routine. I love to ask the listener or the guests at the end of the show. I love to ask the guests at the end of the show. What is their own wellness routine for some inspiration?
Trent Mcentire
Sure. Yeah. Here's here's what I'd like to say. I discovered early in my career working with other people and helping other people that as adults, we forget that we have potential. We just, in fact, deny that we have potential and I found myself saying to clients that we're adults, like, you know, you have a lot of potential and they're like, I'm in my 60s, I don't, I don't have potential. Maybe when I was 18, or 20, I had potential. It's like, well, that limiting belief is one of the things that's holding you back. And so I like to demonstrate as quick as possible, and prove that you have potential. As soon as you make an improvement, as soon as something feels better, as soon as something you move the needle a little. That's because you had potential, and then you move the needle. So then we can lean into the idea. And I think that was like going back to Mr. Berlinski. You know, he believed in my potential to help this young man. And then I believe in the same man's potential to follow my leadership in the simplest way. And so today, I think that's like the energy that I bring in the space that I hold, for whoever's walking in the door to work with me, it's just believing in their potential. Do I know where it's gonna go? No. And in fact, I have a joke, but I'm dead serious, I promise, one of the three things will happen, you're gonna get better, you're gonna get worse, you're gonna stay the same, I promise. Because it's not my job, in my role, to have the answer for you, when I meet you, my role is to help explore and to be brave enough to look for the answer. And to hold the space so that you can be brave enough to look for the answer also, and to build trust around the process and trust around my leadership to do that, so that you can trust your own leadership, which ties beautifully into your own wellness practice. So for me, you know, this isn't my job that I leave every day, you know, I, I have a brain Speedball at every desk that I sit at, I use them in my studio, I have a weight training practice, I'm in a huge mountain bike person. So I like to challenge myself with that, because it's always different. It's a really challenging sport. Of course, I have a Pilates practice, and I have just a regular morning and evening movement routine that I do. And so it's just in meditation, it's just like, all the pieces that I've picked up over the years that served me and helped me stay grounded and regulated and creative. Keep me in that fun, creative space so that I can continue to hold space for other people. And whatever, whatever I'm needed to do.
Katie Graham
Oh my gosh, that's one of the most beautiful answers I've ever heard. And I want to say a million things. But I think Trent, you said it just so perfectly, and so beautifully. So I'm just going to leave it with that. And, and then also, I'll put all of your contact information in the show notes. So if people have questions, or just curious and they want to reach out to you, I know you're so open and amazing. So I invite the listeners to definitely contact Trent if if anything, he said, is sparking your interest or resonating. Listen to your intuition. It will tell you if there's something that needs to be healed and, and trends amazing. And then Trent, is there a specific way that you would like the listeners to contact you or look you up? Or what is the best way?
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, I would tell you this, there's two websites that I would share, which really helps to fill in some of the gaps maybe expand on this conversation. The first one is fire up your brain.com and that's where you can learn all about the brain Speedball. And you can read stories and see programs for kids, seniors, athletes, and how we really touch those people's lives and the different programs we have available that are really affordable and meant to be for like the everyday person you don't have to, then you can just run them on your own in your home and get virtual help and all that. So it's really beautiful. I'm so excited to be able to provide like that kind of support for people. And then the other website is called the movement gap.com And it really just speaks to how we can have an injury or condition and fall into that movement gap. And that you're not alone and what that looks like and how to find people that can help you.
Katie Graham
Hmm, amazing. You don't happen to have like a donation or like some like a foundation or something that we can we can donate to.
Trent Mcentire
Not right now. I'm working I'm working on a project right now that I think at some point people will be able to be involved in my bigger vision and maybe I can come back in the future and kind of share that vision with you because you know there's I have big plans. Oh,
Katie Graham
my gosh, I'd love that please like reach out to me and we'd love to have you back. But this is great look at those websites and yeah, Trent like it's just so fabulous to have you here and thank you so much listeners for showing up and listening and being curious and taking care of yourself in your body. Awesome. Thanks, Trent. Yeah, that was fun. Is this like oh my gosh. I seriously could. I felt like I could have like talked on so many more topics, but I'd love to have you back and yeah, like when things kind of evolve, and that would be great.
Trent Mcentire
Yeah, I'd love it was a great conversation. I really appreciate your approach.
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