Thoughts on My Listening Centre Experience
Like numerous guests of The Listening Centre in recent years I learned about Paul’s journey and his work through the writings of Norman Doidge on Neuroplasticity. Having trained in, and taught various styles of Yoga, Pilates, and mediation, I am always curious to explore the mind-body connection and new modalities for human wellbeing and growth.
The Brain’s Way of Healing opened my eyes not only to the potential of new frontier health sciences but also reaffirmed the importance of much more ancient and simple practices such as a daily walk in nature. Perhaps most significantly for my own journey, I learned of the existence of two small and unheralded muscles that are critical to a wide variety of human activities and happiness. I would soon realize that my Tensor Tympani and Stapedius were, to be blunt, very lazy and out of shape!!
Upon visiting The Listening Centre website and conducting my own additional research, it was clear that an auditory boot camp could improve several areas of my life. I was astonished to learn that the low level of fitness of two little muscles in my ears was impacting much more than my hearing.
I have now completed several cycles of sessions with the team at the Listening Centre and continue to see marked improvements each time through. My initial motivations for the program were to strengthen my weak “audio zoom” which made hearing in crowded environments very difficult, to add life to an often monotonous voice (an important skill for a yoga and Pilates professional), and to help with foreign languages. However, the growth and education I have experienced goes beyond the large improvement I have enjoyed in my hearing, speaking and language skills.
While yoga, meditation and chanting all provide various beneficial forms of calmness, focus, relaxation, or even invigoration, the sensations I have experienced at The Listening Centre together have at times been entirely unique.
The best way to describe this feeling in the body is that of a cerebral lightness at both the physical and sensory level. Or put another way, the wiring of the brain has become less tangled and the superfluous knots and meandering paths of neural connections between various parts of the brain and the body have been swept away, tidied up, and replaced with streamlined and efficient lines of communication.
Prior to becoming a yoga and Pilates instructor, and now health and wellness entrepreneur, I experienced many forms of external stresses that no doubt affected the wiring of my brain working in the world Finance. I started on Wall St. in my early twenties and by 25 was managing a multi-billion dollar mortgage derivative portfolio.
This exposure to the mental riggers of life as a young trader in New York combined with my subsequent explorations of yoga and wellness across Asia and Central America have gifted me a great appreciation for the importance of caring for the mind and body and well as the perils of indifference.
Understanding and nurturing the health and function of ones ears and hearing is a central and often over looked component of mental, physical and emotional health. I will continue to seek growth in this area, and look forward to the continued guidance and support of Paul and the entire Listening Centre Team.