Calm Kids Learning: The Mind-Body Connection

Learning is a biological activity.

It is a process by which we create connections between the nerve cells in our brains, and strengthen them over time.

Our biology shapes our development, and our experiences as we grow up help to shape our biology.

Learning is influenced by our social, emotional, and cultural influences.

Our brain function is affected by our emotional states.

We learn by taking in information through our five senses.

In Eastern Asian Medicine, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, the theory of the internal organs lay the foundation for understanding how the body works, and the interrelationships between the organ systems. Each organ system is associated with an element of our psyche.

In this lecture, we are going to be looking at the 5 main systems of the body: The heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys. Each of these organs has an associated spirit or virtue. These five spirits, or virtues, represent the various elements of a person’s psychological makeup or psyche. Together, they form our Spirit, that which makes us who we are.

The 5 spirits, or virtues are the Mind (Shen) , the Ethereal Soul (Hun), the Corporeal Soul (Po), Thought (Yi), and the Will (Zhi).

It is through understanding these virtues that we can understand how mental and emotional functioning are related to physical aspects of the body in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Resources

The Heart energy is associated with the Mind, which encompasses the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person, and includes mental activity and emotions, consciousness, memory, thinking, and sleep. It can be correlated with the function of the cerebral cortex in the brain, which influences the ability to think, as well as perception, sensation, speech, communication, and memory.

The Liver is associated with the Ethereal Soul, which is that part of our soul that is thought to live on after we die. The Ethereal Soul is responsible for determining our direction and vision in life.

The Spleen energy is associated with Thought. In this context, it is related to learning information, concentrating, memorizing, reflection, and creativity.

The Lung energy is associated with the Corporeal Soul, the more physical aspect of our soul. It is associated with movement, and the energy we need to carry out our vision and goals for life.

The Kidney energy is associated with Will, which allows us to pursue our goals in life, and to have the strength to be diligent. It is responsible for birth, growth, and development, and therefore, influences creativity.

Executive function skills are a set of mental processes that help us get things done. They enable us to make plans and carry them out, focus our attention, remember instructions and juggle multiple tasks.

There are three types of brain function that we depend on for developing Executive Function Skills: working memory, self-control and mental flexibility.

The Executive Function Skills we will discuss are:

Focus

Planning

Organization

Working Memory

Task Initiation

Task Monitoring

Self-Monitoring

Inhibition

Emotional Control

Shifting

Persistence

There are two types of learning strategies: cognitive and metacognitive.

Cognitive strategies help us learn information better, and include strategies to help improve reading skills, memorizing, or writing.

Metacognitive strategies are "thinking about our thinking" and include reflecting on our learning process, understanding our strengths and weakness, and evaluating our performance.