Week three-Increasing cognitive load

n this third lesson we begin increasing the participants cognitive load. Don't be surprised or let participants get discouraged if they aren't immediately successful.
For instance, in Ball Toss participants are being encouraged to mentally shift their concentration between multiple tasks. A reminder: the phrase multi-tasking is often mis-understood to mean doing multiple tasks at the same time. The fact is, our cognitive processes shift so rapidly between tasks it FEELS like its happening at once but it is not (https://radius.mit.edu/home/). So, as their mental flexibility improves with practice, they will have success. This is the main I reason I stress NOT adding in a new task until the previous tasks are successfully integrated.
The amount of practice it will take for that integration to occur varies, but when it does, the feeling of satisfaction and increased commitment to this practice is palpable.
In the Coordination/Flow exercise, breaking down the whole movement pattern into specific counts and focusing on joint alignment encourages participants to safely practice physically and mentally in between class. Muscle memory assists practice, but the practice must be correct. You may notice in the last few frames of this video, some participants seem to gloss over count 2. Count 2 is maybe the most important component of this pattern because the movement on count 2 crosses the midline of the body, strengthening communication between right and left hemispheres of the brain. In addition, the coordination of one limb bending at the elbow and moving toward the center line of the body as the other limb lengthens and moves away from the center of the body sharpens the kinesthetic sense.
Leave your comments and questions below. I would love to know how this practice is impacting you and your community.