What is Anxiety

The brain is a prediction machine that is working all of the time.  The predictions made are compared to what actually happened in the environment.  This process is the cornerstone of how all life survives and learns.  There is always a separation between what was predicted and what was observed, this is what is called a somatic error.  The greater the gap of somatic error the higher the amount of disorder in the system, this is what anxiety is.  

In the case of autism the capacity of prediction is diminished but the observed environment takes a much bigger role in understanding reality.  This causes a large separation between what was predicted to what was perceived giving a greater sense of anxiety.  The lack of prediction is why context is difficult for a person with autism.  This is why specific routines or behaviors, whether they are desired or not, are a part of an autistic person’s life, it is their attempt to create certainty.  No matter how certain they try to create the environment it is still perceived as a new and overwhelming experience.  

Our program builds resiliency to deal with stress.  The overall reaction to everybody’s anxiety to downregulate or create some other passive means to avoid stressors.  Our nervous system was built to handle and deal with stress.  The training we offer helps nurture our bodies’ need for stress so when life’s challenges confront us we do not get overwhelmed.   Being neurodivergent is no different and if anything the need to have more resilience to stress is even more important.   

Overall goals of the program: 

We all need exercise and movement in our lives. It can be difficult to find an environment that can service some neurodivergent individuals.  We want to provide a place where everyone can have an outlet to meet someone where they are at in their fitness journey.  

The movements, exercises, and workouts we use are an outlet to create a stressor for the nervous system to build resiliency to everyday life.  If we always look to avoid challenging situations our capacity to deal with stress will proliferate our feelings of anxiety.  

Mind and body has become a buzz phase lately but there is a scientific way to help explain this, interoception.  Interoception is our ability to feel and understand signals going on in the body.  Many people take this for granted but for some neurodiverse individuals their interoception can be clouded that can result in things like uncontrollable movements or the inability to understand hunger signals.  Exercise is a way to connect more signaling between the body and the brain.  

 For some students exercise and movement can be an outlet for socialization.