Playing with a Brock String in Context

Hello, Movement with a Brain friends! This little video builds on the distinct brock string drills Erin shared in her tutorial (13.1).

I only discovered the brock string about a year ago, and when I first began working with it I was surprised to find out that my brain suppresses input from my left eye when working with near focal points. Ever since I have been playing with a brock string several times a week (probably should be daily, but real life with work plus kids!), and my brain has relearned to process that input from my left eye.

What a difference! If only I had known about the brock string when my husband and I were playing on a softball team together in grad school. :) (Back then, I was the player who could make contact with the ball every time, but couldn't hit it far. I only made it to base because I was such a fast runner, but if I could have been more confident about where the ball was in space, I could have put a lot more force into batting and that would have changed the whole game for me!)

Here I offer some practical applications for brock string work that you can put into practice with your clients, in your classes, or for yourself. Watch to see a bit about:

• how to make your own brock string for as little as a $1 at home (cost depending on what materials you decide to use, of course!)
• a bit about one of the most common difficulties we encounter when beginning to work with a brock string, suppression, and what to do if you or one of your clients experiences it
• a few examples of how to incorporate brock string work into personal training and group fitness classes
• a few examples of how the brock string can be made sport-specific to work with athletes
• brock string play with partners
• ideas for incorporating the brock string into a yoga flow or a pilates mat class

Why does suppression matter?

Suppression means that the brain has learned to ignore the input from one eye most or all of the time. This affects depth perception, peripheral awareness, posture, balance--so many important elements to our ability to perform basic daily tasks as well as to achieve athletic goals. (Of course hitting a baseball pitch is going to be hard if you aren't receiving input from both eyes, your eyes can't make smooth jumps (saccades) as the ball approaches with speed, and/or your eyes have difficulty converging! All of which you can work on with a brock string.)

So enjoy playing with the brock string! I can't wait to hear about and/or see the different ways you come up with to incorporate the brock string into the work you do with your clients and classes or for your own personal practice.