It has taken me years to let go of the poor study habits that I relied upon to get me through my high school and college careers. At the time, I hadn’t discovered why I struggled with time management, why I thrived under pressure, and why I could crank out 25-page papers in an adrenaline filled, sleepless 48 hours. I hadn’t yet realized I have an ADHD brain type, nor had I figured out how to leverage my strengths as a person with ADHD operating in a neurotypical centered education system.
In stark contrast to my previous experiences in formal classroom settings, as a student of massage therapy, my heart and soul are invested in my education. The material I am learning now affects how closely I will understand my future clients’ bodies and my own body as an instrument. This realization, along with some dedicated and profound teachers, have encouraged me to find new ways of learning that will allow me to hold onto this information for life.
Learning kinesiology by sketching
Learning kinesiology has been one of the most engaging and eye-opening areas of study I have encountered. The muscles of the human body have truly captivated my imagination. As a creative and visual learner, I can apply my love for sketching while I study. I have a dedicated notebook where I draw a portrait of and give reverence to each muscle and its boney friends. During that process, I familiarize myself with the curves, boundaries, and lines of the muscle. I do this before we discuss these muscles in class, so that while my instructor lectures, I have a familiar image to reference.
Getting to know each muscle feels like making a new friend. My socialization has taught me that it’s best to get a sense of a person and remember their name before asking about their life story. So, I try to approach each muscle as I would an intriguing stranger. With polite curiosity. I get to know their shape, their personality, and I of course ask for the muscle’s name. Wonderful to meet you, Triceps Brachii. This name reveals to me that my new friend Triceps has three heads and is from the brachial region of the arm. After getting to know a muscle on the superficial, visual level, I can get into some deeper and more meaningful conversations. Where’s your hometown? What’s your view on the glenohumeral joint? How close are you to your parents? What made you want to extend the elbow? I try to understand a muscle by hearing its story. This technique helps me to understand relationships between the structures of the body. This understanding helps me on my massage exams in school, as I practice massage techniques on clients in clinical, and I am confident that it will help me when it is time to take the MBLEx exam.
Creating stories to remember muscles
Once upon a time, the Brachii family lived in a little cottage called Olecranon, at the top of Ulna Hill. The Brachii parents had three children, Long, Lateral, and Medial. Long was the eldest, and being independent and rebellious, they moved as far away from home as possible, to the infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula. Lateral was the middle child, they also wanted to move away from Ulna Hill. But, they were still a bit nostalgic for home, so they decided to stay on the arm and moved to the posterior surface of the proximal half of the humerus. The baby of the family, Medial, was dearly beloved by their parents and was also a bit spoiled. When it was time for Medial to leave Ulna Hill, they still wanted to be close to their parents, so they moved down the hill, over the Humeroulnar River to the posterior surface of the distal half of the humerus. All of the siblings loved their parents and often visited them by extending the humeroulnar joint. Long, being the eldest, most independent, and farthest from home, had a few more capabilities. Long tended to get homesick and missed their family terribly. So, sometimes Long brought the whole family closer to the scapula by adducting the glenohumeral joint. Though, eventually Long remembered why they left to begin with and would then extend the glenohumeral joint with a sigh of relief. This story is how I remember the three origins of Triceps Brachii, the insertion of the muscle, and the actions of all three heads. And it makes me smile every time.
The study tools that I have developed also transfer outside of the classroom. A surprising symptom of this deep learning has been an enriching of my yoga practice. When I lower into chaturanga, push up into upward facing dog and push back into downward facing dog, I am astonished by the level of synchronization, fluidity, and strength that are required to perform these asanas correctly. I find myself relating to my body more deeply in my yoga practice. Visualizing muscles’ shapes, origins, insertions, and actions, helps me connect to my body. This embodiment of information is a great asset to my kinesthetic sense as I move through the world whether I am dancing, practicing yoga, performing massage, or sitting in a chair taking a test.
Calm and centered before a test
I always close my eyes and take a few breaths, just before a test. It helps me center and come to a place of trust in myself. In the past, the worst part of test-taking was the moment when I realized the adrenaline filled studying had failed, and I was left scrambling for an answer. I still feel nervous for my kinesiology exams, but I am quickly able to relax and therefore remember things more clearly because I genuinely love talking about the muscles of the human body. Drawing the muscles and imagining these stories is fulfilling and enjoyable. I am close to the material. I know each muscle’s personality and quirks. Caring about the information means I don’t have to struggle recalling words from a flashcard. I get to retell the stories I created. I can clearly visualize my drawings of the muscles. I feel the muscles in my own body. And so, the complex and elusive words used to describe fiber direction, bony landmarks, actions, origins, and insertions, become meaningful descriptions that just flow from me.
