Parkinson's & The Arts: Unleashing Creativity for a Better Life

Discover the transformative power of art for individuals living with Parkinson's Disease. This episode of the Live Parkinson's - Live an Exceptional Life podcast explores how engaging in creative activities can significantly improve quality of life, offering a powerful antidote to the challenges of Parkinson's. We delve into the numerous benefits of artistic expression, from enhancing motor skills and cognitive function to boosting emotional well-being and fostering social connection.

• Key Concepts Covered:
  • The link between art and improved motor skills in Parkinson's, including painting, sculpting, music, and dance.
  • How creative activities stimulate the brain and support cognitive function, memory, and focus.
  • The vital role of art in emotional well-being, providing an outlet for emotions, reducing stress and anxiety, and boosting mood.
  • Build community and combat isolation through group art classes and workshops.
  • Real-life examples and inspiring stories of individuals with Parkinson's thriving through artistic expression.
  • Practical tips and adaptations for different art forms to accommodate varying levels of motor ability.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone with Parkinson's, their caregivers, and anyone interested in the healing power of art. Learn how to unleash your inner artist and discover the path to a richer, more fulfilling life.

Ready to explore the transformative power of creativity?

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
• 10:00 Personal Stories of Artistic Transformation
• 20:00 Exploring Different Types of Arts
• 30:00 Benefits of Art on Motor Skills
• 40:00 Emotional and Cognitive Benefits of Artistic Engagement
• 50:00 Adapting Art Practices for Everyone
• 1:00:00 Testimonials from the Creative Community
• 1:10:00 Conclusion and Encouragement to Engage with the Arts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

Hello and welcome to Live Parkinson's. Live an Exceptional Life, the podcast dedicated to helping you live a great quality of life through strategies, stories and science. I'm your host, Chris Kastnematter, and I've been living with Parkinson's for 15 years. Thanks for joining me today. Today's topic is Parkinson's and the arts understanding creativity for a better life.

Speaker 1: 0:32

Imagine this Carol, a retired school teacher, once struggling to hold a pen steady, discovers painting through a class with a friend. She's amazed with each brushstroke, how her tremors seem to fade and she smiles with joy with her new painting that she's just created. Now picture this Frank spent his entire life working in business as a salesman and a manager, never once considering himself a musician. Frank attended a Parkinson's rhythm therapy class where he picks up a drum for the first time. He's amazed that the beat steadies his hands and helps him focus. For the first time in several years, Frank actually feels in control. Maria, a lifelong dancer who feared Parkinson's would steal her ability to move with smoothness and grace, is amazed when she's in a dance studio filled with others like her with Parkinson's. She rediscovers the rhythm in her body and proves to herself that movement, no matter how small, can be beautiful and make her feel good about being able to continue the love of her life and dance. Finally, James, whose voice grew softer and less understandable with Parkinson's, found power through storytelling. In addition, he writes articles and stories sharing his personal experience. His storytelling and writing helped him both reclaim his voice, but also to inspire others to do the same.

Speaker 1: 1:48

Now, creativity isn't just an outlet for Parkinson's. It can be a life changer, helping you to live a better quality of life. Now, in this episode, we're going to explore how art, music, dance and storytelling can transform the lives of those of us living with Parkinson's. I'll share personal stories of my friends and myself on how the arts play a key role in our lives to help us live our best lives with Parkinson's. So stay with us as we dive into the incredible ways that the arts can help us all live a better, more expressive life.

Speaker 1: 2:19

Let me ask you a question have you ever dreamed of learning to paint or draw, or maybe learn to make pottery? Or have you ever wanted to learn to paint or draw, or maybe learn to make pottery? Or have you ever wanted to learn to sing or play a musical instrument so that you could get together and play with friends, or write your own music or songs, or maybe you wanted to learn how to dance, write poetry or stories, or maybe even write a book. If you answered yes, you've made progress on achieving your dream. If not, no worries, we're not here to judge. If you said no, hopefully by the end of the podcast you'll be excited about how the arts can help us manage our symptoms and live a better quality of life with Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 2:56

Now I'll be honest. I'm no different than anyone else. I often dreamed of learning how to play the guitar, but was reluctant and intimidated because I just didn't think I had the talent to be able to do it. I always wanted to be able to pick up a guitar and play some of my favorite songs from my favorite artist, but I didn't believe I had the talent and I thought that's something that's out of my reach and it was just a dream that I had. And then one day, a friend gave me a coffee cup with a quote on it that really made me think. A friend gave me a coffee cup with a quote on it that really made me think, and it finally made me take action. And so I decided to try my dream and learn to play the guitar.

Speaker 1: 3:31

Now you may be asking yourself, Chris, what was that quote? It said life begins at the edge of your comfort zone, by Neil Donald Walsh. Now the entire quote is life begins at the end of your comfort zone. If you feel uncomfortable right now, know that the changes taking place in your life is a beginning and not an end, and so hopefully, this podcast is going to help get the creative juices flowing in you and get you to try some type of art, whether it's music, dance, writing or storytelling because it has so many benefits that can really make your life better.

Speaker 1: 4:15

Now, to that end, let's discuss what we'll be discussing in this podcast. So we're going to lead it off with discussing some of the various benefits that art can have on people living with Parkinson's. Now I think you may be surprised what involvement the arts can do. I know I certainly was. Then we'll dive into exploring the different art forms that can be beneficial on your Parkinson's journey. We'll delve into the visual arts and how you can adapt them, based on both your motor ability and your skills. Then we'll examine and uncover the pleasing sounds of music and discover its therapeutic powers. Then it's time to put on our dancing shoes and we'll discuss how it can help with balance and coordination. And then we'll bring it all home with writing and storytelling and how self-expression can help process and manage our emotions to make our Parkinson's journey a lot better. Then we'll discuss accessibility and adaptation so you can participate in these programs, because you might think, well, I can't do some of these, but we'll talk about how they can be adapted. And then, finally, I'll be providing some real-life examples and testimonials to show you how the arts have played a key role in the lives of others, including myself.

Speaker 1: 5:26

So let's get started and see how the arts can be beneficial to those of us living with Parkinson's. Now you may be thinking to yourself, and rightly so, Chris how is learning to paint or playing a musical instrument going to help me with my Parkinson's symptoms? Now, I think that's a fair question because, honestly, I didn't realize some of the benefits I would get from learning the guitar, but I was really surprised how it's really helped me improve the quality of my life in terms of hand dexterity, hand-eye coordination, memory focus. So it's provided me with a lot of benefits. So that's why I wanted to lead off with how the arts can be beneficial to you on your journey, and let's lead it off with an area that has a big impact on us on a daily basis, and that's motor skills. Now, as we know, Parkinson's has an effect on our motor control and we often experience tremors, rigidity or posture, and then bradykinesia or slowness of movement. Now, did you know that participating in artistic activities can help us manage these challenges? I didn't think so either before I started.

Speaker 1: 6:29

Now, in the article Creativity in People with Parkinson's Disease by the American Parkinson's Disease Association, or APDA, they published this article on January 7th of this year, 2025, and they state in the article that creative activities, from visual arts and music to dancing and writing, have shown potential in improving the quality of life, going beyond symptom management, by helping people with PD express their thoughts and feelings, connect with others and maintain a sense of purpose and personal identity separate from the disease. In addition, certain creative activities have also shown potential in helping to improve visual cognitive skills, hand dexterity, general motor function and more. They go on to further state that particularly advantageous is that creative activities require no prior experience or innate talent to reap the rewards of participating experience or innate talent to reap the rewards of participating, and they can be tailored to each of your personal, unique needs, From the activity selected to the way you participate in it. It's going to help give you a sense of control over the disease and often help to lessen the impact it makes on your lives. All right, so let's look at some specific types of art and creative activities that can help with our motor skills. The first one is painting and sculpting. Now, if you think about it, when you're painting, you're picking up the brush, or when you're sculpting, you have the clay in your hands, and so these activities involve a lot of detailed work and they're going to help you maintain your fine motor skills and your hand-eye coordination. So just think, just manipulating the brush on, whether it's a canvas or whatever you happen to be painting on, or molding clay, where you're taking a ball of clay and you're working it in your hands. It's going to build muscle strength, it's going to build hand dexterity and it's going to help you improve those type of motor skills and it's going to help with your tremors as well.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Next up is playing music. Now, whether it's playing an instrument or whether you're singing, music engages multiple motor skills. So, for instance, when I'm playing guitar, I need to be able to, with my left hand form chords with my fingers and then move those fingers around the fretboard. So it's really helped me to improve my manual dexterity and fine motor skills on my left hand, which is the hand that I have the tremor in. And then also I need good memory and good focus to follow along on the sheet music as I'm listening to a song and then my right hand is strumming. So I have to have good hand-eye coordination to keep all those in control.

Speaker 1: 9:14

So playing music, or even listening to music, is going to help you maintain your dexterity and your rhythm, and we all know you've got to keep the rhythm. The rhythm is important, so let's remember that. And and then, for instance, someone playing the trumpet or the flute, they have to be able to have manual dexterity in their fingers to move the valves up and down, as well as at the same time where they're blowing across the instrument or blowing into the instrument to get the sound. So it's going to build your manual dexterity, it's going to build your focus, it's going to build your hand-eye coordination. And then in terms of singing, singing can strengthen your vocal muscles and improve your breath control, which are oftentimes affected from Parkinson's. And then dance Dance, especially forms like tai chi or adapted dance classes can be incredibly beneficial for both your balance, your coordination and your gait. The rhythmic movements that you use in dance and you're focusing on posture, that's going to help you with your motor control and reduce the risk of falling. So, as you're doing your movements, if you're focusing on keeping a good posture, that's going to help you work through and reduce the risk of falls. So even gentle swing or moving to the music can be helpful. Okay, that was a look at how artistic activities can help with motor skills.

Speaker 1: 10:36

Now let's look at some of the other benefits, and let's start off with cognitive function. As we all know, Parkinson's impacts our cognitive abilities and especially things like memory, attention and executive function, planning and organizing. Art offers a good way to be able to stimulate the brain and hopefully reduce some of our cognitive challenges. So how can music or the arts or dance help to improve our cognitive function? Well, first thing is it helps with creative problem solving. So, whether it's painting, you may have to look at your painting and decide you need to mix colors and have to solve problems. And how am I going to mix the colors to get the color I want to fit into my painting, get the color I want to fit into my painting, or how am I going to take this piece of clay and mold it into whatever that I want it to be? Would be an example it could be writing a piece of.

Speaker 1: 11:34

Maybe you want to write a song, so it's writing a piece of music, and you need to be able to structure that music. So you're going to engage your cognitive functions doing that as well. So you're going to engage your cognitive functions doing that as well. And then, with dance, you're going to be moving and as you move around, you're also going to have to think about what your moves are and move in a fluid motion. So that's going to help. And then the other area that it's going to really help with is memory and focus.

Speaker 1: 12:02

Now, these are two areas I definitely need help with, and when you learn new artistic techniques whether you're trying to remember musical passages, if you just want to play from memory, or you're following a dance routine or exercise that you had to memorize, they can help you improve your concentration. And the focus required for artistic activities can also help you, especially people like me who have difficulty with their concentration, because activity itself lends itself to forcing you to be more focused so that you can complete whatever the task is that you're doing in front of you. And then, finally, the arts can help us with cognitive stimulation. Engaging in artistic activity stimulates different areas of our brain, promoting neuroplasticity. Now, you might have heard that word before because I talked about it in another podcast and essentially what that is? The ability for your brain to make new neural connections or new neural pathways. So you've heard the term muscle memory. So when you keep repeating a process, your brain develops these new neural pathways or connections to help you learn the new skill, and that can potentially slow cognitive decline. And then the mental engagement required for ART can keep the brain active and engaged.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Now, another big benefit of the ART is emotional well-being. Art can be a powerful tool in helping us express our emotions, and that's important for people living with Parkinson's, because it can lead to a lot of people with Parkinson's have anxiety and depression, and it gives you an emotional outlet and it also a lot of these activities, artistic activities can be done with others. So there's, it helps to build that social connection and prevent social isolation, which is very important, and so the arts give people a creative outlet for sharing their emotions and coming to terms with them and then hopefully allow them to get over some of the challenges that they're facing. Now, whether it's painting, writing or playing music, it can help you process your emotions. And then the art is also great at stress reduction. It can be a relaxing way to reduce stress and anxiety, because you get lost in, or your focused attention on, what we're participating in whether it be painting, sculpting, playing music and so it's almost like a form of mindfulness You're going to stay in the now versus worry about what's going on, worrying about your symptoms. So it helps us distract us from some of that and gives us a sense of calm. And then, finally, art helps boost our mood.

Speaker 1: 14:38

Now, when we create something, whether meaningful, whether it's a song, whether it's a painting, or whether you write a story or a book, you get a sense of accomplishment, and that sense of accomplishment really is going to help to boost your self-esteem. And then, as I mentioned that, a lot of these activities that we're going to be talking about can be done in group activities and you can build some great friendships and social connections. That way it's going to help keep you engaged and really help with your quality of life. I know myself personally. I get a great sense of satisfaction when I can get together with other people and play guitar, and so these are some of the multiple benefits that are out there just waiting for you to take advantage of if you participate in some of the creative activities.

Speaker 1: 15:26

All right, now let's take a look and explore some of the different types of art forms that are available for you to try. The way I like to lead it off is think about things that you're passionate about. So are you more the creative visual arts, where you're into painting and that type of thing, or are you more into music? Not that you can't do multiple artistic activities, it's just you may want to focus on one that you're really passionate about first and then expand out. So let's start with the visual arts and let's lead it off with painting. You're saying, Chris, you're crazy if you think I can paint. Well, indulge me for just one second, if you will. I thought the exact same thing. That was until I was invited to two different painting events. The first one was through Adopt-a-Boxer Rescue. Now my wife Mary and I have been working with this great organization and we've adopted five abandoned boxer dogs over the last 20 years and currently have two. Right now Duke, who's 12 and I call him the big man on campus and he's been in the family for 10 and a half, almost 11 years and then Katie, who was a puppy mill mom and spent most of her seven years of her life in a crate.

Speaker 1: 16:41

Anyway, I digress, but I attended one of their painting fundraisers and it was what they called a wine painting night. Now, I had the assumption going in that you showed up, they gave you a canvas and which had an outline of the picture that we were going to paint and you just pick the colors and stayed within the lines and each of you would walk away with. You know this painting, but much to my surprise kind of like paint by numbers, I guess, if you think about it but much to my surprise, the instructor gave us this blank framed canvas and some paints and a palette and said that she would be going over how to paint the picture of a boxer sitting next to the water with a lighthouse in the background and the sun setting on the water, with a tree and its branches on the side. And I'm sitting there thinking to myself sure I am. I've got a tremor in my left hand. Focusing isn't one of my key skills anymore and I have no talent and I'm going to paint that particular scene that you're describing Well, much to my surprise, the instructor did a great job of showing us how to start, mix the colors, blend them and so on, and they came around to help and it was an awesome experience. At the end of the evening, I had painted the picture they shared and the one that they discussed at the beginning, and I couldn't believe how proud of myself I was. In fact, I still have that painting hanging on my wall in my spare bedroom slash podcast studio, slash guitar studio to this day Now.

Speaker 1: 18:17

My second event was through a Parkinson's support group and we got together for a painting activity and we made a Monet painting of a flower vase on a table with different flowers and colors. Now it was a great opportunity to share time with my friends from the class and paint a picture, and again, I still have that hanging on the wall beside my boxer dog painting. So why should you consider giving it a try? Well, painting can help improve your fine motor skills, your hand-eye coordination and your color perception, and it's really it's a great activity and it's a powerful outlet to help you share and express your emotions, and it's great for stress reduction. And it's also again, it's a good opportunity for social interaction when you do it with others. Now you may be thinking to yourself Chris, I have limitations and challenges that will prevent me from painting, and I certainly understand. But I've always believed that if there's a will, there's a way.

Speaker 1: 19:13

And how can we make adaptations so that everyone can participate? So if you have limited mobility, for example, you can use larger canvases, use easels that adjust vertically and horizontally, you can use pre-mixed paints in squeeze bottles or have the instructor put the paints on a palette for you. You can use adaptive brushes with larger handles and or longer handles. You can try watercolor painting instead of oil-type painting, which can be physically less demanding because the paint is thinner. Now, if you have tremors, you can try using heavier paints, which can help you with your control, and you can experiment with different type of painting techniques. Like you, can use a palette knife instead of a brush, which is the palette brush is going to be less affected by the tremors, and then you can use weighted gloves or a wrist brace to help stabilize your hand. And if you have visual impairments, you can use bold colors and try contrasting backgrounds.

Speaker 1: 20:13

I want to give out a shout out to my friend Liza. She's from the Parkinson's exercise class. She paints wonderful paintings and she actually started selling her work and this past weekend she was entering one of her paintings, which was a Bantam rooster, in the local county art competition. I'm proud of her and her wonderful talents. So my hope is that you'll give it a try. You may be like me and surprise yourself at what you can do and how much fun you can have.

Speaker 1: 20:42

Now, another visual art that you can try is drawing and again I'll be honest, I never tried drawing, but I'm amazed at what people can draw and some of the wonderful art they produce. Some people earn a good side living with their drawings by making animations, caricatures or just doing detailed drawings of scenes. Now, drawing is a great way to enhance your fine motor skills and your hand-eye coordination and even your spatial reasoning how things fit together in space. So as you're drawing, you're trying to figure out how things are going to be interconnected, and it can also be a relaxing, almost meditative activity. Just like painting, drawing is going to challenge you to address some of your symptoms and come up with some different coping options to help you get over those All right.

Speaker 1: 21:32

The next type of art form is sculpting. Again, it's an activity I've only limited exposure to Now. I remember taking an activity class in middle school where we used clay to make well, a vase, if that's what I wanted to call it, or I guess I made a flower pot and they put it in the kiln and then when it came out of the kiln we painted it and glazed it. Now I can't say I was very good at sculpting, but my friend Rebecca from high school was very artistic and was also a good sculptor and made some impressive things through sculpting. So if you like to work with your hands and you don't mind getting dirty, try a sculpting class. It can help you build and improve your hand and strength, dexterity and just your general spatial awareness. Sculpting is also one that can get you to use your senses. When you're doing it, you've got the tactile touch of the clay in your hands, You've got the smell of the clay and then you're visualizing how you want this blob of clay sitting on the table or in your hands to become the object that you want. Again, as with all art forms. They have workarounds so that everyone can participate. So if you're into sculpting, check it out and see how it can be modified.

Speaker 1: 22:54

Now, another art form that's similar to sculpting is pottery, and it can be done in two ways where you start from scratch and make something and put it in the kiln and then finish it. Or you can do what I did with the Parkinson's class and we attended a pottery painting class. So Andy, Joan, Shelly, Melissa and others, we participated in a class where they gave us a coffee mug with our name on it and they set a bunch of paints in front of us and we painted and created the coffee cup that we wanted to make it look however we wanted. So when we were all finished, they took what we had done, they put a glaze on it and put it in the kiln and then out came our wonderfully designed coffee cup to take home and use. So it was. I mean, I thought it was a fun experience because we were talking and laughing and having a great time while we were painting our coffee mug. So it's a you know, it's a fun, rewarding activity.

Speaker 1: 23:52

So if you're interested, look in your local area for places that do this. I think you'll really enjoy it. And there are a few other options and ideas for visual arts. There's collage, where you use pre-cut paper, fabric or other materials to create art, which is a good option for people with limited motor skills. Then there's the textile arts like knitting, crocheting and weaving. Now my mom, who has dementia she used to knit and knitted little blankets for all the grandkids, so it can help you improve your hand dexterity, your hand-eye coordination, and many people find it relaxing. And then, finally, there's a digital art, where you can use computers or tablets to create art using different software, which may be a great learning experience, and it's also going to test your cognitive abilities. So there you have it. That's a number of different visual art forms that you can try to see if you like any of them. You never know until you try, and so you might try something, like I did. I enjoyed the painting and maybe you find a new passion. All right, let's look at our next creative art form, and that's music, and that can be a powerful tool for helping those of us living with Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 25:05

Now, I've always loved music. It always took me to places in my mind that reminded me of great times in my life and it pumped me up before sporting events and it just relaxes you when you just want to sit around and listen to some great music and songs and just kind of chill out and relax. Now, when I was growing up and going to school, I loved rock music, Loved it. I was a big fan of ACDC and lead guitarist Angus Young. His energy on stage and how he could just zip back and forth across the stage running around playing just amazed me. Now, a couple of my other favorite groups at the time were Van Halen, because Eddie Van Halen was a guitar legend, and then Queen was another all-time favorite. I mean the guitar playing of Brian May and the vocals, the vocal energy of Freddie Mercury. When you put those two together, it was an incredible combination. So one of the things you could always find me doing was when I was listening to music. I was playing air guitar on the broom, dancing and running around to songs from some of these groups that I loved.

Speaker 1: 26:11

Now, as I've gotten older, I've expanded my musical genres to other areas, including country, folk, pop and classical, but I've always been a rocker at heart. Now, I never considered myself very musically talented at all art. Now, I never considered myself very musically talented at all. When I was in middle school I tried drum lessons because I thought I was going to be able to wail on the drum set like Neil Peart from Rush or John Bonham from Led Zeppelin. But to my disappointment, I spent most of my time practicing on a rubber pad with drumsticks or, briefly, on the snare drum. But then in high school my friends who were in the band asked me to help them with the pep band for the basketball games. I said sure, and so they gave me the triplet drums to play. So I got to sit at the top of the stands with the triplet drums sitting on the bench below me, and I got to wail on the triplet drums. It was a blast. Now my best friend, Scott, is in the church choir and his wife Lisa is the choir director, and they asked me if I'd like to play in the bell choir and I said sure, it was fun getting to learn to read music and play the different bells when it was my turn, based on the music.

Speaker 1: 27:27

So that's a brief history of my musical experience, and before I ramble on for another 20 minutes, let's look at some of the types of music you can participate in. And let's start out of the gate with singing. Now, my standard joke is that I can't sing because I spent the money my mom gave me on singing lessons on pizza and soda. Singing can be a great outlet for your creative expression. Now, I don't know about you, but I like to sing along to songs when I'm either by myself or in the shower, and singing can be a great way to maintain social interaction and a sense of belonging. You can sing in a choir, you can sing in a group, you can just get together with family and friends and sing some of your favorite songs. And singing can improve your voice, both your quality and your volume, which often, as we know, gets softer with Parkinson's and it can help strengthen your respiratory muscles and improve your swallowing function as well. Now, singing helps by engaging your vocal cords and your respiratory system, helping you to increase your vocal loudness and your clarity and your respiratory system, helping you to increase your vocal loudness and your clarity. So it's going to help you improve your breath control and coordination, which are essential for our speech and our swallowing. Now, my friend, Andy, who has Parkinson's, was a middle school music and chorus teacher. Now he has a great singing voice and he's great at teaching people to sing. Andy shared to me some of his fondest memories were when he was younger and he would get together with his parents and his dad at the piano and they would all sing their favorite songs. So that's a great way to spend time with family and, you know, improve your speech and your breathing as well. So give singing a try if you love music and spending time with others, All right.

Speaker 1: 29:14

Next up is playing a musical instrument. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I played a lot of killer air guitar on the broom, but I always had a dream of learning to play guitar, but I always put it off because I didn't think I had the talent nor the ability. Then, after having Parkinson's for seven years and reading that quote that I mentioned earlier in the podcast about life begins at the edge of your comfort zone, I decided to throw caution to the wind and follow my dream. So my wife, Mary got me a gift certificate to the local guitar shop which Campbell's Music, and Bob, the owner, was great in getting me set up with a starter guitar.

Speaker 1: 29:54

I signed up for some lessons from Randy, who had years of experience teaching and playing in the bands. He taught me the chords. I needed to know how to read music and play songs using only the notes. Plus, he helped me with music theory and then we learned my favorite songs. Now I did this once a week for about two years and then COVID hit and everything shut down. But Randy said you know that I learned enough to be able to continue teaching myself. So I'm proud of myself when I learn and can play my favorite songs to my family and friends and they can actually recognize the songs. And one of the challenges I originally had was I always practiced sitting down, but I learned how to play standing up.

Speaker 1: 30:37

And now my next two focus areas are going to be able to learn to play and sing at the same time, and I also want to write some original songs songs knowing how, knowing the music theory now, so I can get a good rhythm and get a nice beat. So in my case, I wanted to learn guitar because it had always been a dream of mine. There are so many choices of instruments to play that you can really pick any one that you love and may want to learn. Now I do want to share some key things I learned along the way, which may help you on your musical journey. If that's what you decide to do Now, the first is to break things down into its smallest, simplest steps.

Speaker 1: 31:16

So learn the first part, the very simplest part, first. Learn the first part, the very simplest part, first, and then, once you've got that down, then add the next piece and then so you play your first and second, and then you build on that and you keep building on it as you learn each section and then, pretty soon, next thing you know, you're able to play the song Now, second, I use the three P's patience, persistence and perseverance. In terms of patience, be patient while you're trying to learn Just remember all things are going to take time to learn and to master. And then be persistent and practice regularly. Now, I never thought I'd be able to stretch my fingers when I wanted to play a C chord, let alone transition between the other chords. But you know, persistence pays off. I practice it every night until I got it and then finally persevere. If you love it, stick with it. Can it be frustrating? Absolutely, but the satisfaction you get from being able to accomplish your goal is priceless. So if you decide to learn an instrument, I encourage you to play with others, for the social interaction, but also because it'll make you a better musician and a better player on your instrument.

Speaker 1: 32:31

All right, so let's briefly touch on some of the benefits of playing an instrument. First, it can improve your fine motor skills and your hand-eye coordination, as well as your cognitive skills. And then I would agree with all those when I was learning guitar, my hand dexterity and my fine motor skills are a lot better in my left hand from fretting and strumming, and it's also helped with my coordination. So, based on where I was to where I am now, learning to play the guitar has really helped. And then, reading and learning the music has also really helped me with my cognitive functions as well. And then, secondly, playing an instrument gives you a sense of accomplishment. It increases your self-esteem, which I would definitely agree with from my own personal experience.

Speaker 1: 33:18

And then, so how does playing an instrument or listening to music for that matter help us with our Parkinson's symptoms? Well, that's a good question. Music has a direct impact on the brain's emotional centers, so listening to music can trigger the release of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter we're familiar with for movement, but it's also involved with pleasure and reward. So the more dopamine is released and available. That helps lessen our symptoms. So listening to music can also reduce the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and it also helps us improve our focus, our memory and our attention. So create some of your favorite playlists and play them, Listen to them throughout the day or, you know, in the evening before bed, and so you can use music to help you improve your quality of life.

Speaker 1: 34:05

Now, before we move on to our next art form, I wanted to finish with the therapeutic power of music. Now, you probably didn't know that music had superpowers, did you? Yes, here are a few of the therapeutic benefits of music. The first is rhythmic auditory cueing. Now, music with a strong beat can be used to improve your gait and your movement, because rhythm provides base for your movement, helping you to improve your stride length, your cadence and your balance. It's great for emotional expression. Music can be a powerful tool to help you express your emotions. It can provide a sense of relief and just that peaceful, easy feeling, as the Eagles song says.

Speaker 1: 34:47

And then cognitive stimulation Music engages multiple areas of the brain, including those involved in attention, memory and focus, and listening and playing can help stimulate cognitive function and potentially slow cognitive decline. And then, finally, social connection. When you participate in musical activities, whether it's in a chorus, a band, music therapy groups, they all help foster social interaction and a connection to help prevent social isolation. So if you have a passion for it, I would highly recommend that you try music. It could be a game changer for your symptoms. So, whether you want to sing, play an instrument or just simply listen to music, everyone can do something with music. So hopefully you do what I did, and through caution to the wind, and follow your musical dream.

Speaker 1: 35:37

All right, switching gears from music, let's take a look at our next creative art form, which is dancing. Now, you may notice a pattern here, but I'm not a great dancer either. Why? Because I spent the money my mom gave me for dance lessons on movies and snacks. Now, the nice thing about dancing is it's a multifaceted art form, so you have a wide array of different dance styles and they each have their own characteristics and benefits. And dance can be a great tool for improving your balance, your coordination and just your overall well-being. But you know, at the same time, you're having fun and you're engaged with others while you're doing it. So let's take a look at some of the various dance styles and types and maybe that that'll light a spark and you need to participate in one of the dance sessions styles and types, and maybe that'll light a spark. You need to participate in one of the dance sessions and let's lead it off with ballet.

Speaker 1: 36:26

Now, people recognize ballet because the dancers move with intention. You know, we always think, oh, there's the ballet dancers up on their toes and they move so gracefully and precisely and they have an emphasis on posture, maintaining a good posture and alignment. Now, don't panic, no one's making you balance on your toes, your tiptoes. All things can be modified, including ballet, to suit specific needs. Ballet can help to improve your balance, your core strength and your flexibility because you're focusing on precise movements which can help you with your fine motor skills and your coordination. Now you may be thinking I can't do ballet, but remember, things can always be adapted. Adaptations for ballet could include using a chair or a bar for support, modifying the steps to be less complex or just doing the movement with your upper body. If you have limited mobility in your lower body, so remember to movement with your upper body. If you have limited mobility in your lower body, so remember to check with your healthcare professional first to ensure that ballet is appropriate for you.

Speaker 1: 37:28

Now another form of dance is modern dance, and this type of dance uses expressive movements, fluid movements and a connection to your breath. Modern dance promotes flexibility, coordination and emotional expression. So, essentially, what modern dance does? It emphasizes natural movements, which can help people with Parkinson's, with your rigidity and your stiffness. Now, the nice thing about modern dance is it can be modified so your movements are less strenuous and you can use props for support. Just do the movements that feel comfortable and natural for you. That's what's nice about modern dance.

Speaker 1: 38:07

Next up is ballroom dance, which involves you and a partner dancing to the rhythm in slow, coordinated movements. Ballroom dance is a great way for helping to improve your balance and coordination, and it's particularly beneficial for making social connections and staying socially engaged. Folk dance is our next type of dance, which is a traditional dance with repetitive movements but has lots of social interaction. Folk's dancing is good for coordination and balance, like ballroom dancing, and the repetitive movements make it easier to learn and remember. Plus, it's a great option for making social connections. And then next up is interpretive dance, and that focuses on spontaneous movements and self-expression. Essentially, you create the dance based on the music and your emotions. So you listen to the music and you dance based on how you feel, and it's a good option because you don't have to learn specific steps or moves, and this type of dance is going to help you release your creativity and give you a sense of freedom and being able to do what you want, to keep us from thinking about our symptoms.

Speaker 1: 39:14

And then our final dance form or form is Tai Chi. Now you may be thinking wait a minute, Chris. I thought Tai Chi was a type of exercise. You have discussed it in a few of the exercise podcasts and you've written some blogs that have included Tai Chi as exercise. Yes, you'd be correct, but at its heart, it's a traditional Chinese martial art that combines slow, deliberate movements with deep breathing and mental focus, and it's used to promote health, physical health, relaxation and mindfulness. Now it's often labeled as moving meditation, because your body's flow of energy or qi is harmonized. And then Tai Chi is rooted in the principles of Taoism and traditional Chinese medicine and it emphasizes balance, harmony and connectedness of the body, the mind and the spirit. So Tai Chi can be a great option for improving your balance, coordination and flexibility, and it also is going to help you with your rigidity and tremors as well. Now I personally participated in Tai Chi and found that it does improve my balance, my flexibility and coordination, and it's very relaxing because the movements are slow and you're focusing on your breathing while you're doing it. So I would recommend Tai Chi as a good way to help you with your rigidity and your balance. Now I will be honest for me, because I like being on the move, it does take a few sessions to adjust to the slow pace of the movements, but after about two to three sessions I learned to slow myself down, focus on my breathing, and I really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1: 40:44

Now, some tips to make dance an enjoyable platform is you want to pick a style you enjoy and are more likely to stay consistent with, and then focus on the dance. Don't worry about being perfect or what's somebody's watching me. Go out and have fun and just do it. And then listen to your body, you know. Rest when you need to and don't push too hard when you're starting out. Now remember to check with your doctor first to make sure that the type of dance you select is appropriate for you. But finally, just remember if you do a dance class. Just go out there and have fun. Just relax and enjoy yourself.

Speaker 1: 41:18

Alrighty, let's round out the creative arts with the last type, which is writing and storytelling. Now, this type of art form is a great way to express yourself and it's a good way to help you share your emotions on your Parkinson's journey. So let's dig in and look at the first type of writing and storytelling, which is poetry. Now, we've all heard poetry and some of you may have a favorite poem or poet. I just remember a few things from poetry. When we studied it in English class in high school, I remember the term iambic pentameter and that sometimes poems rhyme and sometimes they don't. So what exactly is poetry? Well, it's a form of writing that uses very carefully chosen words and phrases to help you create a specific effect, and poetry often uses a certain type of rhythm, like the iambic pentameter example I gave Rhyme and imagery to help the poet convey specific emotions, ideas and experiences in a concise way. So, rather than writing a long story, they can do that by writing a poem, and it can range from free verse to a structured formula like sonnets. Now, poetry can be beneficial for people living with Parkinson's because they can use it as a creative outlet for expressing some of the emotions they experience on their journey, like fear, frustration, but you can also talk about hope and resilience. So poetry is a great way to get cognitive stimulation. When you're writing poetry, you're using various cognitive functions, like your memory, language processing and creative thinking. It's almost like a puzzle, because it's challenging to find the right words that you want to use and then structuring them in a poem, and it's a great mental exercise to convey the message that you want to convey. And then poetry is a great way to share the daily challenges of Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 43:05

Next up is journaling. Now, you probably heard of journaling but aren't exactly sure what journaling is. Well, journaling is just the practice of regularly writing down or jotting down your thoughts and feelings and your experiences, and you can use your own specific format or what you want to write down. Some people write down what they're grateful for, what their goal for the day is, how their day went. There are also journals out there that include pre-written places to complete like a five-minute journal where you can write what your goal was for the day, what you're grateful for, what you learned at the end of the day and what you've accomplished.

Speaker 1: 43:42

And you can use journaling to help you sort through your emotions and relate to Parkinson's. You can write about your original diagnosis, you could talk about how your symptoms are progressing, how it affects your daily life, and this can help you work through some of your feelings and help you develop strategies for getting over those and living your best life. I shouldn't say getting over those, I mean addressing and being able to live your best life, even though there's challenges. Now it's a great way to have self-reflection, because you really figure out what's important to you when you're journaling, because you're writing down your behaviors and your actions and you can look back over time and notice to see if you have any patterns. Is there any patterns that emerge? And then you can use journaling to track and monitor your motor and non-motor symptoms, if you want, and describe how they affect your life and your condition. So journaling is a great way to help reduce stress, because it helps you release that pent-up emotions and can give you a sense of calm.

Speaker 1: 44:47

And then, finally, we have creative writing, and this covers a broad range of writing types, from fiction, short stories, essays and memoirs. It allows you to use your emotions and imagination to craft a story that others may relate to. Now, creative writing is a great way to engage various cognitive functions like your memory, imagination and problem solving. So how do you set up the story, how do you get it to flow? How do you have a strong conclusion that's going to draw the reader in? And then creative writing is going to give you a sense of purpose as well. So when you actually write something and you put it out there for people, that's a great experience.

Speaker 1: 45:21

Now I know, when I was writing my book Spectacular Life Four Essential Strategies for Living with Parkinson's my Journey to Happiness, which I published on and it's still available on Amazon I did it not only to help others based on the things I'd learned over a decade or more of living with Parkinson's, but it also helped me on my journey by helping me look back and realize, through resilience, social interaction and positivity, that you can learn to live a great life with Parkinson's. So creative writing is a great way to share your experiences and your story, to help not only yourself but others as well, and I would highly recommend it. You know, if you've if you've got an idea for a book, go for it. And that brings us to a close of today's journey in exploration of Parkinson's and the arts. Now I hope you've discovered the incredible potential that you can release within you and your creativity, regardless of where you are in your Parkinson's journey.

Speaker 1: 46:20

Now, remember, art isn't about perfection. It's about expression. It's connecting your feelings and giving you a sense of accomplishment and joy and sense of purpose. It's replacing your narrative and painting a vibrant picture of your life and how you can overcome some of the challenges. Now, the power to create resides within each one of you. So, whether it's picking up a paintbrush, whether it's strumming a guitar, jotting down a poem or simply moving to the rhythm of your favorite song, diving into the arts can open doors to healing, connection and just a richer and better quality of life.

Speaker 1: 46:59

Now I want to invite you to take the next step. Visit liveparkinsonscom, and it's the central hub for articles, free resources and inspiration designed to power you to live your best quality of life with Parkinson's. Now, while there, be sure to subscribe to the free monthly newsletter and stay up to date on the latest tips and strategies and community stories, and we're constantly adding new content, so you don't want to miss out. So please visit liveparkinsonscom. And then, finally, if you found the information shared today beneficial and you believe in the work we're doing and you want to provide actionable resources for the Parkinson's community, please consider supporting us on our MyKofi page.

Speaker 1: 47:38

Your contribution, no matter the size, directly helps us continue producing valuable content and keeps the podcast and website going. You can find us at ko-ficom slash liveparkinsons, and everybody's support fuels our mission to help you live a great quality of life. So, as we close, I just want to say step out of your comfort zone and follow your passion, get the creative juices flowing and find something new. So thanks so much for joining me today. Now go out there and unleash your creativity. You just might surprise yourself. So until next time, stay healthy, stay strong and remember to live your best life with Parkinson's. Thank you.