Hello and welcome to your South Florida.

I'm Arlene Bornstein.

The subject of mental health is one we've covered extensively on your South Florida over the years, each time with the goal of bringing you the latest resources and therapies for the betterment of your mind, body and soul.

Today we're introducing you to the emerging fields of neuro arts.

It's a science that demonstrates how our brains transform when we participate in the arts.

Activities like listening to music, or even the simple act of coloring are proven to lower stress and anxiety.

Whether it's a benefit to our bodies or our mental health, research is showing the arts just makes us feel better.

Here's why.

(soft music) The science is called neuroaesthetics, and neuroaesthetics is the study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the brain, body, and behavior.

So that's the first part.

And the second part is how you can apply these knowings to health, well-being, learning, community, health and well-being, flourishing all the ways that we move throughout our lives.

But we know is that the arts, like no other activity that we do as humans, give us this ability to transcend and to have this kind of transformation that we really need to feel our most full individually, but also as a society.

(music) (Susan) We know that with depression, music in particular can be incredibly soothing for igniting neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin and other kinds of hormones like oxytocin.

It's the hormone that makes you feel comfortable and safe.

And and that's a really important thing when you're depressed.

(music) Poetry tends to calm the amygdala, which is super important.

It also allows you to focus.

So you're engaging the frontal cortex in terms of the prefrontal cortex and the way that you can attend executive function.

We know that dancing can actually reduce headaches.

And that's counterintuitive.

You know, most doctors used to say lay in a dark room, put a cold rag over your head and don't talk, not dance.

But it turns out that when you dance, you add oxygen into the blood.

And that actually helps to change the blood vessels in the brain so it can reduce headaches.

You know, there's huge individual power in the arts, but in the collective, in the community, we synchronize in dance, we synchronize in singing together.

We entrain together.

So we are eusocial, which means we need to work together as a species.

Not all species have to work together, but we do.

And it's really these art forms and aesthetic experiences allow us to really optimize that, whether you're good at it or not.

It allows us to come together and create those neurochemical bonds that make us stronger together.

And I think we're seeing that now in the culture more than ever.

(Arlene) Exposing children to the arts offers their young minds more than just an appreciation to the creative world.

Studies show that kids engaged in the arts have fewer problems with their peers, teachers, and adults, and are less likely to develop depression.

Joining me now to share more is Shabrae Jackson, professional development specialist with Prime Time Palm Beach County.

Shabrae is also an expressive arts educator and practitioner with Collective Tapestry and Sonja Kelly, founder and artistic director of Divinity Dance.

Thank you both so much for being here today.

Shabrae let's start with you.

What is prime time PBC and its mission?

Yeah, well, prime time Palm Beach County has been working for 23 years with after school programs and summer programs.

Specifically in looking at how can we work towards quality programming for youth.

And so we work across Palm Beach County working specifically to provide coaching, training, network events, even scholarships.

Anything that we can do in support of this important field.

(Arlene) And talk about your role with Prime time and, you know, how does it impact the providers you help?

(Shabrae) Yeah, well, I'm currently working with the professional development team, and our team specifically provides training.

So whether that's online or we also go into program sites as well and do site-based trainings and regional trainings.

And we do a lot of trainings across themes that are important for youth, youth, well-being and specifically skills that practitioners need within the program space.

(Arlene) Well, one of those providers here that gets help from prime time PBC is Divinity Dance, which I think is so cool.

Tell us how you work with prime time PBC and how you work with kids.

Wonderful.

Um, it's been a beautiful partnership since I've come on board with Prime Time in 2022.

Um, Divinity Dance was founded in 2005 as a literal leap of faith to serve our Palm Beach County community and provide equitable access to dance instruction.

And the partnership with Prime Time has allowed us to expand our reach to more schools and community organizations and faith-based organizations who have existing student populations.

And we bring dance enrichment and a whole lot of fun into those after school and summer spaces where typically there may not be arts programming, specifically dance as well, right?

(Arlene) And that can get also pricey.

And it's not always absolutely.

(Sonja) The beauty of the partnership is prime time through Children's Services Council provides the funding.

So we're able to offer this dance instruction at no cost to the schools and community organizations that we have the privilege to serve.

(Arlene) And that's such a beautiful thing.

And it's match made in heaven here with Shabrae.

Yes.

Tell us how you discovered divinity dance and how you connected and how you're able to help them as a provider.

Mhm.

Well, Prime Time has a process in which it works with its different providers, which is we really think about it as expanded learning opportunities.

And so apart from divinity dance we also work with Digital Vibes and Cox Science Center and Aquarium right.

So a number of different providers across the county and so there's a process.

We even have a whole team, community partnerships, that kind of works with our different providers in this way and bringing them in, connecting with them and then connecting them with the programs.

And so as, as Sonja mentioned, um, a lot of that, due to our support by the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County, makes that possible in so many ways.

(Arlene) Right and not so much with support, you know, however you see it, you know, with getting them on.

But it's also continuing that support, you know, getting these great groups and then giving them that training and those tools.

So tell us specifically about that.

(Shabrae) Yeah.

So prime time we do provide different trainings for our different providers.

Some of that might be connected with how can you use your programs to cultivate empathy for example.

Or what does it look like to bring in the importance of rules and routines?

Right.

So there could be a number of themes that we work with them with, but also community partnership teams also brings in guest speakers as well, to help them to think about their own organization's growth and their own impact as well within the community.

So it's really also a partnership because we really see our providers as well as bringing in expert content, just like Sonya and Divinity dance like they are experts within that world of dance.

And so partnering with them, we can provide that for our practitioners and our programs.

(Arlene) That's so neat.

Yeah.

And how cute is it to see the kids out there doing their thing?

(Sonja) It is amazing because I see myself in them as well.

So it's a full 360 experience for me because that is where I learned to dance.

Not necessarily in a classically trained studio, but after school and community spaces is where my dance journey began.

So I look at it as I'm giving back and helping to form the next generation of movers in the space that started my professional journey.

(Arlene) Well, we.

Just love you Sonja, for that and what you do.

And thank you, you know, tell us about you both have experience with kids, younger children, students.

Who have been like all of us.

They have lived through Covid and all the limitations that Covid brings.

And they've suffered to some degree.

And we see it all the time.

Tell us how this impacts that.

(Sonja) Well, for sure, what Covid reminded us and showed us is that we were built for community.

Yes, we are not built and created to live in isolation, and the focus on just mental health and wellness really came to the forefront during Covid.

And so it's so important that we provide these type of programmings, specifically dance as an art form because it's socially based.

You know, you have the community in the classes, you have the opportunity to support each other, to encourage each other, to learn the choreography together.

And even though we're more connected digitally in this generation than any other generation, um, statistics and research show that we also have higher rates of depression and anxiety, and I believe that community is a cure for that.

(Arlene) And mental well-being is is so necessary to have these outlets, right?

Yes.

So tell me about the feedback you've received.

You know, both of you from people involved with divinity dance and prime time BBC.

(Shabrae) Well, I know one thing this came with in connection with Divinity dance of a practitioner who had shared that they had a student, um, who was dealing with a lot of frustration and I think strong emotions and really felt like they found a healthy outlet through Divinity dance.

Um, um, and I think that was so encouraging because I think, as Sonja was mentioning, there's such an importance, right, to have these types of spaces where youth can express, can can learn how to regulate through movement.

I love how you talked about this next generation of movers, because that's what that's what we need, right?

For our health and also for our world.

And so we love getting that type of feedback back from our practitioners because we're seeing how it really makes a difference.

(Arlene) Tell us a little bit more.

About your kids, Sonja.

You know what grades, what ages and what's their feedback.

And maybe just the change you see over some time with them.

Sure Um, most of the work that we do with prime time is school age children.

So it's typically grades K through eight, predominantly K through five.

And the students, I literally see them blossom over the course of our cohort.

So our classes are typically a 6 to 7 week cohort for one hour, where we come in and teach choreography, but also create a safe space for students to express themselves.

So in addition to the movement, we embed SEL social emotional learning concepts within the scope of the course.

And literally, as Shabrae said, we see students that maybe were a little more reserved.

Once we've created this atmosphere where it's safe to express yourself, they literally open up, contribute to the class, share their voice.

They have choices that they can make, and that's something with the professional development team that they've helped us with as well, creating student voice and choice within the dance class.

And it's just it's just beautiful to see.

And the parents, I'm sure, give you such great feedback too.

Because oftentimes within the school setting, all schools do not have a formal arts program, and very few schools throughout the county have a dance program, and some of the dance programs are more structured towards a professional route versus a recreational space for students to express themselves.

(Arlene) and dance specifically.

Tell me how that really hones in on the mental wellbeing.

What is it specifically about dance?

(Sonja) Well, there's my personal belief, as well as what science has shown us.

So personally, when you're in dance versus some other art forms, it's not done in isolation.

So you're building the peer to peer relationships, you're learning about spatial awareness and how to work together and collaborate.

And then there's the scientific research that supports the release of our feel-good hormones, serotonin.

And, you know, that literally is chemically happening in our bodies when we're moving and engaging with others.

(Arlene) Speaking of this type of expression and expressive arts, you can tell me more about that.

You're actually an expressive arts educator.

That might be confusing for some of us.

Yes.

Break that down.

(Shabrae) Sure.

Yeah.

So the expressive arts is a field within the creative therapies and specifically in the expressive arts work.

We work with all of the art modalities.

So whether it's visual arts or poetry or music or movement and dance, theater, drama, we work with all of the arts and we work with them in a intermodal or some might say multimodal way in which we might move from dance towards poetry.

So we're kind of moving between the different arts.

You don't have to be an artist to work within the expressive arts, because it's really about the expression and it's about, um, the process and not necessarily the end product.

And that's why it is a wonderful therapeutic framework as well.

(Arlene) And tell us about Collective Tapestry that you are an expressive arts educator for that group, which is different than prime time BBC.

Yeah.

Tell us more about that.

(Shabrae) Sure.

So Collective Tapestry is a nonprofit organization, and we work with groups and organizations, individuals, to provide training on trauma informed care, but through the arts.

And so we use the expressive arts as part of our framework, which works with all of the arts.

And we work with community leaders, artists groups, even organizations like Divinity dance in some sense, and connecting the neuroscience and the psychoeducation with why the arts are healing and helpful for mental health and wellbeing.

And so that's a lot of the work that we do.

And we always have different projects that we have going on nationally, and we also have partnerships internationally as well that are in movement.

(Arlene) And how do people participate and how can they find out more about Collective tapestry?

(Shabrae) Yeah, well, they can definitely check out our website, Collective Tapestry.Org.

And we will have some maybe upcoming workshops and opportunities coming up in the fall and in August after the summer months.

And so they can check those out specifically trainings.

If you're looking for toolkits and manuals that you can use in your spaces to work with youth and also adults, this might be a good spot to to check out.

(Arlene) This is a good for groups who provide mental wellbeing and those types of services to the public.

(Shabrae) Yes, exactly.

And we do offer workshops as well.

If somebody also wants to do some of their own inner work or exploration, they can also participate in that as well.

(Arlene) Thanks for everything both of you do.

Shabrae Sonja.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you so.

Much.

Feeling low?

Then get up and sing.

Why not?

The research on the benefits of singing is overwhelming.

From settling down fussy babies to helping with postpartum depression and even staving off an anxiety attack, singing is an accessible stress reliever that can brighten up your entire day.

(soothing music) When I think about singing, I think about the benefits that we get from exercise.

They're very similar.

If you look at the peripheral benefits of exercise, we're not talking about muscle building, we're not talking about cardiovascular, and we're not talking about flexibility.

But the peripheral benefits of exercise are very similar to when we sing.

There's a release of endorphins.

Endorphins help us feel good, and they help decrease feelings of pain.

There's more oxygen that's going to the lungs, which means that we're going to breathe better and breathe deeper.

And then there's going to be a feeling of relaxation because it does innervate the relaxation response.

Music can really be a calming force for humans, both because of, I think, really physiological impacts what we know about the music and the brain.

It can actually physiologically change our heart rate, change our breathing rate.

(Marie) Like if you're having a panic attack driving on the highway, you know what you should be doing is singing or you should be humming because it innervates the vagus nerve, which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system.

And that puts your brain right into relaxation mode.

So if you're driving and go, go, um, we're just start singing.

It's innervating the vagus nerve when we innervate the vagus nerve when we wake that up.

Okay.

Then all of a sudden the body goes, oh, okay, I got it.

We can relax now.

(Brian) I also think we can never underestimate the power of of soothing emotional experiences to help calm the savage beast.

You know, as we think about melodies and harmonies that may be connected to experiences in our lives.

Um, listening to something of back of better times in our lives.

But it's really profound.

(music) (Marie) Baby can hear mother's voice right in the womb.

So mom's voice is going to be the first thing that baby hears.

So when the baby is now right there in your cradling it and you're singing to it a lullaby, typically you would be singing something that has that kind of soft melody to it, and you're perhaps rocking the baby, or you have the baby in the bassinet.

There's this oxytocin that's released by the mother, which is the love hormone.

The baby, when sung to when sung a lullaby to not only by the mother, but any caregiver interprets that into his or her brain as love.

We also don't want to overwhelm them.

So a little bit is good.

A lot doesn't mean that it's better.

So some parents believe that singing is good.

So let's have a, you know, music that's streaming in the nursery 24 over seven.

So the baby can constantly be hearing this background, either sounds of nature or music.

No, we don't need to do that.

It would be better to do it at predictable times.

Maybe if we want to play music in the background, do it in the morning, during the morning routine, do it again maybe in the afternoon and then again in the evening.

But pick your times.

Try to make it cyclical.

Try to make it more of a ritual and more is not better.

Twinkle twinkle little star .

(Marie) I think that over time you should be singing with your children and not necessarily to your children.

So once they start establishing more sophisticated language, it becomes fun to to do a sing along with them.

The family that sings together typically is joyful together.

(music) (Arlene) Research shows that poetry can provide comfort and boost your mood during periods of stress, trauma and grief.

The Omari Hardwick Blue Apple Poetry Network, part of the Jason Taylor Foundation, is hoping to do just that by giving students across South Florida the opportunity to express themselves through art of spoken word poetry, allowing them to be heard and share their emotions with others.

Take a look.

(soft rock music) I'm a 17 year English teacher and I always loved English.

It was always my favorite subject.

As a student, I am enamored with the word, the written word.

It is everything.

It is the foundational building blocks of any civilization.

And it's the thing that it inspires.

It educates, it invokes, it angers.

It records the history of the human condition.

And one of the mediums that the written word does that in is poetry.

The Omari Hardwick Blew Up a Poetry Network is the largest youth program for the Jason Taylor Foundation, and primarily we serve high school students in multiple counties in South Florida.

The purpose of the program is to create a community, if you will.

A network is what we call it, where young people who like to write specifically in the art form of poetry have opportunities to do so.

We also do programs with elementary schools and middle schools in the form of poetry.

We are a a sponsor of the Urban Word National Youth Poet Laureate Competition, and it starts regionally first.

So we have our South Florida Youth Poet Laureate Competition, which chooses our representative for South Florida.

And then they go on to compete to become the National Youth Poet Laureate.

We also have our our very beloved Louder Than a Bomb Florida poetry festival that features poetry from students, from teachers, from alumni, from our programs all throughout the month of April, which is the National Poetry Month.

Most of the students that join are members of either their high school's literary club or poetry club.

There are a teacher, a sponsor, but to us we call them a coach.

And so there would be these coaches at these particular high schools, and they will meet weekly at least one hour per week.

In those particular meetings, they will read poetry, write poetry, create poetry, study poetry, and learn their voices and their styles and their aesthetics.

What the Blue Apple Poetry Network does is that we foster opportunities for those clubs to get together, for those students to interact with one another, to share each other's art forms.

One of our missions is that we foster safe spaces so that these young people can actually express themselves with not only their peers, but an audience that is going to appreciate the work that they've produced.

I first encountered Blue Apple Poetry Network when I was in high school.

I was just trying to find my, like, click, as you say, and I was more of a like, wanderer, kind of drifting.

And I stumbled upon poetry club.

So from the beginning, I think in like 2015 when Blue Apple started my school Mcfatter Go Storm start participating in the poetry competitions, which made me go to poetry club after school, made me hang out with a bunch of the same people writing their own poetry, and suddenly I'm going to open my Excel.

I'm excited to go to school, and it just really unearthed a passion for writing and my own voice.

The branch like dance and the wind flow with the breeze.

No.

I'm sorry, is here.

Never be still.

Just finding people who had an interest in me and hearing what I had to say.

I found a community that really positively reinforced me expressing myself.

What I've seen in this work is that young people who start off very timid, they may be they may consider themselves outcasts or the weird kids.

They might consider themselves a lone artist, meaning they think in their minds, no one does what I do, or no one will care what I write as they scribble in their notebooks.

And then once they become a part of this community, it is a huge transformation.

They become more outspoken.

They definitely become more interactional, both on a one on one level and in a group level.

They are extremely supportive of one another and more importantly, they learn they have a voice, that their voice matters, that their perspective matters.

It has done tremendous things for my mental health.

It just it helps me see that my emotions are a part of me, rather than this byproduct of my existence.

Poetry encourages you to work with your emotion, to almost like, grieve and mourn if they're negative emotions, and then even really soak in the positive emotions in your life as well, without just letting them glance by.

Realize you're way bigger than this moment and that your love is way bigger than your hate.

So hate when you need to.

And then cast it away.

Lay yourself down and wipe your own tears.

Open palms and crush your own face.

Whisper you are beloved.

(Shawntee) Once they stand in the presence of one stage, one mic, one poet using their voice with an audience that is there specifically to receive it.

It empowers them in a way that I don't know that other programs do.

The teaching artists are young adults who are in many cases alumni themselves, and they workshop with the students.

They have them hone their craft with doing specific skill driven workshops or thematic poetry.

They also work with them as far as team building is concerned, so that they feel like a community.

They work on their performative skills because specifically in poetry, we're working with the art form of spoken word poetry, which is a performative art form, and so they need to be able to not just write, but also emote and project those words when they are given the opportunity to speak.

So those teaching artists, who are usually poets themselves, are there to help them become better writers and better poets.

(Shaviah) Now, I just really hope put together with our other JTF staff all our productions, including Louder Than a Bomb, where sometimes I'm hosting, sometimes I'm the vault manager, sometimes I'm just making sure the kids have a friendly face to look at when, before they go out on stage, and just being able to give back in that capacity has been so rewarding for me.

Not only did I get to find my voice with the Blue Apple Poetry Network, I get to help other students find their voice as well.

(Shawntee) Some of the things that I think keep people away from poetry is they say, well, I don't get it.

I don't get it.

Well, what happens when you look at a painting that doesn't have concrete objects on it?

Does it still not speak to you?

Poetry does the same thing.

And so to teach young people to not only be able to like, appreciate that, but to create is, in my opinion, adding them to the legacy of scribes who record the human condition.

When you hear the young people say this poetry on stage and their souls are being buried, or their truth is being spoken, it's one of those things that cannot be denied in the moment, and the artistry of it cannot be denied in the moment.

And you know that even if these words were on paper, they would still have the same impact.

So poetry, for me, is something that blends the thing that we all use, right, which is communication and artistry together.

And anyone can be a poet.

I'm a firm believer in that.

(Arlene) For more on Neuroarts, follow us on Facebook at your South FL.

I'm Arlene Borenstein.

Thanks for watching.

(music) (upbeat music)