Nerding Out About the Brain with Morgan

Today we are joined by Morgan, who is currently studying for the LSAT. Morgan has an MSc in Neuroscience – specifically, clinical neuroscience under the faculty of psychiatry. Morgan is with Mauro to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how she approaches life and how her neuroscience background fuels her fitness coaching.

At the beginning of the lockdown Morgan was creating goal anxiety for herself by piling on the pressure to get too much done in a short space of time. Morgan has always been the kind of person that is either all consumed by work or doing nothing. The lockdown has helped her find a better balance in her daily life and to stop creating needless stress.

The last few months has allowed for Morgan to really sit down and reflect on who she is. It was a forced pause moment that, at the beginning, she didn’t appreciate. She had always gone from one thing to another without taking any downtime to reflect. The pandemic pushed her to really sit with herself and her own thoughts for once. Morgan admits that it has been a blessing, because without the mandatory pause, she wouldn’t have had as much time to study for the LSAT.

Previously, Morgan has studied stress and how it affects the mind, body, and gut. At the start of lockdown, she began learning more and diving into literature and theory in an effort to understand why she was feeling the way she was. This was inadvertently causing more stress and anxiety than she already had. Morgan learned that putting her foot on the brake and just being in her own body and acknowledging the way she felt was more of a help.

During her MA, Morgan looked at biological markers of depression. In the study, she looked for tangible things that could be measured and compared these to people that weren’t suffering from depression. Specifically, Morgan looked at how probiotics affect depression. When she advises her clients, she takes a whole-picture approach to health. A healthy gut biome helps create a healthy mind - 90% of the body’s serotonin is created in the lining of the gut!

Trying to create a balance between what clients want and what they need is Morgan’s main goal. Getting people to understand the way they move and connect with how their body feels in motion is an important part of her approach. People have the burned-in notion that fitness should be hard and exhausting, but Morgan hopes to unwind the notion. Take it slowly, as it’s a lifelong journey.

Remember when you are training with someone, or coaching them, that they are a human. Admitting your goals, and what you want to change about yourself, is a vulnerable process. Everyone is an individual, so treat them as such; treat them with compassion and understanding.

Finally, Morgan and Mauro discuss neuroplasticity and how you can change who you are at any time. It is a gradual process to change your habits, but it is one you can achieve.