In September of 2022, I was invited to speak as a keynote speaker at the Parents as Teachers 2022 conference in Denver (the video is here). Additionally, an article about this work can be found here. 
I shared these with a colleague who is a caregiver and takes dance lessons from me at Goddard Riverside Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), and here is his testimonial: 

• "Thanks for sharing your article on caregiving with focus on parents caring for children and its implication on how this interaction can impact neural connections and network on both the parent or caregiver and the child the care receiver. I like the way you demonstrate the link between art and its impact on the brain. I think ultimately caregiving from parents to children and its mutual impact on the brain, can be extended to caring among any two mutual interactions, children and elders, people and pets, caring for people in need, people in love, or even for some caring for art or inanimate objects, as long as it is triggered by genuine love for it. The plasticity and elasticity of brain, as you have pointed out, is malleable from any input be it caregiving, Love or even something totally opposite of it..." ​

Caregiving practices change the brains of parents and other caregivers as well as the children they are supporting and play a key role in children’s future success. Scientists have discovered more about the impact that caregiving has on the brain—not only the child’s brain, but also the caregiver’s. Earlier in fall of 2022, I was honored to share some of what I’ve learned at the Parents as Teachers annual conference in Denver.
An article about this presentation can be found on this link. 

In September 1, 2022, I was invited to speak at the Parents as Teachers International Conference in Denver, Colorado. The title of my talk was "Exploring Early Brain Development through Dance and Neuroscience". Some pictures and the recording can be found below:

At the STEMPeers 2022 conference in Philadelphia, I worked with Vikram Gadagkar. His story is of learning, performing, and error detection in songbirds, and my choreography explores these topics from the human perspective of teaching and learning a skill, in this case, dance. You can see the performance below:

A scientific study is, in a sense, a story about nature. I will be speaking at the STEMPeers 2022 conference in Philadelphia to present with Vikram Gadagkar's. His story is of learning, performing, and error detection in songbirds, and my choreography explores these topics from the human perspective of teaching and learning a skill, in this case, dance.
​The work is entitled "The song and dance of neurons!"

On September 1, 2022, I was invited to speak at the Parents as Teachers International Conference in Denver, Colorado. The title of my talk was "Exploring Early Brain Development through Dance and Neuroscience". Keeping in line with the concept of Vichaar, I used neuroscience and Bharatanatyam to talk about early childhood development. 
In future blog posts, I will talk about the exact ways in which I interspersed dance and science, giving examples of what I spoke about! I was thrilled to be one the same panel as Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu. ​Stay tuned! 

While the evolution of movement was for survival (moving towards food, moving away from predators), no one can deny the sheer pleasure of moving, of dancing, of moving our bodies to the beat of music. Below, on the left, you can see a video of my pup playing in the grass on a spring day (with a smile on his face). On the right is a short piece I did at The Frederic Fleming House at W22nd Street in NYC for its residents. I love the participant to my right who is having so much fun listening to the music! 

• Piece: Ganapati Kautvam
• Choreography: Smt. Maheshwari Nagarajan and Smt. Vanita Jayan 
• Music: Sri Jayan Nair 

Movement has many benefits for physical health e.g. maintaining cardiovascular health, preventing falls, helping maintain balance, managing chronic conditions, and strengthening bones and muscles [1].  

Movement has numerous benefits for mental health as well, including improved sleep and endurance, stress relief, increased stamina, and increased alertness [2]. 

The positive impacts of movement inform my work with senior citizens to promote creative aging in a program called Bharatanatyam for All. The scientific principle of synaptic plasticity (the capacity of the brain to change with experiences), the positive impact of movement for mental health, and the power of self-expression lie at the core of my work; these benefits of Bharatanatyam are what I hope to distribute to all.  

My inspiration for Creatures on the Move comes from helping my mother take care of the stray animals around our apartment, and later working at Animal Help Foundation, a spay-and-neuter shelter in Ahmedabad, where I was responsible for taking care of hundreds of animals every day. 
 
Another thing that attracts me to study animal movement is the sheer diversity in the pace, gait, and manner of movement that animals display. From the sinuous movement of the snake to a raptor soaring in the sky, to a squirrel that jumps around, the study of movement reminds me of Darwin’s take on the diversity he saw around him and noted in The Origin of Species [1,2].