In Chanrou's class, you may often hear the teacher say things like this:
"We are building new neural circuits." "This action is recoding your nervous system." "It's not muscle memory; it's the nervous system learning."
These words sound scientific, but they might also be a bit abstract—what is a neural circuit? Why can movement "build" it? What does this have to do with my Chanrou exercise?
This incident is actually the key to understanding how Chanrou truly changed her body.
First, understand that actions are actually initiated by the brain.
We often think that movement is a matter of muscles. But in fact, the true source of movement lies in the brain and nervous system.
When you raise your arm, this is what happens: the brain sends a signal, which travels down the nerves and eventually reaches the muscle, instructing it to contract. The muscle is merely the "executor"; the true "commander" is the nervous system.
The nervous system directs movement through a series of "neural circuits"—you can think of them as pathways in the brain. Every action you can perform has a corresponding neural circuit behind it.
Once a loop is established and strengthened, the action becomes increasingly automatic, smoother, and requires less and less thought.
How are neural circuits formed?
There's a famous saying in neuroscience: "Neurons that fire together, wire together."
This means that when you repeatedly perform an action, the nerve cells involved in that action are activated together again and again. And each time they are activated together, the connections between them are strengthened a little.
The more it is repeated, the stronger the connection becomes. The stronger the connection, the easier and more automatically the action is triggered.
This is the “establishment of neural circuits”—through repeated, conscious practice, a new pathway is established and strengthened in the brain, allowing a new movement pattern to gradually become something the body does naturally.
This is why "change" is possible.
This contains a very important and promising scientific fact: neuroplasticity.
In the past, people believed that the brain was fixed after adulthood and would not change. However, modern neuroscience has confirmed that the brain retains the ability to learn and change throughout life. Old circuits can be weakened, and new circuits can be established—regardless of your age.
what does that mean?
This means that those physical habits you thought you "couldn't change"—hunching, shrugging, incorrect force exertion, stiff movement patterns—can actually be changed. They are not predetermined; they are just old neural circuits that have been repeatedly reinforced for a long time.
By establishing new circuits, you can gradually replace the old ones with new and better action patterns.
Why is Chanrou particularly adept at "establishing new neural circuits"?
Not all exercise is effective in establishing new neural circuits. Chanrou has several unique advantages in this regard.
It forces the nervous system to participate, rather than driving autonomously.
If an action is too familiar, too simple, or too repetitive, the brain doesn't actually need to participate—it's just executing an existing old circuit. This kind of practice reinforces old patterns rather than establishing new ones.
Chanrou's three-dimensional spiral movements are complex, multi-directional, and constantly changing, forcing the nervous system to participate fully and learn continuously. Each movement presents a new coordination challenge, which is precisely the condition needed to establish new circuits.
It uses imagery and feeling to encode more effectively.
As mentioned earlier, Chanrou uses imagery rather than instructions to guide movement. This is not just a teaching style; it has a basis in neuroscience.
When you guide movement with imagery, you activate deeper, more integrated neural circuits; and when you perform a movement with clear bodily sensations, those circuits are encoded even deeper and more firmly. The clearer the sensations, the more effective the learning.
It learns more efficiently through "flow and enjoyment".
Neuroscience research has revealed something surprising: under mechanical, stressful repetition, the brain may need to repeat up to 400 times to establish a new neural connection; but when explored in a smooth, fun, and relaxed state, the brain may only need 10 to 20 repetitions.
Chanrou emphasizes the joy of flow, rhythm, and exploration—it places learning in a relaxed and pleasant state. This state is precisely where neuroplasticity is highest and learning efficiency is best.
It provides instant feedback.
In one-on-one Chanrou tutoring, the teacher provides continuous, immediate feedback—"That's the feeling," "You're off track here, try to get back on track." This immediate feedback allows your nervous system to precisely identify the "correct" circuit, significantly accelerating the establishment of new circuits.
This is why Chanrou's change is a "real" change.
Once you understand neural circuits, you'll understand why the changes brought about by Chanrou are different from simply "stretching and relaxing."
When you passively relax a tense muscle, you change the current state—but the neural circuit that caused the tension remains unchanged, so after a while, the tension returns.
When Chanrou helps you establish a new neural circuit, you change the way your body "presets" to operate—that new, better movement pattern gradually becomes something your body will do naturally, without needing reminders or effort, because it has already been programmed into your nervous system.
This is why Chanrou emphasizes that it brings about a "re-education of the nervous system," not just temporary relaxation. It changes the most fundamental layer.
This takes time and deserves patience.
Understanding neural circuits can also help you be more patient with the learning process.
Building a new neural circuit requires repetition and time. Old circuits are strong (because they have been reinforced for many years), and new circuits need sufficient practice to become strong enough to replace the old ones.
This is why physical changes aren't achieved in just one or two classes, but rather through a continuous, cumulative process. With each practice session, you're adding a little strength to a new circuit; with each practice session, the new pattern takes you one step closer to "becoming natural."
Those stages that seem "unchanged" are actually where new circuits are quietly being established—they just haven't become strong enough to emerge yet.
Therefore, when Teacher Chanrou said, "We are building new neural circuits," she was referring to something very specific and very real:
You're not just moving your body.
You are rewriting your nervous system, time and time again—teaching it a new, freer, and more efficient way to use this body.
And once this change is established, it will truly stay with you.
