Brain Gym(R): Some Exercises BRAIN GYMNASTICS : A Wakeup Call to the Brain

Much of the factual material for this article is taken from "Smart Moves" by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D. and Dr. Paul Dennison and his EduK(R) literature. Please cite these authors when using this material. In Honolulu there are several very good Brain Gym(R) instructors and their addresses & numbers will be listed at the end of this document. Permission to use my data is given, but it constitutes only my opinion and limited practical experience and is not in any way intended to represent the official Brain Gym(R) or EduK(R) view nor give permission to reproduce the detailed exercises designed by the other authors without citing them.

Brain Gym(R)

is a series of exercises that enables the brain to work at its best. The techniques are a composite of many differing sciences based upon neurobiology predominantly. It has been found to facilitate learning in learning-disabled children. However, the results of using Brain Gym(R) have proven to be highly effective for all learners, and they have also been shown to improve performance in all types of learners and for all types of activities. There is even evidence that Brain Gym(R) can be used for psychological disorders as well.

Teachers will find these exercises enhance student performance before test taking in particular, but also they work before listening to lectures and studying. Just taking a few extra minutes to remind the students to do Brain Gym(R), can yield impressive scores. It is worth it for everyone to take a few moments to do a Brain Gym(R) exercise. It works really well for stress I have found. If I have been stressing over a deadline and had a raging headache, or I have been sitting at a computer for too long, I take a minute to get a glass of water and do the "Brain Buttons". It immediately erases my headache and I have lots of new energy to keep going.

How does it work? The best answer to this question is to read what Carla Hannaford, Ph.D. has to say in "Smart Moves." She is a neurophysiologist and educator with more than 28 years of teaching experience. She states that our bodies are very much a part of all our learning, and learning is not an isolated "brain" function. Every nerve and cell is a network contributing to our intelligence and our learning capability. She says, "movement activates the neural wiring throughout the body, making the whole body the instrument of learning"(13). Carla states that "sensation" forms the basis of concepts from which "thinking" evolves(48).

Another feature of the human organism that is significant in understanding the Brain Gym (R) exercises is our bi-cameral brain. The brain has a left and a right hemisphere, each one doing certain distinct tasks. Often one side of our brain works more than the other depending upon the tasks we are doing or on how we have developed as human beings. If the two brains are working fully and sharing information across the Corpus Collosum, then there is a balance of brain function. Without this balance, there is always going to be something that is not understood or remembered. Brain Gym(R) assists us to integrate the two brains which gives us our full capacity for problem solving or learning.

We are also "electrical" beings and our brain's neurons work by electrical connections. Water has been found to be the best thing we can do to facilitate the thinking process because of its capacity to conduct electricity and assist cell function. As Carla Hannaford says, "Water comprises more of the brain(with estimates of 90%) than of any other organ of the body."(139) Thus a simple drink of water before a test or before going to class can have a profound effect on our brain's readiness to work. Unfortunately, coffee or soda will have the opposite effect since these will upset the electrolytes in the brain. In all, then the exercises that you see here are designed to make us a whole-brain learner.

Here are some simple but effective ways to wake-up the brain and get it all working at once and optimally.

1. DRINK a glass of water.

2. DO "BRAIN BUTTONS" -

a. Put one hand so that there is as wide a space as possible between the thumb and index finger.
b.Then place your index and thumb into the slight indentations below the collar bone on each side of the sternum. Press lightly in a pulsing manner.
c. At the same time put the other hand over the navel area of the stomach. Gently press on these points for about 2 minutes.

3. "CROSS CRAWL"

a. You can stand or sit for this. Put the right hand across the body to the left knee as you raise it, and then do the same thing for the left hand on the right knee just as if you were marching.
b. Just do this either sitting or standing for about 2 minutes.

4. "HOOK UPS"

a. Sit for this activity and cross the right leg over the left at the ankles.
b. Take your right wrist and cross it over the left wrist and link up the fingers so that the right wrist is on top.
c. Now bend the elbows out and gently turn the fingers in towards the body until they rest on the sternum (breast bone) in the center of the chest. Stay in this position.
d. Keep the ankles crossed and the wrists crossed and then breathe evenly in this position for a few minutes. You will be noticeably calmer after that time.

If you take the time to do these activities before a test or before studying, I am certain you will find they enhance your learning ability. They should be taught to children to do before going to school and during the day. One or more of these exercises can help at any time. I hope that you will try them for yourselves. My student test scores have gone up because of Brain Gym(R). I have students achieving far higher scores than I have seen using the same screening and testing methods for the past six years. The ones who are doing Brain Gym(R) are accomplishing so much more.

Instructors of Brain Gym(R) and EduK(R)

in Honolulu are:

Flo Johnasen

(fjohnase@hei.com) Some notes from Flo and

Gail Sickel

(75644.245@Compuserve.com) and Suzie Quick (808 247-3594) available by phone.