Brain Gym ® Works!

by Shane Niehaus

Brain Gym is a process that offers great ways to integrate the whole brain for enhanced learning and performance. It teaches new ways to integrate the brain and body, so that whole brain -body integration occurs. Brain Gym identifies the mental, emotional and physical states that create frustration and failure. The mind-body system is re-educated to function in a more integrated whole-brain manner which supports and enhances our efforts to achieve a specific goal, including more creative thoughts and ideas.

Dr. Dennison, the creator of Brain Gym defines learning and performance as “ changed behaviour . “When we learn something new, distinct physiological, emotional, and electrochemical changes take place in the body".

Learning is not all in the head. Every cell in our brain and body remembers with cellular memory. Brain Gym uses movement to enhance brain -body integration and move us out of “ stuck “ behaviour patterns, created by stress and lack of motivation. Brain Gym helps us to move forward into new learning easily and efficiently.

Performance in Brain Gym is explained as “ high gear or low gear “. To perform in high gear means to be covering familiar territory, we function in a relaxed and easy way, with minimum effort and trying. Functioning in low gear requires effort, where one needs to stop and think before acting, and then integrate new ideas with previously learnt concepts. Often these concepts are splintered, and lack cohesion with the bigger picture. ie. when we get stuck in low gear functioning, we learn new concepts but find it difficult to integrate with concepts already learnt. We become over-focussed on information without meaning, performance is stressful and unintegrated, we tend to function from one-side of the brain more, and need to continuously rehash information to fully understand it. This creates stress and lack of motivation to continue the activity, which then results in the goal not being fully achieved. Desired success turns to failure and disappointment.

However, when we function in a high gear state, we are able to think and move at the same time; performance becomes easy and relaxed. The brain uses less energy to function, thus less effort goes into the performance, and we access the appropriate brain centres for each new specific activity with ease. We can get stuck in high gear performance, when we become overwhelmed by new information; we act from habit only; and we function under extreme stress with feelings of being spaced out and hyped. When we function in this way, we find it difficult to integrate new information with previously learnt information, and this information is easily forgotten.

The key to success in whatever we do is to apply success principles in an integrated manner so that we can perform joyfully and easily.

In Brain Gym we follow a sequence of steps in the format of a “ balance “ , that supports the natural way of learning. We begin by looking at those areas in our Iives that we would like to improve or change. Setting positive, active and clear and energetic goals is an important part of the Brain Gym process. The goal is written down, because once you have written it down, you have committed yourself to taking action.

The act of writing down your goal often gives clarity and new perspectives to what it is you truly want to achieve.

Effective goal-setting is one of the first success principles in Brain Gym.

The second success principle is to be able to notice what your body is telling you. When you are so in touch with your body that you can notice the difference between integrated and unintegrated function taking place, you are able to recognize when you are getting stuck in the try-hard mode, creating unnecessary stress and decreasing the potential to succeed. You learn to recognise those states which support your actions for success, and those states which hamper your success. You learn to recognize what works and what doesn’t work for you. You become comfortable in new and challenging situations and are able to focus more clearly on what it is you wish to achieve in meeting these challenges. You learn to focus on the detail of your success plan while keeping the vision of the goal in mind. This is integrated performance.

Life offers continuous opportunities to discover those actions that you would like to perform more easily and effortlessly. The Brain Gym process gives you the opportunity to recognise stress and discomfort when performing a chosen action, and noticing the state of your mind and body during this action.

Body awareness is essential for taking action with integrity.

The next success principle in Brain Gym is to release habits that no longer work for us or that block us in achieving our goals. We learn to use new movements that can integrate our learning, and keeps us moving forward towards our goals. We learn how to change negative thinking into positive thoughts and actions. The learning menu includes movements such as the Dennison Laterality Repatterning, which is one of the best techniques for releasing reflexive habits that no longer work for us. We learn to systematically release the habit of trying hard and discover new ways of pursuing and attaining our goals. By integrating our affirmation of the need for change with integrated body action, we anchor in the change of state that will support our goalgetting.

Brain Gym is the readiness programme for Educational Kinesiology, a unique merging of Applied Kinesiology (being the study of muscles and the science of testing and balancing them) and learning theory.

It dates back to the early 1970’s in the USA and was developed by Paul E. Dennison, Ph. D; a passionate educator and current Director of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation (est. 1987). He incorporated his background in psychology and his skills as a teacher and combined his research into acupuncture, optometry, psychology, yoga, language development, brain function and kinesiology to develop what is known today as Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K).

More than 30 years research has gone into this program, so it comes with a solid, scientific background to what might seem to most, a simple movement programme. Brain Gym has also incorporated work by Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori, to name but two recent pioneers.

Dr. Dennison has published seven books and manuals on helping children and adults turn their learning difficulties into successful growth. In 1980, Paul published Switching On: A Guide to Edu-Kinesthetics which he co-authored with his wife, Gail E. Dennison. More recently in 1994 he has published Brain Gym for Business: Instant Brain Boosters for On-The-Job Success with Jerry V. Teplitz.

Dr. Dennison's studies led him to understand and adapt certain developmental movements to stimulate brain function which benefits young and old alike - even to the age of ninety! His discoveries are based upon an understanding of the interdependence of physical development, language acquisition and academic achievement.

Dr. Dennison discovered that cross-crawl activity works to stimulate both the expressive and receptive hemispheres of the brain and facilitates integrated learning. Who would have guessed that crawling, as one example of a developmental movement, is so absolutely vital for brain development? When you find yourself exasperated by your crawling child, you can relax in the knowledge that not only is it natural, it is a necessary stage in brain development.

When a child is born, organization and education begin immediately as the brain and nerves begin to make connections in a manner needed for optimal function in later life. By the 5th to 8th year of life the crossing mechanism and one sided dominance has pretty much developed.

The crossing mechanism develops first by crawling, then by walking and running. When crawling, walking, or running, there is a crossing of nerve function. As one leg moves forward, the opposite arm moves forward. This crossing action "educates" and organizes the nervous system!

Improper crossing and dominance can cause innumerable problems:

• Children may tend to be slow learners
• have reading disabilities
• be hyperkinetic
• clumsy, Many so-called "clumsy" children may also be victims of muscular imbalance, causing movement to be difficult and uncoordinated. Most often balance is lost because one muscle is weak. Sometimes balance is lost because a muscle is too strong
• or have major health problems.

There are many reasons for abnormal crossing and dominance:

• A child may fail to go through the initial crawling stage by scooting until he begins to walk.
• He may be put in a walker and never given the opportunity to crawl.
• An injury during the normal crawling period may prohibit the usual activity at that time.
• Dominance may be interfered with by a well-meaning parent who insists on placing a spoon in the right hand of a normally dominant left-hander. The left dominant child may find himself confused by a right dominant world.
• Sometimes crossing and dominance develop normally, only to be disturbed in adult life. Injury or severe illness can cause the non-dominant side to take over simple "housekeeping" duties, while the dominant side does the major work of healing. The dominant side should resume its activity from the non dominant side when the crisis is over; however, it sometimes cannot do so without re-education.
• Many dyslexics learn to read words as whole pictures (right brain), but are unable to break the world into its phonetic components (a left brain activity). The left brain deals with the academic functions eg. arithmetic and language, and is also known as the Logic hemisphere. The right hemisphere, also known as the Gestalt hemisphere, deals with emotions, artistic ability and helps us to see the big picture.

Brain Gym® exercises and balances the brain and body by reducing or eliminating stress around the learning process.

We expand this into a three dimensional process:

• Laterality (the left/right dimension of the cerebral hemispheres). Relates to communication.
• Centering (the top/bottom dimension involving the midbrain). Relates to Organisation.
• Focus (the back/front dimension involving the brainstem). Relates to Perspective.

Integrating all these areas makes learning easier and enables us to become more positive in all areas of our lives.

When under stress we tend to overuse one side of the brain which then ‘switches’ off. For example, when the right side is overused, we can become emotionally confused, dreamy or "spaced-out". Although the function of reading continues, the deeper meaning is not grasped (the 'what have I just read’ feeling).

Traditionally, our schooling system has addressed ‘failure’ by devising programs that ‘drill’ and ‘stamp in’ learning. Whilst these programs have succeeded to a degree, one must ask why some learners do so well under this system, and others fall by the wayside? It is because some individuals have inadvertently ‘switched off’ the brain-integration mechanisms necessary for complete learning. Information is received by the back brain as an “impression” in neurological terms, but becomes inaccessible to the front (thinking) brain as an “expression”. This inability to express what is learned locks the learner into a ‘failure syndrome’. Through Brain Gym®, both sides of the brain are taught how to ‘switch-on’.

One of the most common reasons why children ‘switch-off’ is excessive involvement in two-dimensional activities (e.g. TV, video games, reading). If these activities occur before the child has developed the visual skills necessary to shift back to three-dimensional activities, or if they lull the child into ignoring his depth-perception skills, chronic stress may result. Even under such stress learning continues but once this switched-off pattern is learned, it becomes difficult to “unlearn”. The child becomes stuck in one-sided (homolateral) learning.

We believe that one of the problems with children with learning difficulties is that:

• They are just out of balance.
• It is also believed that most of the negative behavior in children is caused by emotional distress before birth which creates these problems and many more.
• Obese people, skinny people, and highly stressed people are usually out of balance because they find it difficult to handle stress.
• Physical or emotional trauma,
• lack of water or nourishing foods,
• excessive sitting and
• excessive exposure to environmental pollutants are among other causes of ‘switching-off’.
• Children who grow up in violence or poverty stricken areas tend to be caught up in chronic stress and do not have adequate opportunities to fully develop cortical nerve-netting to fully reach their potential. These children are most often children in disadvantaged schools.

The solution is obviously ‘whole-brain’ learning, obtained through movement re-patterning and Brain Gym® activities that teach students to access those parts of the brain which were previously inaccessible to them.

The changes in learning and behaviour are often immediate and profound! For more than 50 years, pioneers in behavioral optometry and sensory-motor training have provided statistical research showing the effects of movement upon learning.

It has been established that children who have vestibular problems often have sensory integration difficulties too. The ear is the first fully functional organ (at four and half months). It is not only an emotional nutrient to the child but also prepares the child to acquire language after birth. The vestibule, which is part of the inner ear, controls balance, coordination, verticality, muscle tone, posture and the muscles of our eyes. Because of the vestibule we are able to develop an image of our body in space. The vestibule is also an important relay for all sensory information that our body sends to our brain. The cochlea, the other part of the inner ear whose function it is to analyse sounds is also important for language comprehension.

Many learning and behaviour problems relate to an inability to take in information and filter out irrelevant information, and these people find it hard to follow instructions, hard to concentrate and find difficulty processing auditory information. Hyperactive children may be moving around constantly in an attempt to "charge" their brain through vestibular activities!

The quality and the vocal range of our voice relates directly to our ability to hear. To improve our voice we need to improve our listening skills. People with dull flat voices tend to have learning problems, be poor listeners and tend to be left ear dominant.

When students are led to Brain Gym, they seem to love it, request it and teach it to their friends because they can see how powerful it is, and how it helps them.

Some Exercises

Introduced here, you will find four basic "Brain Gym" exercises. They are surprisingly simple, but very effective!

Unfortunately, our current education system, while trying hard, is not keeping up with the modern world. We have changed from the rote learning method into more outcomes-based education, but there is still a lot educators can do to improve the learning process for our children. Brain Gym is one of them.

Brain Gym is being widely used in schools and private clinics around the world and in South Africa. Project Brain Gym is a non- profit organisation dedicated to providing training to teachers and educationalists working with disadvantaged children and schools. More than 300 primary school teachers have already taken the training in the Western Cape and are seeing the results of this training in their classrooms.

Research in numerous parts of the world has shown that Brain Gym enhances all areas of learning and creates efficient and effective learners. The aims and objectives of Project Brain Gym is to reach as many previously disadvantaged children as possible, and to teach them how to overcome fear and learning stress through the application of the Brain Gym movements.

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