Brain Gym

What is Brain Gym?

Brain Gym is part of the Educational Kinesiology programme. Educational Kinesiology means “To draw out learning, with movement”. It is an inspirational programme that helps to improve communication throughout the mind and body. Using specific, natural and fun movements to develop the essential senses necessary for all learning and life skills. The programme is extremely effective and is enjoyed by everyone who uses it. Brain Gym is used in over 80 countries in business, sport and the performing arts to maximise potentials and performance with lasting results.

How can Brain Gym help?

Brain Gym looks at the physical aspects of learning that most educators don’t.

Brain Gym assesses the Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Vestibular, Tactile and Proprioceptor senses and uses natural movements to develop them. If any of these senses are undeveloped, it can affect the potential and performance of the individual in the learning environment, workplace, stage or sports field. Brain Gym movements have been specifically designed to stimulate and develop weaknesses in the senses and when this happens learning challenges begin to disappear. Improved levels of confidence, motivation and focus can clearly be seen in individuals and teamwork. A few minutes of specific movements will immediately change how you feel and improve your ability.

Where can Brain Gym be used?

This programme can be used anywhere at any time and by any age group.

• In the classroom, the movements can be done at the table, to engage the whole brain, ready for learning.
• In business, the movements can be done at the desk, before meetings, sales, presentations, interviews etc.
• In sports, the movements can be done before your game and at half time. To maximise full co-ordination and accuracy, energise your mind and body, reducing stress and injury.
• The performing arts use the movements to reduce stress and anxiety which helps to maximise their performance.
• At home to reduce stress, improve family communication, help relaxation and restore well-being.
• The elderly use it to help maintain mobility, co-ordination, brain function and well-being.

Who uses Brain Gym?

Anyone of any age who wants to improve any area of their life can benefit from this programme. The earlier it is used, the less challenges will appear later.

Knowing your Dominance profile

Understanding the dominance profile of any individual or team always proves to be extremely valuable information to teachers, businesses and sports people. It can show you any weak areas which will explain why individuals or teams under-perform, don’t work well together and become stressed easily. Using specific Brain Gym movements will easily integrate any weak senses which will help to make each person and team more productive, efficient, organised and successful in their learning, work or sport.

Brain Gym can help support any age group with challenges in -

The Lazy 8

This movement is one of the 26 movements. This is used to help improve eye tracking and binocular vision for reading and writing skills. Many people with visual stress find this movement quite difficult to begin with and find their eye muscles are strained when moving from side to side without moving their head at all. The Lazy 8 helps to relax and tone the eye muscles. People find this movement improves their visual focus for reading and reduces eye strain.

Try this exercise.

Without moving your head at all - look up, look down, look to the left, look right, move your eyes from side to side quickly.

Read two or three sentences from a book.

Notice how your eyes feel when you look in each direction. Do they feel strained? Can you move your eyes easily without moving your head? Can your eyes move side to side smoothly, easily and without jumping? Can you remember what you read in the sentences?

Now follow this exercise

Start with looking at your right thumbnail about 18 inches away from your nose at the midline of your body. Keep your eyes looking at your thumbnail all the time while moving your hand round in a large figure of 8 SLOWLY, as if it is has fallen 90 degrees onto its side. Do this WITHOUT MOVING YOUR HEAD, just move your eyes. Do this 4 – 5 times slowly then change hands and repeat with your other hand 4 – 5 times slowly. Next clasp yours hands together, making a cross with your thumbs and make the figure 8 while keeping your eyes on your crossed thumbs 4 - 5 times again. Remember to breathe deeply while you are looking at and following your thumbnail. If there is strain in your eyes as they move round the figure 8, keep doing the movements for several days until the strain has gone and they move freely in all directions.

This exercise is for adults too, as our eyes can come lazy, the muscles tense up and this may cause changes in vision. An example is when we get tired shortly after doing some reading. Try the above exercise for several days and see how your vision improves.

Go back to the questions in red above and notice how your eyes move and feel now. Are you able to breathe while moving your eyes? Do this exercise once a day for seven days and notice any improvements in your vision and reading.

Learning Strategies and Compensations

For older children and adults who have found ways to compensate for their difficulties and have to put lots of effort into their work to succeed, Brain Gym can unlock difficult compensation patterns quickly so that their learning can become easier, natural and with less effort. It does not matter how old you are or what ability you have, if you would like learning and life skills to be easier, this programme can help you achieve that.

Some of the areas Brain Gym can make profound improvements -

Brain Gym in Business

Staff and management motivation, creative and analytical thinking, stress management, improved teamwork, confident public speaking, improved organisation, effective communication skills, increased productivity… These are just a few of the benefits. Brain Gym can be used very effectively as an excellent staff wellness programme.

Brain Gym in Schools

Teachers typically report improvements in attitude, attention, discipline, improving reading and comprehension age quickly, handwriting, homework performance, less exam pressure and improved behaviour of their students. Issues with dyslexia, behavioural difficulties, ADHD, autism, and self-confidence can greatly improve. Brain Gym can be a very effective technique that can improve anti-social behaviour such as bullying naturally and quickly.

Brain Gym in Sport

Full mind-body coordination for optimum performance and endurance, focus, improved muscle tone, reduction in stress and injuries, improved accuracy, self-confidence can all make a significant difference to your game.

For Personal Development

Stress, depression, positive life changes, fears and phobias, relationships, self-worth, anger, anxiety, unresolved past trauma, abuse, mid-life crisis and finding a new direction are just a few of the issues Brain Gym can help resolve, to lead you to more opportunities and a more fulfilling and successful life. Perhaps you would like to train in Brain Gym and use it in your work environment. There is a training track to follow to gain a recognised qualification.