Topics :Brain Gym

Brain Gym ® is the registered trademark for an educational, sensorimotor program. It grew out of clinical studies started in 1969 Dr Paul E. Dennison, Ph.D an educational therapist, who was looking for ways to help children and adults who had been identified as having learning difficulties.
Dr Paul Dennison began researching as founder and director of the Valley Remedial Group Learning Centres in California. These eight learning centres offered Dennison the opportunity to actively explore the effects of specific movements on the ability to learn various academic skills. During this time he studied the sensory integration work of Newell Kephart and Jean Ayres, he worked with Dr Louis Jacque, a leading pioneer in vision training. For his Doctoral Dissertation he drew on brain research including that of Sperry and Ornstein to research the relationship of covert speech to the acquisition of beginning reading skills. He also researched “kinesiology” the science of body movement and the relationship of muscles and posture to brain function.
Brain Gym ® is a movement based programme which retrace developmental movements that a child will naturally do as part of their growth when there is no stress, injury or interruption. Children are born with a fully developed physical brain but only partially developed neurological connections. As they progress through childhood they make these connections through movement “developmental stages” such as crawling which develops simultaneous use of both cerebral hemispheres for integrated use of the senses and whole body movement. Sometimes these stages are not completed or missed due to stress, lack of movement in early years, illness or reflexes which have not been fully activated, developed or integrated.
Brain Gym Concepts
Specific body movements stimulate particular aspects of brain function. An example is "Dennison Laterality Repatterning", (taught only in the Brain Gym ® Course) which achieves neurological integration between the vestibular system, the gross-motor movements of the cerebellum, and the basal ganglia, as well as equal activation of the left and right hemispheres of the neocortex - particularly the sensory cortex of the parietal and motor cortex of the frontal lobes. The Brain Gym ® movements are designed to activate different cognitive functions, including communication, comprehension (reptilian brain and frontal lobes) and organisation (limbic system and frontal lobes).
Stress can inhibit learning
Under stress, activity in the mind/body system is centred in the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body for fight/flight (aggression/fear) reaction. As a result, activity in the limbic system, and in the neocortex of the cerebrum, are minimised.
In addition, the learner who is stressed in a learning situation can go into a homolateral learning state, in which the dominant brain hemisphere takes over most mental processes. As a result, the learner may no longer have full access to the functions of the non-dominant hemisphere. One-sided learning can occur, thus affecting performance.

The Brain Gym® movements consciously activate the whole mind body system, stimulating nervous-system activity equally in all parts of the brain and lessening the flight/fight reaction. When learning is easy and stress-free the learner regains his/her innate interest in learning and is again motivated to achieve learning goals.

Brain Gym in Early Years 2
Early Years / Nursery/ Infants - Brain Gym ® can be used in the an early Years learning environment in a number of ways:
• As a set up for the beginning of the day, after snack and lunch.
• Incorporating the Brain Gym ® activities into 3 – 5 Curriculum.
• Developmentally preparing children for the transition to reading and writing in the classroom. As a way of helping children work through key developmental stages in their early years such as primitive and postural reflexes and motor patterns which are the basis for later learning. Integration of these reflexes can help develop balance and co-ordination, gross and fine motor control, attention and focus, speech, visual processing and self esteem.
• Way of managing the learning environment - transitions, breaks, windy days and a calmer down.
How to integrate Brain Gym in the Primary Classroom
Primary - Brain Gym ® can be used in the learning environment in a number of ways:-
• To prepare children for learning.
• As a classroom management strategy eg. to calm children down and help them focus.
• To enhance performance eg. before creative writing or mental arithmetic, as part of a writing programme.
• To develop self esteem.
• To help those children who are finding learning challenging.
How to integrate Brain Gym in the Secondary Classroom
Secondary – Brain Gym ® can be used as:-
• A set up at the beginning of each period.
• Part of an exam study programme.
• “Brain Breaks” during double periods.
• Part of programmes for children who are finding learning challenging.
Brain Gym for Early Intervention
Early Intervention- Brain Gym ® can be an integral part of an Early Intervention programme. It can assist in targeting individuals who need assistance and developing the key skills for reading and writing. With training early intervention teams find Brain Gym ® a useful tool in working with children.