By KRISTI DORIAN

It's time to wake up your brain with "Brain Gym," a series of simple, relaxing, natural - and fun - exercises that get the mind "warmed up" for work.

The originator of Brain Gym, California educator Paul Dennison, Ph.D., began his observations and research in 1969, mostly on children with learning disabilities. In an effort to help them learn more easily, he explored applied kinesiology, yoga and a variety of other disciplines. His research led him to develop a discipline he calls educational kinesiology and the exercises he calls "Brain Gym." Dennison found these movements helped people of all ages, not just special needs kids.

Brain Gym is based upon three simple premises:

• Learning is a natural, joyous activity that continues throughout life.
• Learning blocks are simply an inability to move through the stress and uncertainty of a new task.
• We are all learning-blocked to the extent that we have been conditioned to inhibit our movements.

Dennison’s work has been accepted and used all over the world. Here in Winnipeg, the Educational Kinesiology Learning Centre is operated by Paul Ruta and Margaret Heath. [Editors's update, 2003: Margaret Heath is no longer with the EKLC. She has moved on to BrainGym International.] The two educational kinesiologists (certified by Dennison) have presented Brain Gym workshops across Canada and the United States. They also offer training sessions and workshops locally, as well as individual evaluations and "balances." A balance involves choosing a goal or area in your life that you want to develop and then finding the Brain Gym movements that will help you achieve it.

Both Ruta and Heath have seen many examples of positive change in the lives of children and adults. For example, teachers and parents in Ste. Adolphe, Manitoba, decided to use Brain Gym in their school after attending a presentation by Ruta and Heath. The teachers found that the students’ memory and attention spans improved, and so did their math, reading and writing skills. This was true for all grade levels.

I learned about Brain Gym in June, 1997, when I attended Summer Art Sedona, a camp primarily for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. An-Ra-Nae Meders, a Brain Gym specialist was invited to the camp to teach the staff a three-day intensive workshop in Brain Gym activities. Right away I was intrigued by the concept and wanted to absorb as much as possible. Doing the movements was very awkward for me at first—a signal that I was unaligned and weak in some areas. I also felt rather silly doing them in a group.

I persevered, though, and reaped the benefits of increased alertness, improved balance, more flexibility, and feeling happier. We had many, many laughs!

At first, the kids thought it would be a waste of time to do these "exercises" before breakfast. They wanted to sleep instead. (That’s camp for you.) But after they learned what Brain Gym is really about, they proved eager to come and try it.

An-Ra-Nae also had us hum to the movements. This made it much more effective for me. The vibrations seemed to echo throughout my whole body. When you’re in a group and everyone is humming. you are totally immersed in that peaceful feeling of being energised inside and out.

I find that after an hour or two of sign language interpreting (my job when not working for The Aquarian), my body and mind can get bogged down with all the information I am processing. For relief when there’s a break in my work, I often will do Brain Buttons, the Neck Roll, Balance Buttons, or the Thinking Cap (see sidebar). These inconspicuous exercises effectively centre, focus, and relax my mind and body. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Brain Gym, give the Educational Kinesiology Learning Centre a call (667-6429) if you live in the Winnipeg area or check out the other resources below. To become a successful "brain gymnast," all you have to do is practise regularly, listen to your body and adjust the movements as necessary, experiment, create, and have fun! 
 

Brain Gym Online Paul Dennison's Brain Gym® Educational Kinesiology Foundation Paul Ruta's website BrainGym International

Did You Know . . .

Brain Gym seeks to balance the right and left halves or hemispheres of the brain. Much of the research related to the complementary functions of the brain's hemispheres has come from scientists studying the effects of severing the corpus callosum - the nerve bundle that connects the two hemispheres - in seizure patients. A by-product of this surgically "split brain" is that each half can easily be made to function independently of the other, revealing to researchers its strengths, weaknesses, and "specialties." Thus, in general:

The Right Hemisphere seems to specialise in

nonverbal communication: body language, touch, "sixth sense."

perceiving many bits of information as a meaningful whole, as in recognising a face or seeing "the big picture" in a forest of details.

recognising and responding to feelings and imagery.

artistic and other creative and expressive endeavours that use the imagination and emotions.

The Left Hemisphere seems to specialise in

words, names, concepts.

examining issues analytically and systematically. It organises information into logical steps and categories.

using logic to form conclusions.

linear thinking. It keeps track of time and the sequence of events.

By SYD BAUMEL

"I see people's lives change who use these tools," says Garry Gallagher, a Vancouver "brain gymnast" - you might say.

Gallagher has followed some interesting vocational paths in his 50 years: a herbalist who directed the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing in Vancouver; a consultant to First Nations groups seeking solutions to alcoholism and drug addiction; a counsellor skilled in homeopathy, massage therapy, reflexology, orthobionomy, and yoga; and one of the hundreds of enthusiastic teachers, worldwide, of a system of mind-body "repatterning" called educational kinesiology, or, in its applied form, "Brain Gym."

Developed and refined since 1969 by a Ventura, California doctor of education named Paul Dennison, Brain Gym is according to Gallagher "a system of targeted activities that enhance performance in all areas – intellectual, creative, athletic, and interpersonal." Gallagher teaches these easy, playful techniques to everyone from learning-disabled children to stressed-out executives.

"I worked with a physicist yesterday with tinnitus [chronic ringing or buzzing in the ears]," he says. "Through these movement exercises he was able to recognise his excessive use of 'will' to get things done, which was directly aggravating his condition."

In another case, Gallagher spent two hours putting a severely "learning challenged" and uncoordinated nine-year-old through the Brain Gym paces, which involve such things as repeatedly touching opposite-side hands to legs, stroking your ears in a special way, and watching the finger of your outstretched hand trace a figure eight. The skills the boy learned appeared to pay off. "He went on to be an accomplished student, just graduating from high school, and was a star athlete throughout, playing baseball, hockey and basketball on the A teams."

Brain Gym has been given a thumbs-up every year since 1990 by the National Learning Foundation, a private Washington organisation dedicated to promoting innovations in education. There have been a few small, published studies supporting some of the Brain Gym effects (and many positive reports in the discipline's own quarterly journal). Endorsements have come from the likes of "Agnes of God" playwright John Pielmeier ("I did a session before a public reading of a new play, and I have never felt so relaxed and in touch with my mind and emotions") and Chicken Soup for the Soul master chef Jack Canfield ("I have always been a big fan of the Brain Gym techniques").

Gallagher will be in Winnipeg on October 14 (2000) to give a one-day Brain-Body Integration workshop featuring Brain Gym and other techniques "for therapists, performers, athletes, trainers, educators, parents, students, or anyone wanting to access more brain power, focus, concentration or physical co-ordination." If you miss it, don't despair. Paul Ruta, M.Ed., a Winnipeg teacher who persuaded St. Adolphe Public School south of Winnipeg to make Brain Gym a daily routine, also gives workshops and one-on-one training. He can be reached at 667-6429 (www.braingym.mb.ca).