brain gym brain gym activities classroom

Research on the connection between kinesiology and the brain (movement and the brain) has a long history.

However, on its website, Brain Gym International encourages researchers to assess the Brain Gym technique and curriculum. As such, it has limited funds for research. Proof Is in the Researchīrain Gym International is a non-profit organization. Simple movements such as putting pressure on points about the eyes (called Positive Pressure) or waving the hands in the air in mirror image (called the Double Doodle) are said to shift stress and improve thinking. Those educators who have incorporated the techniques and activities into their classrooms report good results. Teachers will need to take several courses to learn all the techniques and activities Brain Gym International has to offer. Total training is not given in one course or seminar.

Many teachers have taken the Brain Gym training. The big question here is: should teachers use Brain Gym activities/curriculum in their classrooms to enhance the learning abilities of their students? Interestingly, these movements can be done by anyone with the same results. Working on the same principles as the Johns Hopkins study, Brain Gym uses exercises that take the student back to the fundamental movements of childhood. Dennison’s theory that children with learning difficulties could use movements to stimulate the brain, thereby retraining the brain to function at higher levels is an advance for which many parents and academics dreamed. It seems to be recruiting other regions to take on the job of areas damaged by stroke,” says Andreas Luft, M.D., one of the visiting researchers in the study. “This suggests that the brain is responsible for the improvement we saw in patients’ walking ability. Physical therapists assigned to each subject increased the intensity of the workouts over time by increasing the treadmills’ speed and incline, though the workouts never taxed the patients beyond a moderate level of 60 percent VO2 peak.”Īfter six months, these patients showed vast improvement over the other patients in the group that only participated in stretching exercises. Patients taking part in the research “…participated in an exercise program that principally involved walking on a treadmill three times a week for up to 40 minutes, assisted by a supporting sling and tether if needed. In research done by scientist/doctors at Johns Hopkins University, patients recovering from strokes retrained their brains by walking on a treadmill. The repeated use of limbs, moving the body in repeated patterns, stimulates the healthy part of the brain to take over the work of the portion of the brain damaged by stroke. It is the same theory that doctors and therapists use when re-educating stroke victims. The science behind this theory is not new. The simplest description of this technique is that through the 26 movements or activities, the brain creates new neural pathways, which allow the brain to perform tasks that were once difficult.

By repeating these movements, people with learning difficulties have been said to find learning comes easier. The 26 movements taught at Brain Gym seminars are all based on movements humans make as infants and children. Paul Dennison, is that when repeated movements stimulate the brain, itįunctions at a higher level and/or balances. The theory behind Brain Gym curriculum, developed by Dr.

Brain gym brain gym activities classroom