BRAIN GYM

By: Deb England, LIMHP, LPC

Brain Gym, developed by Paul E. amd Gail E. Dennison, is a series of simple and enjoyable movements
that we use with our students in Educational Kinesiology to enhance their experience of whole-brain
learning. The book features chapters on Midline Movements, Lengthening Activities, Energy Exercises and
Deepening Attitudes, and Brain Gym at Work and Play. This article will discuss some of the exercises in
the Midline Movement section and how they can be implemented to help children who are struggling.
(Brain Gym, 1989)
The Midline Movements include the cross crawl, lazy 8s, double doodles, alphabet 8s, the elephant, neck
rolls, the rocker, belly breathing, cross crawl sit-ups, the energizer, and think of an X. The Midline
movements work to improve bilateral movement skills, increase upper-body coordination (for gross motor
and fine motor skills), and help to further activate the brain. One of the easiest to begin with is the cross
crawl. This is a contralateral exercise and requires alternate movement of arm and leg. There are several
variations of this exercise, and one can sit, lie, or stand to do these variations. Reach behind the body to
touch the opposite foot. Crawl across the floor in slow motion. Raise one hand and the opposite knee at
the same time, alternating hands and knees. Do sit ups and touch the elbow to the opposite knee. Touch
one hand to the opposite knee, raising the leg, or touch the foot, raising the leg. This exercise should help
improve writing, spelling, listening, reading and comprehension, as well as coordination, breathing and
stamina, spatial awareness, and enhance hearing and vision. Implement 10 reps once a day.
Another one I like to use is the Lazy 8s. This allows for crossing of the visual midline. The child should
align his body with a point at eye level, and then draw a lazy 8 (a numeral 8 lying on its side), the larger
the better. Chalkboards or marker boards work great for this. Then the child follows the 8, three times
with one hand, three times with the other, and then both together. This can be done with chalk or
markers, and even can be used with scarves swirled in the motion. This can also be done on paper, at a
desk, and smaller, although it is better to begin with the larger pattern. This should help the mechanics of
reading, in symbol recognition (decoding), and reading comprehension. It will also help with relaxation of
eyes, neck, and shoulders, improve depth perception, and should help improve balance, centering, and
coordination.
Both of these exercises can be implemented daily, and parents can make them fun for children by adding
music, colors, and participating in them with the children. Both the Brain Gym book and the Teachers
Edition are available for purchase at the Lifes Garden stores in both office locations. I will discuss some of
the other exercises in following newsletters.
England, D (2005) Brain Gym. Wholeness Healing Today, 2, (1).
Brain Gym: Part 2
By: Deb England, LIMHP, LPC
This is the second part of the Brain Gym explanation. Last time I discussed the cross crawl patterns and
Lazy 8s. This time I wish to explain double doodles, alphabet 8s, and the elephant. These are still part of
the Midline Movement exercises.
The Double Doodle is similar to the Lazy 8s in that it is done in the midfield to establish direction and
orientation in space relative to the body. This exercise will improve hand-eye coordination, spatial
awareness, help in following direction and decoding and encoding of written symbols. This exercise
involves the child using both hands and making doodling marks, or a free-form scribble. The child could
use two pieces of chalk, one in each hand, or pencils or scarves, or just air doodle. And expansion is
even doodling with the feet. As the visual convergence improves, academic performance will often
improve.
Another exercise that is similar is the Alphabet 8s and involves printing lower case letters from a through
t. Each letter is superimposed on either one side or the other. This exercise, while helping to improve
handwriting, will also increase peripheral awareness, improve eye-hand coordination, and aid in symbol
recognition. It will also work to improve fine-motor skills, spelling, and creative writing. Other benefits may
be greater relaxation and improved concentration while writing.
The elephant exercise utilizes the Lazy 8 figure. This is a larger version and actually requires more
movement. The child follows the large Lazy 8 while standing with knees comfortably bent without twisting
the body or moving the head. This should help improve listening comprehension, speech, spelling, and
memory for sequences, as well at memory, thinking ability, depth perception, binocular vision, and
coordination of upper body and lower body.
Both the Brain Gym book and the Teachers Edition are available for purchase at the Lifes Garden stores
in both office locations. The books have easy to follow illustrations and directions for getting your child
started. I will discuss some of the other exercises in following newsletters.
England, D (2005) Brain Gym, Part 2. Wholeness Healing Today, 2, (1).
Brain Gym: Part 3
By: Deb England, LIMHP, LPC
This is the third part of the Brain Gym explanation. Last time I discussed double doodles, alphabet 8s, and
the elephant. This time I wish to explain Neck Rolls, the Rocker, and Belly Breathing, which are still
Midline Movements.
The Neck Rolls are to relax the neck and release tension. Have the child roll the head slowly from side to
side while breathing deeply. When a tight spot is found, hold the head in that position, breathing deeply,
until the neck relaxes. This can be done with eyes closed or open. One can also move in the Lazy 8
position with the head or press gently with the hand on any point of tension. As the exercise ends,
imagine a warm waterfall flowing down the back of the neck. This exercise is for centering and grounding,
and should help improve oral and silent reading, speech and language, as well as increase the level of
relaxation.
The Rocker releases the low back and sacrum and can help to stimulate nerves in the hips, which may
become tired due to excessive sitting. If the sacrum is freed to move, the brain becomes activated. This
exercise should be done on a padded surface and the hands and forearms may be used for support. While
seated on the floor, rock back and forth, releasing tension first in one hip and then the other. This exercise
helps in centering and the ability to work in the midfield, with study skills, left-to-right visuals, and
attention and comprehension skills. This exercise also helps improve body posture, develops a stable
pelvis, and increases body coordination.
Belly Breathing can help children remember to breathe regularly instead of holding his/her breath during
times of stress. The child should expand the rib cage, front to back, left to right, top to bottom. This
should allow greater supply of oxygen, which will permit higher brain functions. It is good if the child
places the hand on his/her abdomen and blows out all old air in short puffs. Then take a slow deep
breath, filling up completely. Arching the back will allow the air to enter even deeper. This can be done
standing or sitting, or even lying flat with a book on the belly. This can even be done while squatting or
walking. This will activate the brain for centering and grounding, relaxation, and to improve cranial
rhythms. This exercise aids in reading (coding and decoding) and in speech, and it also improves
expression, breathing, attention, and heightens the energy level.
Both the Brain Gym book and the Teachers Edition are available for purchase at the Lifes Garden stores
in both office locations. The books have easy to follow illustrations and directions for getting your child
started. I will discuss some of the other exercises in following newsletters.
England, D (2005) Brain Gym, Part 3. Wholeness Healing Today, 2, (4).
Brain Gym: Part 4
By: Deb England, LIMHP, LPC
This is the fourth part of the Brain Gym explanation. Last time I discussed Neck Rolls, the Rocker, and
Belly Breathing, which are still Midline Movements. The last three exercises in this category are the Cross
Crawl Sit-ups, the Energizer, and Think of an X.
The Cross Crawl Sit-ups help to strengthen the abdominals, relax the lower back, and help further help
both hemispheres of the brain work together. This exercise is done on a padded surface while on the
back. Knees and head are up, hands clasped behind the head. Touch one elbow to the opposite knee and
alternate the movement. This appears similar to riding a bicycle. This exercise can help in reading,
listening, math, and spelling and writing, as well as centering and grounding, left-right integration, and
becoming aware of core, postural muscles.
The Energizer can be done sitting in a chair or on a mat. Sitting, the child should rest his head on the desk
or table, places hands on the table in front of the shoulders. Inhaling deeply, the breath should flow up
the middle, lifting the forehead, neck, and upper back. Diaphragm and chest should stay open and
shoulders relaxed. Then curl head toward chest, bringing forehead down to rest on the desk. This exercise
helps create a relaxed nervous system, aids in binocular vision, listening comprehension, speech and
language skills, and fine motor control of eye and hand muscles. It will also help improve posture,
enhance concentration, and improve breathing.
The final Midline Movement, Think of an X, helps the whole brain learn to work cooperatively, allowing
access to both sides of the brain. The child should be encouraged through all activities, to think of an X
and mentally create the X to exercise the brain. Pictures of Xs can be made easily visable, students
can be encouraged to visually create the X by imagining it extending between opposite shoulders and
hips, or by moving the eyes in an X pattern several times. This exercise aids in binocular vision, binaural
hearing, coordination of the entire body, and centralized vision, as well as writing skills and organization
for math or spelling.
Both the Brain Gym book and the Teachers Edition are available for purchase at the Lifes Garden stores
in both office locations. The books have easy to follow illustrations and directions for getting your child
started. I will discuss some of the other exercises in following newsletters, starting next time with the
Lengthening Activities.
England, D (2005) Brain Gym, Part 4 Wholeness Healing Today, 2, (4).
Brain Gym: Part 5 Lengthening Exercises
By: Deb England, LIMHP, LPC
This is the fifth part of the Brain Gym explanation. This will be the introduction to the Lengthening
Activities. These activities help children develop and reinforce those neural pathways that enable them to
make connections between what they already know in the back of the brain and the ability to express and
process that information in the front of the brain. This actually allows for the movement from the brain
stem, which is where the survival mechanism is housed and which was probably overly developed in the
first few months of life, especially in abusive, neglectful, or traumatic households. There are six exercises
and these may resemble stretching exercises, but each serves the purpose of re-educating the body so as
not to resort to the reflexive contracting of muscles.
The first exercise is know as the Owl and is named for the bird that has a large head, large eyes, soft
feathers, flies, and is able to turn his head and eyes at the same time, allowing for a rather full range of
vision. When done correctly, this exercise releases tension in neck and shoulder and helps restore range of
motion, which should improve focus, attention, and memory skills. First squeeze one shoulder to release
tension in the neck muscles. Move head across the midfield, to the left, then to the right, and keep the
chin level. Exhale in each extended head position, then tilt the head forward and repeat the exercise. Then
repeat with the other shoulder. With each repetition, the head may move further as tension is released.
This exercise helps in long and short-term memory, integration of vision and listening, and should enable
better listening comprehension and mathematical computation.
Anther exercise it the isometric Arm Activation, which helps to lengthen the muscles in the shoulders and
upper chest. Have the child hang the arms loosely at his sides, and then raise one hand and arm above
the head, placing the other hand on the back of the elbow, behind the head. It is important that the child
breathe during the activation, releasing the breath over eight counts upon completion. This should help
speech and language ability, eye and hand coordination, and relaxed diaphragm and increased respiration.
Then do the other arm and repeat the breathing.
The Foot Flex helps to restore natural length of the tendons in the feet and lower legs, and is a re-
education process, as tendons are shortened when one perceives danger. The child should sit on a chair,
bringing one ankle up to rest on the other knee, placing the fingertips of both hands at both the beginning
and end of the calf muscle. Then hold the tight spots until they melt. While doing this, he should point
and flex the foot, extending it further as the muscles relax. Then switch feet and do the exercise for the
other foot. This exercise should help in a more relaxed posture, improved social behaviors, improved
attention span, and should increase the ability to communicate and to respond to others.
Both the Brain Gym book and the Teachers Edition are available for purchase at the Lifes Garden stores
in both office locations. The books have easy to follow illustrations and directions for getting your child
started. I will discuss some of the other exercises in following newsletters, continuing next time with the
Lengthening Activities.
England, D (2005) Brain Gym, Part 5: Lengthening Exercises. Wholeness Healing Today, 2, (4).