What is Brain Gym?
The exercise activates your kid’s creative side and
loosens the muscles of his arm and wrist.
Brain Gym, Educational Kinesiology or Movement The exercise helps improve your kid’s reading speed,
Therapy is a series of movements, done with intention and eye-muscles coordination, and peripheral vision.
designed to ‘wake-up’ the brain or to stimulate brain 3. Double Doodle:
function. Its focus is improved learning and mental This bilateral drawing activity requires your kid to
organization. The idea is that these are simple exercises sketch two images with both his hands.
that anyone can do at home or at work or at school and
The activity encourages your kid’s learning skills
they are often used with children who have special needs or
and improves spelling accurateness, math calculation
need to improve their learning ability. They are designed
speed and recognition of writing symbols. This is a
to strengthen the relationship between body and
great brain gym activities for kids.
mind and so are particularly interesting in this time when so
4. The Elephant:
many of our activities are cerebral.
Your child needs to stretch one of his hands and
The Brain Gym programme was developed by Paul E. Dennison
place it in close vicinity to the same-sided ear.
and Gail E. Dennison and grew out of Educational Kinesiology. It By rotating the extended hand, he needs to make
is a set of 26 exercises or activites. Brain Gym or Movement the symbol infinity in the air for at least three times,
Therapy is often used by therapists or in school classrooms with a and vice versa.
reported increase in concentration and reading and listening skills. The movements activate your kid’s mind and body
balance and encourage the brain to listen to the
Brain Gym exercises are used to improve focus; children (or words correctly.
adults) repeat the exercises regularly and slowly. In children It improves your kid’s thinking ability, short- and
using these exercises there is often a noticeable long-term memory, and attention.
improvement in memory, concentration, relationships 5. The Owl:
and communication, and physical coordination. Though Your kid needs to sit comfortably and bring one of
it is not 100% clear how and why this happens the thinking his hands to the opposite shoulder.
is that it exercises areas of the brain and strengthens By holding the hand steady, he has to pinch the
neurological pathways that may not be well used shoulder around the trapezius muscle.
otherwise. It allows participants to practice and strengthen Your kid should now turn his head towards the
physical coordination pathways and used to support direction of the pinched shoulder and take a deep
children having developmental issues in this area. The breath.
therapy also requires them to be focused and present
The exercising posture and range of motion
(i.e. mindful) during the exercises, supporting a habit of
improves the blood circulation and improves your
focus and single-mindedness. The exercises stimulate
child’s attention and memory.
particular areas of the brain to improve its function,
6. The Active Arm:
improve the integration between brain parts and links
Your kid has to stretch one of his arms and the
between the two hemispheres.
other arm should be held at a right angle to hold the
extended arm in a firm position.
Children (and adults) often habitually rely more heavily on
one hemisphere of the brain and under use the The exercise strengthens your kid’s upper chest
other, particularly in times of stress. This then means the and shoulders.
other side of the brain is under utilised and therefore the It activates your kid’s brain, betters hand-eye
person may not be functioning optimally. A lot of Brain gym coordination, and tool controlling skills.
exercises are designed to cross over from one side to the 7. The Gravitational Glider:
other – for example making sideways figure eights or While sitting straight on a chair, your kid must
putting an elbow to the opposite knee. The aim is to stretch his legs and cross the right leg over the left at
strengthen the connections between left and right brain the ankles.
activity, strengthen neural pathways and improve Taking a deep breath, he should now lean forwards
coordination. When our brains work better our whole body and stretch the arm to reach up to the feet.
works better and we have an increased sense of well being. The gravitational glider stretches your kid’s
hamstring and enhances blood and oxygen flow.
During one-on-one and class sessions, the client is observed to The exercise boosts your kid’s self-expression,
see which exercises will best help them – consideration is given confidence, and stability..
to how their body is when they stand and sit, what behavioral 8. Earth Buttons:
traits they display, their hand-eye coordination, what head or Your kid has to either stand or sit down comfortably.
body movements they use, if they can move both sides of the He should place the right hand on the lips and the
body simultaneously, whether hips and shoulders can be moved palm of the left hand over the navel position.
at the same time etc. After using the specific exercises people Now he needs to rub both the upper and lower body
should notice their mental processes are better organised and parts in a small, circular motion.
they are able to focus. But the exercises can be used by The earth buttons exercise help in improving your
everyone and are not limited to those with learning difficulties or kid’s mental alertness, and whole-body orientation.
9. The Thinking Cap:
coordination problems. They are a great accompaniment to life
Your child has to hold both the ears with his thumbs and
and learning. the index fingers of both hands and roll and unroll the outer
edge of the ear.
Top 10 Brain Gym Exercises For Kids Thinking Cap helps in improving your kid’s hearing,
(RIA SAHA FEBRUARY 22, 2017) peripheral vision, and short-term memory.
1. Cross Crawls: 10. Hook-Ups:
The exercise helps release excess stress in kids, Your kid can either perform the exercise while standing,
and they can effectively concentrate on their studies. sitting, or lying down.
Your kid needs to move his left arm to the right leg, and He needs to cross the left ankle over the right one,
then switch sides. intertwine the fingers and place them near the chest and
The slow lateral movement enhances your kid’s attention breathe deeply.
and mental coordination. The exercise promotes mind and body relaxation.
2. Lazy Eight’s:
Your kid has to draw the figure eight for multiple times http://www.momjunction.com/articles/brain-gym-exercises-for-kids_00388505/#gref
either imaginary in the air or on a paper.
