What is Brain Gym?

Brain Gym© is a system developed by learning specialist Paul Dennison, Ph.D. in which simple, enjoyable physical movements are used to enhance our ability to learn, process information and respond to the world around us in an ease-filled, effective way. Brain Gym is the core element of Dr. Dennison's entire spectrum of techniques known as Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K).

How was Brain Gym developed?

Brain Gym grew out of more than 25 years of research beginning with Dr. Dennison's clinical studies in 1969, conducted as he searched for more effective ways of helping children and adults who had been identified as learning-disabled. Remarkable results were seen. As research continued, it became clear that Brain Gym supports people of all ages and all abilities, in making wide-ranging changes in their lives.

How is Brain Gym experienced?

At the foundation of Brain Gym are 26 simple, enjoyable movements that are used to relieve the stresses within the body that prevent us from operating at our optimal state. In and of themselves, these movements are a dynamic means of regaining a state of ease and effectiveness.

The most powerful way to experience Brain Gym is through a process called a balance. A balance is done to accomplish a specific goal: a self-defeating habit you wish to eliminate, or a potential within yourself you would like to develop. In a balance, the focused use of specific techniques, which may include Brain Gym movements themselves, creates new neural pathways in the brain, leaving the participant with new, preferred response patterns and a feeling of natural ease and comfort in relation to the "issue."

Where is Brain Gym used?

Brain Gym movements and processes are used by thousands of people around the world, to make their daily lives more comfortable and enjoyable.

• Brain Gym is used in school systems around the world to help students achieve more easily. While Brain Gym is frequently used to benefit children with "learning challenges," it makes learning of all kinds easier for everyone.
• Brain Gym is used in the business world to help workers at all skill levels to do their work more effectively and easily.
• Brain Gym is a wonderful personal growth tool, allowing people to make rapid changes in areas where they may have felt "stuck" for a long time.

How is Brain Gym learned?

Licensed Brain Gym instructors teach the Brain Gym 101 course. This course consists of 24 course hours of instruction, commonly offered over three or four days. This training gives teachers everything they need to use the Brain Gym techniques in their classroom (and for themselves, friends and family as well). Participants learn:

• All 26 Brain Gym movements and their use to create a state of effective ease
• A variety of simple yet powerful Brain Gym balances for the areas of positive attitudes, seeing, listening, writing/communication, and whole-body coordination.
• Dennison Laterality Repatterning® to powerfully integrate the right and left hemispheres of the brain, creating communication and coordination throughout the body
• More advanced balances that enhance our ability to function in the three main cranial/body dimensions (laterality, centering and focus) so the whole system is balanced to communicate, organize and comprehend
• How to understand the Brain Gym process in light of current educational/brain research
• How to use these powerful tools to create an ease-filled, integrated state for yourself, your students and others

Where can I look for further information on Brain Gym?

Numerous publications from the Educational Kinesiology foundation provide extensive information on Brain Gym, including:

"Smart Moves - Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head" -- by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D. Dr. Hannaford, a neurophysiologist, clearly describes the neural processes at work in the mind/body system, and how they are so profoundly affected by the Brain Gym process. Dr. Hannaford, a member of the International Faculty of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation, travels the world teaching courses on the physiology of Brain Gym. She is a frequent speaker at symposiums on child development, education and brain research.

www.braingym.org -- Educational Kinesiology website containing information and further references.

Call or Email Center Edge for an information packet about Brain Gym, which will include articles from Brain Gym periodicals and other sources on many aspects of Brain Gym. These packets, tailored to your specific interest, are available for just $5 to cover copying and (US) postage. Please be sure to explain the specific nature of your interest in Brain Gym so we can send materials that target your interest.

© Copyright Kathy Brown 2008. All rights reserved.

Brain Gym is a registered trademark of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation/Brain Gym International.
Please visit the Brain Gym® website at www.braingym.org.