Brain Gym - Premises

Premises

In 1984, Paul Dennison hypothesized that the small motor skills (e.g., eye and hand motion) involving precision for reading and writing are best developed within a context of interlimb coordination. He has since expanded this premise to say that all learning begins with the internalization of physical skills, such as eye-teaming, eye-hand or bi-manual coordination, and interpretation of spatial directions, to name a few. Under stress, the integrating elements of movement are lost; ". . . some individuals try too hard and 'switch off' the brain-integration mechanisms necessary for complete learning" The repetition of specific bilateral, contralateral, and other activities is said to "promote efficient communication among the many nerve cells and functional centers located throughout the brain and sensory motor system." There are 26 Brain Gym activities, which are designed to integrate body and mind in order to improve "concentration, memory, reading, writing, organizing, listening, physical coordination, and more."

Educational Kinesiology draws on basic anatomy in teaching that movement occurs along three planes of motion, each plane describing the axis along which an action is performed. These three planes intersect to create three movement dimensions. Brain function is defined in terms of three dimensions: laterality being the ability to co-ordinate the left and right sides of the body, focus being the ability to co-ordinate the front and back of the body, and centering being the ability to co-ordinate the top and bottom of the body. The Brain Gym activities are said to work by giving people an experience of moving in order to interconnect the body in these three dimensions. According to Brain Gym, people can use the three dimensions to learn more easily; for example, they can use their lateral movement (left to right co-ordination) to improve their ability to read and think at the same time. As another example, the Belly Breathing activity can be used as a reminder to breathe instead of holding the breath during focused mental activity or physical exertion. The activity teaches how to expand the rib cage front to back, left to right, and top to bottom. When breathing is shallow, lifting only the scalenes, oxygen to the brain is limited.