Bengaluru: To let children have a secure and engaging learning experience, educational therapists have recommended introduction of brain gym in classrooms. Brain gym is a programme that taps children’s hidden capabilities, language intention, induce self-awareness and integrate physiological activities through 26 simple movements that a 5-year to 6-year-old child naturally does right from birth.
The programme intends to help children sail through the learning process effectively. It is expected to help especially those children who have learning difficulties and are suffering from disabilities.
Movement, as the door to learning
The basic premise of brain gym was conceptualised by Paul Dennison, who himself was home schooled as he was considered unfit in a “normal” school. By dwelling into the physiological aspects of learning, he devised the concept of brain gym and coined 26 simple brain exercises and emphasised the role of movement in learning.
Brain gym is an educational kinesiology, which basically means the impact of movement on one’s learning. The process is to make children move to learn.
Physiology of learning
“Learning involves three levels - Brain stem- physical level, mid brain- emotional level, and frontal cortex - mental level,” said Ms Arveen Singh, a licensed brain gym instructor and educational therapist. “Brain stem is the place where we receive sensory signals. If the child is subjected to fear and is not ready, then the brain stem will be unable to receive sensory inputs and cannot pass the message to the mid brain and frontal cortex. Therefore, the communication will be lost, resulting in learning difficulties and certain forms of disabilities,” she said.
Brain gym is introduced to enable children to become ready for the process of learning. “The 26 movements will enable the integration of three parts of the brain, resulting in an effective learning process,” Ms. Singh stressed.
Learning readiness
The learning readiness process involves four steps which is called PACE- Positive (Hook-ups to draw energy to the centre of the body), Active (Cross crawl), Clear (Massage brain buttons) and Energized (Drinking water). However, it is practiced as ECAP, i.e., the reverse order, which starts with drinking water. By following these steps, children become calmer and ready to learn.
