Kids' Relaxation

Brain Gym Activities for Stress Reduction

22 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment

by zemirah in All Relaxation Activities, Relaxing/Balancing the Body

The brain is made up of two hemispheres that are responsible for different functions.  When the right and left hemispheres are communicating competently, we experience integrated thought related to higher level thinking, problem-solving and creativity.  When we are under stress, our brain functioning becomes unbalanced.  In addition, when under stress, depending on whether we are right or left-brain dominant, we will experience symptoms such as losing the ability to reason well, reduced joy, reduced understanding, reduced comprehension, increased mechanical response, increased insensitivity, feelings of overwhelm, difficulty expressing , difficulty remembering details, increased emotional response or an appearance of being “spaced out”.    There are many strategies to promote brain integration, however without proper attention to stress reduction, the strategies might not work or will not work to their maximum potential.  I have found that the Brain Gym activities included in the Edu-Kinesthetics work by Dr. Paul Dennison and Gail Dennison are helpful in both reducing stress while simultaneously increasing bilateral brain functioning.  Please visit www.braingym.com for further information.  Some of the brain gym activities that I have found to be especially helpful in stress reduction include:  hook ups and brain buttons.

For more information on determining your brain dominance profile and how it is related to your learning style, please see the book The Dominance Factor by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.