This article is an excerpt
from my book, Educate Your Brain.
Chapter 12 is titled “Make Lasting Change through Edu-K Balancing,” in which I
describe the remarkable Edu-K "balance" process, using this (very true) story.
Alexa
was a senior in college, majoring in Media Production, with a goal toward
working in television or radio. A very right-brained young woman, she’d never
done well in certain aspects of academic study, most notably English grammar.
She just hated all those punctuation and language rules, and had since
childhood. However, Media Production was part of the journalism department,
which required an extensive exam in English grammar in order to graduate—and
Alexa had already failed it once. Her very thick study guide began feeling
bigger and heavier as the days dragged by, and she found more and more reasons
not to study. When she did open it, the information just “swam in front of her
eyes,” and she couldn’t focus at all. Her feeling of dread was increasing
daily.
Alexa
and I began our balance process with PACE[1], so we were both operating in a state
of clarity and integration, prepared for new learning and in tune with each
other. I then supported her in creating her goal: “to easily understand and quickly learn English grammar." She was completely engaged, animated, and comfortable as we came up with this language.
Alexa
and I began our balance process with PACE[1], so we were both operating in a state
of clarity and integration, prepared for new learning and in tune with each
other. I then supported her in creating her goal: “to easily understand and quickly learn English grammar." She was completely engaged, animated, and comfortable as we came up with this language.
I
invited Alexa to check her “before” state through various pre-activities, to
notice the difference between any parts of her goal that already felt familiar
and safe, and where she could see there was room for more learning.
First, I had her cross off the word “to” at the beginning of her goal, and write “I,” essentially moving it from hypothetical to real. Her written intention, now in first-person present tense, said: “I easily understand and quickly learn English grammar.” Just looking at this goal now, Alexa stopped breathing. When I had her read the words aloud, they came out flat, in a tone of dread. She said, “I wish it were true, but it feels impossible.”
Then I suggested that she act out a scene that represented studying for an English exam. How could she do this here in my office? As it happened, my own high-school English grammar text was in a handy bookcase, and I simply pulled it out and set it down in front of her. She took one look and fell back in her chair, uttering a distressed “Aaagggghhhh!” It was obvious: her mind-body system was not happy about studying English grammar. What a vivid experience of her less-than-integrated state!
First, I had her cross off the word “to” at the beginning of her goal, and write “I,” essentially moving it from hypothetical to real. Her written intention, now in first-person present tense, said: “I easily understand and quickly learn English grammar.” Just looking at this goal now, Alexa stopped breathing. When I had her read the words aloud, they came out flat, in a tone of dread. She said, “I wish it were true, but it feels impossible.”
Then I suggested that she act out a scene that represented studying for an English exam. How could she do this here in my office? As it happened, my own high-school English grammar text was in a handy bookcase, and I simply pulled it out and set it down in front of her. She took one look and fell back in her chair, uttering a distressed “Aaagggghhhh!” It was obvious: her mind-body system was not happy about studying English grammar. What a vivid experience of her less-than-integrated state!
When
she thought about English grammar, Alexa noticed that:
• She
could hardly focus to read a page of text.
• Her
eyes resisted tracking across the lines of print.
• Her
neck, shoulders, and stomach were unusually tight.
• She
was barely breathing.
• When
she did her postural checks, she was quite out of balance in all three
dimensions.
• Her
walking gait was suddenly clumsy and awkward. (A skilled dancer, she’s normally
very coordinated.)
• She
felt anxious, apprehensive, confused, and overwhelmed.
All
this was evidence of the switched-off state of Alexa’s brain. Of course, she
and I were observing these things on the surface, simply noticing how she
reacted and how her body moved (or didn’t move). I offered Alexa a learning
menu of Brain Gym movements and Edu-K processes and invited her to notice which
ones drew her attention.
After
looking at all the choices, Alexa found that her eyes kept coming to rest on
the words “Dennison Laterality Repatterning.” She pointed and asked, “What’s
this? I can’t take my eyes off it.” I said simply, “I’ll show you.”
In my
experience, this is actually the key point in any Edu-K balance: as “stuck” as
a person might feel while immersed in her issue, her awareness is heightened at
this point, and the frustration she’s feeling has her mind and body primed and
ready to make a change. In this moment, she will find herself drawn to the
movements or processes that will most benefit her. This is what makes Edu-K
balancing different from many other modalities: the element of personal choice.
The facilitator doesn’t choose—the learner does.
In
fact, Alexa’s choice of Dennison Laterality Repatterning (DLR) was not
surprising. If a stress reaction were causing her non-leading (left) hemisphere
to switch off, it would block her ability to function with details. Going
through the steps of DLR would likely help her brain’s two hemispheres come
into greater communication—“powering up” all of her abilities—and then leave
behind a more efficient pattern of brain organization in relation to her issue.
I led
Alexa through the steps of DLR. As she began each element of this
process, she was awkward and uncoordinated, but as she continued, her
movements became easy
and fluid. I could almost see her mind-body system beginning to access new
inner resources as she developed these more natural movement patterns.
process, she was awkward and uncoordinated, but as she continued, her
When
we completed the DLR, Alexa said she felt finished, that there was nothing else
she needed. I asked her to think again about studying English grammar. She
noticed that:
• She
could focus on a page of text and read easily.
• Her
eyes flowed easily across the lines of print.
• Her
whole body felt relaxed; tension had vanished.
• Her
breath was deep and full.
• All
three dimension postural checks were now much more “on.”
• Her
walking gait was fluid and energetic.
• She
felt confident—and surprised!
I
asked Alexa to repeat her goal, and she stated: “I easily understand and
quickly learn English grammar.” Her voice resounded, grounded and calm, and she
spoke with authority. She was surprised at the tone of her own voice and said,
“Wow—I really mean it this time!”
I
suggested she look again at my old English grammar text. She calmly reached
for the book and paged through it a bit, saying things like: “Well, I know that
part. . . . Oh, I see what that means. . . . Hmm. This is new, but I think I
could figure it out.” She could actually focus on the text now and pay
attention to the material.
She
sat back in her chair and said, “I feel really good, like I can study
English—and understand it. What just happened? This feels huge.”
I
replied, “Well, I don’t have x-ray vision to see into your brain. If I were
going to imagine what happened, the story might go like this: You made an
intention to change in a specific area, fired up that ‘blocked’ brain organization
pattern by vividly recreating the stress of your issue, and used integrating
movements to blend more efficient circuitry into that brain pattern. In
essence, you taught your brain a new way to function. Now there’s connection
where there used to be confusion, which means you can think about English
grammar and still be in a whole-brain state.” We had fun celebrating with a
victorious “high-five.”
Six weeks later, Alexa breezed through her exam. She reported, “All of a sudden, it was so easy to study. For the first time, my resistance was gone and things started making sense. And you know what? English grammar is really kind of interesting!”
So
what had happened to create such change? I think of the balance process as a
gentle, profound means of educating your mind-body system about the state in
which you want it to operate, for any target activity you care to address.
Through
balancing, we return to a more whole-brain state and experience all the levels
of physical comfort, easy functioning, and positive attitude that accompany it.
Taking time to fully notice the difference in how we feel after- ward
reinforces our awareness of the change we’ve made. So now when we think about
our “issue,” it’s the clarity of an integrated brain organization pattern that
emerges.[2]
• You can work with a Licensed Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultant. Check the Brain Gym website for instructor listings. There are hundreds of instructors available, around the world.
Warm regards,
Kathy
2. Brown, Kathy. Educate Your Brain - Use mind-body balance to learn faster, work smarter, and move more easily through life. Phoenix: Balance Point Publishing. 123-126.
Click here for a link to the website for Educate Your Brain
Copyright© 2015 by Kathy Brown. All rights reserved.
Original article Copyright© 2012 by Kathy Brown. All rights reserved.
Brain Gym® s a registered trademark of Brain Gym® International, Ventura, California • www.braingym.org
Please share your thoughts!
If you don't see a comment space below,
please click here to view this article as a separate page,
and scroll down. Thanks! http://www.wholebrainliving.com/2015/03/the-potential-for-transformation-edu-k.html
