Balancing for Reading Success

If you follow this blog, you likely know how much I care about supporting children in reading easily, and how much I value the tools and techniques offered through the Brain Gym program that are so effective in doing just that. If this is new information, you can refer to these links for a start:

Henry and Reading – Revisited  

“Thank you for teaching me.”  

Ready for Reading  

You may also know that I dedicated an entire chapter of my book, Educate Your Brain, to the topic of reading. In that chapter, titled "Ready for Reading," I cover many challenges to fluent reading: issues with eye-teaming, eye-tracking, reading comprehension, and more – and and how using Brain Gym can help to overcome them. 

I’m posting here the concluding portion of this chapter, which brings together many of the topics I've covered, and offers a compassionate perspective on those who struggle to read.

And at its end, I share some exciting news about my next writing project, and ask for your feedback, stories, and suggestions, as well.

An excerpt from “Ready for Reading”

In my own practice, I work regularly with clients of all ages who want to address reading issues. Many adults have struggled their whole lives with these challenges, and their outcomes from balancing may be life-altering. And the same changes can turn around a child’s experience of school, and of life, as well.

When I work with youngsters, I always have the parent on hand to observe and participate. It’s often a real eye-opener for a parent to see how much difficulty her child may have with the Cross Crawl, for example, especially once I explain the correlation between lack of coordination and academic challenges. And if we discover that he leads with his left eye, or has other eye-teaming issues, it puts a whole new perspective on the battles over reading she may have had with him, for example.

Then the parent is amazed to see how easily the child may be
 Cross Crawling after his session, and how his reading improves. She is in a perfect position to appreciate changes in her child’s academic performance and attitude in the days that follow and to do Brain Gym movements with him at home.

A very concerned grandmother brought Clark, age eight, for a Brain Gym balance session. Nightly reading practice had become quite a battle at his house. His parents said they could hardly get him to sit and read at all. So I turned to Clark and asked, “Why don’t you like to read?” Clark told me it made his stomach and head hurt.

When I asked Clark to read out loud from a very simple storybook, he read haltingly, miscalling several simple words and completely ignoring the punctuation. He was extremely awkward in the Cross Crawl portion of PACE, and almost fell down as he did it.

At the end of his balance (which included Dennison Laterality Repatterning and a few additional Brain Gym movements), perhaps forty minutes later, Clark picked up the book again and read without hesitation, and without stumbling over the words. He even read with inflection, pausing or stopping at the appropriate punctuation—indicators of true comprehension.

I heard later from the grandmother that when Clark came home that night he had his nose in his book until bedtime, and the next day he enthusiastically read thirty more pages! A note from the grandmother concluded, “His self-esteem is so much higher now. I have never seen such a turnaround in my life. I am a very enthusiastic believer in Brain Gym. Thank you for giving Clark so much hope and help.”

I love telling this story for several reasons. First of all, it shows the profound effects that one Brain Gym balance can have.

Secondly, this is a perfect example to share with teachers. When I finish telling this story, I often mention, “I did no reading practice with Clark; he did no comprehension worksheets. We simply did Brain Gym movements and processes after Clark set his goal to improve his reading. The reading ability and comprehension were waiting to emerge, once his mind-body system was truly prepared.”

Lastly, and most importantly for me, this story illustrates the belief I strongly hold: all children really do want to learn, do well, and get along in school. Think of Clark’s headache and stomachache when he tried to read. Of course he avoided it—wouldn’t you? How many of us sign up to do things that make us feel ill? I would certainly be surprised if someone with motion sickness said, “Oh, boy! We have a long driving trip coming up. I think I’ll sit in the middle of the back seat!” We’d think that person was crazy. But if a child avoids something, we may call him “contrary” and just make him do more of it, because it’s so “good” for him. Perhaps not. Perhaps it’s time to look at why he’s avoiding it and do something about that.

Exactly what shifted for Clark?

It’s impossible to know for sure, but I can certainly make a guess or two based on what Clark told me, what I know about learning challenges, and what I observed in his session.

If someone’s eyes aren’t teaming properly, he can feel uncomfortable (stomachache, headache) trying to bring them to focus on a specific object, like a letter or word. Trying to follow a line of print that seems to move around on him would be extremely disorienting. Think: vertigo.

If the two sides of his brain aren’t sharing information easily, it’s hard for him to create meaning out of words on the page. Attempts at this would require a tremendous amount of effort, leaving him frustrated, confused, exhausted, and with a tendency to avoid it at any cost.

With Clark’s two hemispheres now sharing information more fully, his eyes would find it much easier to cooperate with each other. His right eye would be a stronger lead, or a strong blending partner, and focusing with both eyes would be much more comfortable and require less energy. The “squiggles” of written language would automatically become the meaning of the story.

Just like that, reading can be so much easier. And what’s easy is often fun or rewarding, so we end up doing lots of it. Sometimes, it’s actually just that simple.

So imagine this scenario: you’re the student who simply can’t read (or comprehend, or understand math—and on and on) when others all around you can. How long will your good nature hold before you stop trying and start doing something that’s easy for you? So you begin to draw (or play with your shoelace, or fidget, or find patterns in the ceiling tiles—anything!) and you get into trouble—again, and again, and again. And you keep getting farther and farther behind. Your self-esteem is in shreds, but your energy has to go somewhere; you end up acting out and reap the consequences.

Before long, you begin to think that you really aren’t intelligent, that all the negative messages you’ve received over time must be true, that the wonderful confidence, imagination, joy, and dreams you had as a young child must be false. Years of this create students who end up in alternative schools or juvenile detention, on drugs or alcohol, or pregnant. What career choices does life hold for them? Only the most unusual of students are able to rise above these circumstances.

Now imagine this scenario: again, you’re the student who simply can’t read, when others all around you can. Your teacher recognizes your struggle and introduces integrating movements that help you build the inner capacity to make sense of what’s on the page in front of you. As your ability grows, so does your sense of accomplishment, and you see yourself as someone who can overcome challenges and confidently pursue your studies. Now what’s available to you? A whole world filled with career choices and the means for a happier, more fulfilling life.

The “aha!”

Perhaps now you see why I was so incredibly excited to learn about all the elements that comprise reading and, especially, learning to read. Once I understood the elegant complexity of the systems involved, I had a greater appreciation for where so many learning challenges originate, and I valued the Brain Gym movements and Edu-K balance process even more.

Now, when I explain these concepts during workshops, I love seeing the “aha!” on participants’ faces as they begin to realize just why some of their students or children are having such difficulties. I’m happy knowing that this new perspective will change forever how they view these learners and the issues they’re struggling with, holding the door open for greater patience and compassion in working with them.

I hope your new awareness of these key concepts will inspire you to use simple Brain Gym techniques to begin addressing the source of reading challenges. I look forward to the day when all children read easily—and naturally—because integrating movement has prepared them for learning and achievement.2

I have long considered this chapter on reading to be perhaps the most pivotal of the entire book. 

Now I find myself inspired to begin a new writing project: expanding all these concepts into a whole new book, to be titled Educate Your Brain for Reading. 

My goal is to create a single volume that focuses entirely on reading, which will include more explanations, more stories, and more specific ideas for movement activities that can truly make a difference for struggling readers. 

To that end, I welcome and request your participation and feedback, in response to any or all of these questions:

• What have you read in my blog or my book that means the most to you?

• If you’ve used Brain Gym yourself, or with your own children or students, what has the result been? Could you share a story that illustrates your experience? 

• If you haven’t noticed positive changes, or have had challenges using Brain Gym, would you consider sharing that story with me as well?

• What questions do you still have?

• What would you like to see included in a volume about using Brain Gym to improve reading?  

• What message would you offer to parents, administrators, and teachers – or to the children themselves?

You are most welcome to use the Comment feature below, or to send your thoughts by email, at kathy@wholebrainliving.com.

I truly look forward to your comments. You are part of a growing community of people who understand how vital physical movement is in developing the capacity to read, and I deeply value my connection with you. 

Thank you for being here, and for spreading this important information, so it can transform the lives of children everywhere.

With warmest regards,

Kathy 

Kathy Brown, M.Ed.
Educational Kinesiologist
Licensed Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultant
Author of Educate Your Brain
WEB: www.CenterEdge.com
BLOG: www:WholeBrainLiving.com
BOOK: www.EducateYourBrain.com
1] Dennison, Paul E. Brain Gym® & Me. Ventura: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc. 2006. 119. 
2] Brown, Kathy. Educate Your Brain. Phoenix: Balance Point Publishing LLC. 2012. 112-115. 
Brain Gym® movement photographs Copyright© Laird Brown Photography. All rights reserved
Photograph of wooden figures with acupuncture points Copyright© Claudio Curro, through iStock/Getty Images

©Copyright 2017 Kathy Brown. All rights reserved.

Brain Gym® is a registered trademark of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation  •  Ventura, CA  •  www.braingym.org

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Brain Gym®: Potential for Changes Over Time

As I review my postings on this blog site, I see many of them are about the surprising and sudden shifts experienced in a single Brain Gym® session, that reveal abilities that have been waiting to be tapped.

I want to share that this is not always the case. Sometimes, what’s available and appropriate for the mind-body system is to make smaller shifts, over time.

To illustrate this concept I’m taking this opportunity to share an excerpt[1] from my book, Educate Your Brain, drawn from Chapter 12, “Make Lasting Change with Edu-K Balancing.” This selection begins by discussing where challenges to whole-brain integration come from, and goes on to answer the key question about changes over time.

Does balancing make a permanent change?

As we’ve discussed previously, I find that challenges seem to arise from two main sources:

• lack of initial patterning (due to issues such as retained infant reflexes or insufficient time spent crawling, for example)

• learned reaction patterns that are developed through trauma or stress

When a block exists because the person never got the movement he needed in infancy or childhood, the changes that result from balancing are, in my experience, lasting. It’s been six years since Henry’s balance, and he hasn’t slipped back into not being able to read. (Click here for Henry's story.)

When a block exists because of emotional trauma or stress, for which we learned a survival-based compensation, my experience is that a balance helps us return to a more integrated, whole-brain state and creates the strong awareness of the change we’ve made. In many cases, especially when we are really ready to change, this is enough to completely resolve the old situation. However, we still have the choice of whether to use the new pattern or the old one.

Do you need to keep balancing for the same goal?

The answer often is, “That depends.” I like to say that some clients arrive with an “issue” and others arrive with a “project.” Phobias, fears, and the emotional charge around certain specific situations or people in a person’s life typically fall into the “issue” category. They are usually resolved very well in a session or two, and the change is often quite remarkable. Over time, the person may recognize that addressing the issue again (perhaps from a different angle) would be helpful, but in the meantime, the change achieved is enough to be a tremendous relief. Alexa’s resistance to studying English grammar was an “issue.” (Click here for Alexa's story.) 

“Projects,” on the other hand, are situations that are grounded in a deeper overall challenge. Progress of some kind may still be seen by the end of the first session, but additional sessions are often necessary for the kind of change the client (or her parent) is seeking. Depending on the nature of the individual, it may take several balances, or a series over a number of months or even years, to do the re-learning necessary to resolve her key challenges.

Of course, it’s impossible to know ahead of time if a client is dealing with an issue or a project. I would never have believed that Henry would go from not reading at all to reading fluently in a single session (although by now I have seen that kind of shift again and again). As a Brain Gym consultant, I can make my best guess, but I’ve learned never to think I know something for sure; I continue to be surprised.

Changes over time

Here’s the story of a “project” that continued over about two years, with a learner who had many challenges to overcome.

I started working with Brandon when he was about to enter second grade. Born prematurely, he’d been late in achieving key developmental milestones and still had significant coordination and learning issues.

Our first sessions were a slow introduction to a variety of Brain Gym movements, one or two at a time, interspersed with playing with the various balls, streamers, and hoops in my office. His mother and I always participated along with him.

Initially, our sessions were simply an immersion in these activities. I’d share a new movement, like Lazy 8s, which he would draw over and over on my whiteboard. Then he’d make a beeline for his mother’s lap and curl up for several minutes, evidently taking time out to integrate and incorporate this new learning. Then he’d get up and want to do it again. Often he’d continue to do his new movements at home.

Informal goals would arise out of our play experiences. For example, one day Brandon asked for a ball-tossing activity, but he was consistently missing his catches, so I asked, “Which Brain Gym movement do you think will help you today?” He pointed to his choice on my learning menu chart, and his mother and I joined him in rubbing Brain Buttons and then doing a bit of Cross Crawl and Double Doodle. Sure enough, his next attempt showed more coordination, his hands closing more successfully around the ball. Before long, he was catching much more reliably.

Soon he was arriving at my door with his own goals: “I want to be able to run fast!” He’d dash across my office, all elbows and knees and feet stepping unevenly. But after a playful Dennison Laterality Repatterning, his arms were more in sync with his legs, and his stride was more even as he ran.

A bit at a time, I could see that Brandon was building a stronger foundation for coordinated movement. His success was evident in the look on his face as he ran and hopped, skipped and rolled during our sessions. His teacher began reporting that Brandon was participating more fully in physical activities at school, as well, and that his focus was more easily sustained in class.

At this point, Brandon’s mother took the Brain Gym® 101 course, where she learned how to support him at home with these simple movements and use a modified balance process to address his goals between our sessions together. She also provided Brandon’s teacher with a copy of Brain Gym® Teacher’s Edition, and soon his whole class was benefiting from the movements as well.

After about six months of sessions, Brandon gained interest in reading. He’d had special help in school and coaching at home since first grade, and he knew the basics of sounding out words, but he’d resisted reading on his own. Now, rather than insist that his mother read to him, he began taking up books himself, spending time immersed in stories.

As we continued our work together, our sessions became focused on his desire to improve in reading, writing, and math. Our bi-weekly sessions had drifted farther apart, to every four weeks or so.

By the end of third grade, Brandon declared, “I think I’m done.” Indeed, he’d come a long way. He was now reading at just about grade level and was taking joy and pride in his ability to write and do math. He was also more coordinated as a runner and enjoyed sports activities, at which he was rapidly becoming skilled.

Brandon’s mother still brings him back for occasional sessions, but the bulk of our “project” feels complete. She said, “It seems like he’s caught up with where he is supposed to be. I’m so happy to see the way he’s learning and how pleased he is with his own accomplishments.”

If you are interested in learning more about the Edu-K "balance" process, you have several choices.
• Book an individual session with a Brain Gym instructor near you. Instructors around the world can be found at this link. 
• Learn to facilitate Brain Gym balance sessions yourself! Take the Brain Gym® 101 course, which is  also offered around the world. 
• If you're in the Phoenix, Arizona, area, or would like to visit, I have a Brain Gym® 101 course coming up on November 11-12-13, 2016, and will soon have others posted for 2017. 
• You can learn a bit more about the balance process by reading Chapter 12 of my book, Educate Your Brain. 

With all best wishes,

Kathy 

Kathy Brown, M.Ed.
Educational Kinesiologist
Licensed Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultant
Author of Educate Your Brain
WEB: www.CenterEdge.com
BLOG: www:WholeBrainLiving.com
BOOK: www.EducateYourBrain.com

[1] Brown, Kathy. Educate Your Brain. Phoenix: Balance Point Publishing, 2012. 130-133. 
Original article from Educate Your Brain Copyright© 2012 Kathy Brown. All rights reserved

©Copyright 2016 Kathy Brown. All rights reserved.

Brain Gym® is a registered trademark of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation 

Ventura, CA  •  www.braingym.org

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"But it's so simple!"

In our work at the Brain Injury Alliance (BIA) here in Phoenix, Arizona, Brain Gym® colleague Mary Ann Beebe and I experience all kinds of interactions with those who come to our twice-monthly sessions.

We never know the story behind what brings someone to participate in the BIA programs: it could be traumatic injury from a car or sporting accident, near drowning, stroke or aneurism, or other direct assault to the brain. Recently, we’ve also had participants from the military’s “wounded warrior” program who are dealing with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Mary Ann and I simply welcome whoever comes through the door at the appointed hour, and proceed with our group Brain Gym process.

This week, “Connie” was part of the group who attended – her first time coming for Brain Gym. Tall and slight of build, she had a gentle demeanor and a bright, curious look in her eye. I wondered, but didn’t ask, what had brought her to the BIA for services.

Mary Ann and I began class as usual, introducing ourselves and the day’s program, and beginning with the three-minute Brain Gym “PACE” warm-up: activities that support the mind-body system in becoming more Positive, Active, Clear, and Energetic, in preparation for new learning.[1]

Modified PACE warm-up for those
who may be prone to seizures
(See footnote)

We always invite Noticing into the mix.

How do you know that something has helped to make a change? You must notice before hand just how you feel, then do the “something,” and then notice again how you feel. Some level of noticing allows the mind-body system to register the fact that what you did made a difference in how you’re operating.

In this case, Connie definitely noticed a difference that these PACE activities made.

When we were finished with this warm-up, she noticed that she felt significantly more comfortable physically (a sharp spot of tension in her back had vanished), she was breathing more deeply, she felt more “present” in her body and aware of the space around her, and the words she looked at on our Agenda board seemed to be brighter and more full of meaning.

She was amazed and delighted with how remarkably different she felt. And then a wide smile and look of astonishment appeared on her face, as a realization set in: “But it’s so simple!” she said.

I shared the description offered by Carla Hannaford, neurobiologist and author of Smart Moves – Why learning is not all in your head, who calls the Brain Gym movements “elegantly simple.”

Such simple, effective means of bringing the mind-body system back into balance. What a gift to every day of our life, no matter who we are, or what circumstances we’re dealing with.

As someone who uses these tools on a daily basis, it’s easy to forget just how totally amazing the shifts can be, and how little it can take for this to happen.

It’s the look of happy astonishment on the face of a newcomer, and the words “But it’s so simple!” that bring home the ever-deepening awareness that the Brain Gym work is truly a gift, and one I feel privileged to share.

My very best to you all,

Kathy

[1] The standard pace warm-up consists of four Brain Gym activities: Sipping Water, rubbing Brain Buttons, doing the Cross Crawl, and doing Hook-ups. (For instructions on these activities, please see my book Educate Your Brain, or Brain Gym® Teacher’s Edition, by Paul and Gail Dennison.) Because some of these participants with TBI may also be prone to seizures, we use Cecilia Koester’s recommendation for modifying the pace process. For the third element, rather than starting with the cross-lateral Cross Crawl, we begin with “Puppet Crawl” which is a one-sided activity: raise and lower the right arm and leg, then raise and lower the left arm and leg, etc. We follow this with the Cross Crawl, telling everyone that if they’re prone to seizures, please omit the Cross Crawl; once they've been doing the Puppet Crawl for some time, they may feel ready to include the Cross Crawl. We all then finish with Hook-ups. 

Click here for a link to the website for Educate Your Brain

Copyright© 2015 by Kathy Brown. All rights reserved. 

"Modified PACE" page Copyright© 2015 by Kathy Brown. All rights reserved. 

Brain Gym® s a registered trademark of Brain Gym® International, Ventura, California • www.braingym.org

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