What is Brain Gym?

Brain Gym is a system of exercises developed by Dr. Paul Dennison to assist people with learning, and behavior. Below are listed some of the exercises Dr. Dennison developed, and what they do for the learner.

1. Thinking Caps

   This exercise helps with mental arithmetic, short term memory, listening comprehension, spelling, and tuning out distractions. It improves listening comprehension, public speaking, and spelling.

2. Balance Buttons

   Improve inferencing skills, critical judgement and decision making. Facilitates an open and receptive attitude. Improves spelling and math.

3. The Elephant

   Improves listening comprehension, short and long term memory, thinking ability, spelling and math.

4. Arm Activation

   Improves penmanship, creative writing, and spelling. Improves attention span, focus and concentration. Also improves ability to express ideas.

5. Double Doodle

   Helps with following directions, reading, spelling, math, sports coordination, and peripheral vision.

6. Neck Rolls

   Benefits oral reading, silent reading, and study skills.

7. The Rocker

   Increases mental focus, study skills, better posture, hand eye coordination, operating an computer, or vehicle.

8. Belly Breathing

   Improves attention span, reading, oral reading and speech.

9. Calf Pump

   Helps with the ability to complete assignments and follow through, listening and reading comprehension, creative writing, improved social behaviour, increased ability to communicate and respond, better attention span.

10. Foot Flex

    This exercise improves the ability to complete assignments and follow through, listening and reading comprehension, and creative writing, improved social behaviour, increased ability to communicate and respond, better attention span.

11. Hook ups

    This exercise benefits test taking, feeling more positively about a situation, typing or computer work, listening and speaking.

12. The Owl

    Beneficial for listening comprehension, speech, spelling, mathematical computation, typing and computer work.

13. Cross Crawl

    This exercise benefits spelling, writing, listening, reading and comprehension. It improved coordination for sports, and physical activities. It also benefits hearing and vision.

14. Brain Buttons

    Improves right and left brain communication, writing, typing, computer work, reading, eliminating reversed letters and numbers.

15. Earth Buttons

    Improves organization, reading, and mental alertness.

16. Space Buttons

    Helps organization, reading, ability to focus on a task, increased interest and motivation.

17. Lazy Eights

    Improves reading comprehension and long term memory.

18. Alphabet Eights

    Improves penmanship, spelling and creative writing.

19. Positive Points

    Improves long term memory, public speaking, stage performance and sports performance. Improved attitude toward a specific event, issue or task.

20. Cross Crawl Sit-ups

    Benefits reading, listening, math computations, mechanics of spelling and writing.

21. Gravity Glider

    Benefits self confidence, balance and coordination, and reading comprehension. Assists better visual attention, mental arithmatic, and abstract thinking.