1. Breath: 4-5 deep breaths through the nose and out the mouth filling the belly, diaphragm and lungs. (Deep breathing is essential for the brain to fully function. The brain uses 1/5 of the body’s oxygen).
2. Tactile: With your hands, squeeze strongly each arm and each leg and the torso, back, head (whole body). Try other tactile sensations such as scratching and patting. Try touching outside and inside of arms and hands, face, neck, front torso, down both legs and feet, and then up the back of the legs, buttocks, back, shoulders, head. (Tactile stimulation leads to bonding, sensory integration and proprioception.
3. Core – Distal: Try movement that reaches from the center out, through and beyond fingers, toes, head and tail (distal ends). Then curl back to the torso (core). Try movement that grows and shrinks, stretches and curls in big “X”s and little “o”s using the whole body. We reach out to the environment (interpersonal) and come back to ourselves (intrapersonal).
4. Head – Tail: Do movement that focuses in the head (top of spine ends at bridge of nose) and tail (lowest part of spine or coccyx). Play with movement that brings head and tail together and apart while curving forward and backward and side to side (similar to yoga cat exercise but standing). Try circling head and tail. Keeping the knees bent help to release the tail. Keeping the knees bent helps to release the tail. End with a spine wiggle to accentuate the spine’s flexibility.
5. Upper – Lower: Ground the lower half of body by pressing legs into floor with a slight knee bend. Swing arms in different directions and stretch and dance upper body (arms, head, and torso) in different ways. Ground upper half by reaching arms out into space with energy as though you were hugging the earth. Try other arm positions, also. Dance with the lower half marching in place, doing simple knee bends in parallel and turned out, jumps, leg brushes, grapevine step and other lower body actions. End with a few movements that integrate upper and lower halves.
6. Body Side: Make a big X with your body. Dance with your left side of your body while keeping the right side stabile. Then keep the left stabile and dance with the right side. Try a lizard crawl with arms and legs open to the side, with one side reaching up and the other side stretching down (like belly crawling). With elbows slightly bent like a “W” bring the left half of the body over to meet the right half and vice versa (like a book opening and closing). Follow your thumb with your eyes as it moves right to left and left to right to develop horizontal eye tracking. For more horizontal eye tracking touch your right finger to nose and stretch left hand to left side and look at it. Touch left finger to nose and stretch right hand to right and look at it. Alternate sides.
7. Cross Lateral: Do a parallel standing crawl with legs and arms in front of you. Bringing left elbow to left knee while right arm stretches up – alternate bending and stretching right and left sides (like hand and knee crawling). Let your eyes travel up and down looking at one thumb (or ceiling and floor) as it reaches high and low for vertical eye tracking. Do a cross – lateral boogie dance finding as many ways of moving cross – laterally as possible such as touching right knee to left elbow, left hand to right foot, right hand to left knee, crossing behind and in front and skipping.
8. Vestibular: Swing upper body and head forward and backward and side to side. Make sure head is “upside down.” Spin 15 seconds (or until you get dizzy) on way, breathe and rest 15 seconds, then spin 15 seconds the other way. Try tipping, rolling, and spinning at a low level for variation. It is important to get dizzy so that the balance system will be stimulated and developed. Take 3-4 deep breaths to center yourself after spinning. (We need to go off balance to become balanced. Stimulating the vestibular system develops eye tracking, auditory sense, proprioception (knowing where you are in space), balance and coordination.
This “dance” is an excellent full body and brain warm-up for sports, exercise or dance; before tests, performances, and presentations; after sitting for long periods of time; or during computer work and TV watching for brain reorganization, recuperation and oxygenation, a centering body/brain warm-up, and to wake-up or calm down. Moving through these patterns at any age on a daily or weekly basis helps us to reorganize our central nervous system. To learn the brain dance go to youtube and search brain dance Ann Gilbert and pick the video titled MICDS Brain Dance- it is 2:56 long.
About the author: WRRFC Personal Trainer Justin Lund specializes in Corrective Exercise Strategies. He’d be happy to demo the “brain dance” when you visit him at the club.