Kinesiological Exercises

© Babs@spdsupport

Kinesiological or Brain Gym® exercises are simple activities that are said to help improve a child's ability to learn.These exercises are said to have an effect on a child's concentration, organizational skills, listening skills, reading and writing, coordination, attitude, behavior, memory and general academic performance in school.

Below is a compilation of various types of exercises, some working on midline movements, some are lengthening activities, relaxation, balancing and some are for generally improving the mind and body.

Mrs Gill Thompson author of Supporting Communication Disorders - A Handbook for Teachers and Teaching Assistants has very kindly granted permission to use some examples of hers which are based on Edu-Kinaesthetics books by Paul and Gail Dennison and Vestibularis Movements by Mats Niklasson. Also included are some examples of these types of gym exercises that this site owner's child has learnt at school and some that can be found on various sites offered freely on the internet, so there is an all round feel for the types of exercises that can be useful.

For more indepth information about kinesiological exercises please take a look at the links on the left.

Before starting these exercises, make sure you drink plenty of water. This helps to increase the body's energy and concentration and works on the notion that the body's energy is conducted through water.

Gravity Glider

Stand up, cross ankles, keep knees loose – breathe in and as you exhale, gently bend forward letting arms hang loose ( repeat 3 x).

Brain Buttons

(A strategy to focus attention) – place left hand over navel, with right hand locate bumps on collarbone/sternum and rub gently).

Earth Buttons

e energy) – Place left hand over navel, hold two fingers of right hand under lower lip, close your eyes and breathe in imagining you are drawing energy through the centre of your body.

Balance Buttons

(Relax body/alert mind) – Touch 2 fingers on indentation at the base of the skull, left hand over navel, breathe in slowly and then out again.

Space Buttons

(Clear head for quick mental thinking) – Two fingers above upper lip, rest other hand on tail bone. Hold for a minute breathing energy up spine.

Energy yawn

Pretend to yawn and stroke each side of mouth gently.

Listening flaps

Gently slide fingers over each ear as if unrolling them – 3 times top to bottom.

Hook-up

Right hand around left ankle, left hand over ball of left foot –

Finger energy

Finger tips together, close eyes, breathe deeply for 1 minute.

The Stork

Stand up tall, raise your arms out to the front at 90 degrees to the body and continue upwards raising your arms over your head and then circle them outwards and place them on your waist. Balance on one leg by bringing one of the feet up towards the knee, a little bit like Scottish dancing, or a stork, and then balance for a couple of seconds. When you are balanced well, bring the bent leg straight out in front of you at 90 degrees to the body, hold it straight for a second and then step forward. Bring the back leg forward to a standing position and repeat the whole process again, first raising the arms and the the opposite leg to the knee, that leg out to the front and then step forward.

Backward Stork

Same exercise as above, but this time the bent leg that is resting on the knee must be stretched out behind the body at right angles and then placed on the floor.Then bring the other leg back to meet it.

Blind Steps

Place 3 or 4 folded up towels on the floor at random, close enough together to be able to step from one to the other. Try to make the towels high enough to form a little step. Stand in front of the first towel, raise the head up towards the ceiling so you cannot see down and feel for the first step with your foot, then step onto it. Now feel around for the next towel with one foot, head still raised back to look at the ceiling and then step onto it when you have found it.

Spot the ball

This exercise involves two people and a ball. Place a spot on the floor, either draw a circle with a piece of chalk or cut out a circle of card, and then two people stand opposite one another. One of them bounces the ball to the other hitting the spot in the middle of them. If you hit it you shout "One". The next person catches the ball and returns it to the other person trying to hit the spot on the way back. If they hit it they shout "two". If the spot is missed no number is called and the two carry on up to a count of ten. The exercise can be repeated with a greater distance placed between the partners.

The Mime

Imagine you are trapped inside a box and you are trying to get out. You must push the walls of the box as hard as you can in all directions with two hands, but keeping firmly rooted to the spot.

Skipping Spots

Place a few cardboard circles, eg paper plates, on the floor at random, and to music skip around the spots in a sideways skip. When you come to a spot you must skip around it keeping your back to the circle for the first 180 degrees of it and then your face to the circle for the other 180 degrees of it, so in effect you will have to manipulate your body and step so that initially the circle is behind you and then for the other half of the circle, it is in front of you.

Thinking caps

This exercise helps with spelling, short-term memory, listening, and abstract thinking skills. With your thumb and index finger, gently pull the outer part of the ear. Start from the top and slowly move to the lobe. Repeat the whole exercise three times.

The Elephant

This activity is recommended for children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Place the left ear on the left shoulder extend the left arm like the trunk of an elephant with knees relaxed, draw a figure 8 on it's side in front of you. Do three to five signs. Repeat with other arm.

Positive Points

This exercise helps increase speaking abilities and organization skills. Lightly touch the point above each eye halfway between the hairline and the eyebrow with fingertips of each hand. Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply.

Awareness and Relaxation

Stand with you feet at shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, eyes closed; swing back and forward by shifting your weight, swing to the left and right and circle around your center.

Balancing Exercises

Stand on your tip toes, close your eyes, stand on one foot keeping your eyes closed and balance.

Coding

Left/Right A B C D E write this code on board, then underneath R L R R L then call out the alphabet letters at random – the children must raise the corresponding left or right hand (difficult but good to focus the mind).

Lazy 8

Imagine a pencil attached to the tip of your nose and use it to draw a big sideways 8 in the air starting in the middle – make it really big then really small.

Lazy 8's

Draw a Lazy 8 with each elbow. Then stretch your hands ahead of you and make your palms face forwards – draw lazy 8 with each palm and then with both together

What's your name?

Imagine you have a pencil in both your hands – using both together, write your name in the air.

Owl

With right hand, grasp left shoulder firmly and look back over your shoulder - breathe deeply pulling shoulders back. Drop chin to centre, breathe deeply, relax. With left hand, repeat on right shoulder.

Activator

Hold one arm straight up close to your ear, holding the elbow with your other hand. Push your elbow against the hand (front, back, in, out) and exhale through pursed lips. Repeat on other side.

Cross crawl

Touch left elbow to right knee then right elbow to left knee.

Neck rolls

Drop head gently forwards – breathe in- roll head side to side as you exhale – do this with shoulders up and then with shoulders down.

Touch across

Stand up – (to music) touch left hand to right knee, right hand to left knee, left hand to right shoulder, right hand to left shoulder, left hand to right ear, right hand to left ear, behind you touch left hand to right heel and right hand to left heel, move both arms as far round to right as poss and then round to left – shoulders up and down shake all over – sit down

Star flash

Sitting comfortably, place both hands on your knees with palms flat – make a fist with the right hand – now open that hand and make a fist with the left – alternate to count of ten but keep your hands on your knees ( can also be done on flat table).

Finger teaser

Place both hands flat on table with fingers outstretched – lift little fingers but keep other fingers still, now ring fingers, middle fingers, index fingers, thumbs – call out the finger to lift but not in order.

Finger sticker

Place one hand flat on table and pretend it is firmly stuck – gently prise each finger off with other hand, resisting with the ‘stuck’ hand.

Take a bow

Sit on the floor with legs stretched out in a V shape. Raise the right hand high above the head and then wrap the left hand around the waist. Lean forward and touch the left foot with the right hand and as you come back up swap the arms over, left hand above the head and right arm around the waist and touch the right foot. Repeat 10 times.

Ankle twists

Sit on the floor, legs placed in front. Bring the left foot up to knee level as if you are going to sit crossed legged, and place it on top of the right leg resting just below the knee. Now holding the left foot with both hands move it in a circle clockwise for a count of ten, and then cicle it anticlockwise for a count of ten. Swap position and do the same to the other foot and repeat the exercise.

Spiders

Get down into a press ups position but with the knees bent up towards the tummy as you are going to walk forward on your hands and criss cross your legs as you go. Try to go quickly and keep the legs and arms going in a rhythm, as each arm moves forward the opposite leg must cross over in front of the other one. Right arm forward and left leg crosses over the right, left arm forward and the right leg crosses over the left.

Cross Spiders

Same position as above, but this time the hands do a left hand walk, right hand walk, cross the legs with a jump, right hand walk, left hand walk, uncross the legs with a jump.

Double Doodle

This exercise helps creativity and makes writing easier. Draw a doodle in the air with both index fingers in a mirror image opposite to each other.