Breathing Exercises (follow along)

Perform at Your Best!

Do As One website offers five conscious breathing exercises to follow.  Direct your breathing to the sounds and timing shown.   Choose whether to calm, balance, activate, release stress, and move stagnate energy from the body.  LiveStrong.com offers a 5 step technique for deep breathing.  WomentoWomen.com explains the medical benefits of effective breathing; it helps pump the lymphatic system flushing away toxins and other debris from the body.   Many other interesting facts and breathing techniques are given.  OnePowerfulWord is an excellence resource as well

101 Physical Activities for Parents and Children

Free Online Book Shows Fun-Filled Physical Exercises

Enjoy dozens of balancing, bonding activities sure to build coordination and imagination with your children or grandchildren.  Piggy-back, rowboat, flying angel, and dozens of other activities illustrated with pictures come from Frank, John and Heather Adams.  What a delight! 

The significance of such activities is immense, building the vestibular, sensory and motor systems called upon to live and learn effectively. Read many articles in this  blog to understand the contribution you will make in your child’s physical, mental and social development.

Exercise and Physical Activity

Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging

National Institute on Aging offers a free comprehensive eBook with seven chapters helping people establish and maintain a fitness program. Chapters include: 1. Get Ready 2. Get Set 3. Go! 4. Sample Exercises, Endurance, Strength, Balance, Flexibility 5. How Am I Doing? 6. Healthy Eating 7. Keep Going and Frequently Asked Questions. WOW! I can’t think of a more complete tool for seniors and anyone else interested in physical fitness. Check out the complete listing of Resources too!

Emotional Sobriety (video)

Natural highs – healthy ways to feel good

Tian Dayton’s video briefly shows the importance of ‘turning on’ the body’s opiate system… endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin, prolactin, and other calming and euphoric mood stabilizers released through wholesome activities. Emotional sobriety is learning how to live in the mid-range, achieving a balanced state to release the medicine chest within us, rather than resort to drugs and addictive behaviors.

Tian Dayton’s article, Body Comes to Therapy, excerpted from her book, The Magic of Forgiveness provides a thorough understanding of how emotions affects the body, including “How Emotion Travels Though the Body… The Positive Function of Fear and Anxiety… The Power of Thought… The Role of the Limbic System… It’s Never Too Late to Limbically Revise… and Limbic Resonance, Regulation and Revision.” Many forms of physical and emotional distress may be caused by pain internalize as a child. We need to confront these deeper origins of pain. Visit TianDayton.com for more insightful articles – this is a terrific site!

Vestibular System is Key to Learning

Reading, writing, speech, attention and memory are impacted

http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-disorders/symptoms.php shows possible symptoms of Vestibular Disorders. This sixth sense helps regulate vision, hearing, balance and movement. Many students challenged by school have weak vestibular systems resulting from insufficient childhood play, rolling, swinging, spinning, and other robust stop and go activities. More than ever, playgrounds with swings, merry-go-rounds, slides, teeter-totters are needed. Unfortunately these are disappearing -- as is Physical Education. What a shame!

Thanks to VEDA, http://www.vestibular.org/ Vestibular Disorders Association the public is informed. Hopefully people will take action, putting a spin on the importance of body brain exercise leading to academic success.

Jeff Haebig

Motor Planning and Sequencing

Reading, speech, and language improve using rhythm

Reading achievement is central to school success. As neuroscience becomes more precise, understanding the areas of the body brain involved with language development and reading suggest the importance of motor planning and sequencing. The Cingulate Gyrus, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum and Frontal Cortex are brain areas involved. Rhythmic motor activities that strengthen neural networks connecting these brain areas allow for quicker shifting of attention and focus.

Speech and language have improved. Those with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, Parkinsons, and Sensory Integration Disorders have benefited in various ways. Interactive Metronome offers research and case studies on their website showing the functional neural plasticity involved.

Rhythmic Bal-A-Vis-X Improves Reading

Balance, Auditory, Vision Exercise Builds Body-brain Integration

http://www.bal-a-vis-x.com/ describes a program of rhythmic exercises using Balance Boards, bean bags, and balls to build new body brain networks. The vestibular system is targeted since it unites the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic systems involved with reading, math and other academic pursuits. Social skills are also developed during teaming and peer teaching!

Bill Hubert created Bal-A-Vis-X activities teaching in the Wichita schools. He successfully identified why children and teens were struggling at school. Influenced by Frank Belgau, Carla Hannaford, Paul Dennison, Carl Delacato, Ingolf Mork and Sister Aegedia (all of whom will be featured on Body Brain Boogie blog)… Bill set out to strengthen eye teaming and smooth eye tracking, auditory discrimination, sensory dominance, laterality, directionality and other body brain functions called upon to read, write, and perform math.

Read Bal-A-Vis-X by Bill Hubert and get yourself tossing, catching, bounce-juggling and balancing in fun rhythmic ways. Experience intellectual, social and emotional gain improving your body brain.

Jeff Haebig

Balancing is the Learning Breakthrough

Balance and Vestibular System Development is Key

Dr. Frank Belgau developed The Learning Breakthrough Program. At the University of Houston, he directed the Perceptual Motor and Visual Perception Laboratory. In particular, he focused on the effect of balance and the vestibular system and developed the Belgau Balance Board. Over decades, he established the use of the balancing activities made dramatic improvement in children’s reading and academic performance skills. Read about the astounding improvement at http://www.balametrics.com/results.htm, better yet, try Bala-Metrics and experience the improvements in intelligence, reading, and behavior yourself.

http://www.balametrics.com/theory.htm the Theory Behind The Learning Breakthrough

http://www.balametrics.com/explain.htm Marvelous series of articles relating balance to ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Handwriting, CAPD, Reading, and Academics. Topics include Multi-Sensory Integration, Spatial Awareness, Integration of Brain Hemispheres, Brain Timing/Reaction Time, Sequencing, Binocular Teaming, and Proprioception.

Motion Sickness -- Mayo Clinic

What Role Does Exercise Play in Easing Motion Sickness?

Watching the YouTube http://podcasts.mayoclinic.org/2008/11/24/motion-sickness-2/ video from Mayo Clinic regarding motion sickness... I noticed that remedies suggested did not include exercise designed to strengthen the vestibular system, part of the inner ear that connects balance, visual, auditory and proprioception systems. Let's ask some experts what they think about this. Please comment, better yet, share your thoughts with using video too.

What a wonderful way to share information. Check out Mayo Clinic's Podcasts and then let's make our own Podcasts to show our thoughts and practices, emphasizing how movement and exercise can effectively remedy physical conditions.

Jeff