Wholeness Healing Center

Brain Gym Part 8: Energy Exercises and Deepening Attitudes

This is the eighth part of the Brain Gym explanation. This is a continuation of the Energy Exercises and Deepening Attitudes. These activities help children activate the neo-cortex, enabling them to think better. This article will discuss the Balance Buttons, Space Buttons, and the Energy Yawn.

“The Balance Buttons provide a quick balance for all three dimensions: left/right, top/bottom, and back/front.” (p. 27) These “buttons” can help academically to improve reading comprehension, better enable a student’s perception of the point of view of an author, can enhance the critical thinking skills, including decision making, and will help math and spelling recognition skills. They aid by activation of the brain’s focus and alertness, relaxing the jaw, and help students change visual focus better. Balance Buttons can be activated while standing, lying down, or seated. The Balance Buttons are located behind the mastoid area, just above the indentation where the skull rests over the neck. Two fingers are placed on this area while two more fingers hold the naval area.

Hold for 30 seconds, then switch hands. The two spots can be massaged, which will release neck tension and help with headaches.

The Space Buttons help to enable the child to work better in the midfield, to improve centering and grounding, to relax the central nervous system, to improve depth perception and also to help with vision. Academically the Space Buttons can aid in organizational skills, help to keep one’s place while reading, help to stay on task, and will help motivation and interest. To activate the Space Buttons, place one hand on the upper lip and the other on the back midline above the tail bone.

Then breathe energy, which should result in improved relaxation. Rub both spots, placing pressure or massaging the area. “These points are stimulated in infancy when the baby turns from back to front or is held while nursing. Space Buttons activate midlines related to all three dimensions of the body.” (p. 28)

The Energy Yawn is a good way to increase circulation to the brain while stimulating the body, according to research by Dr. Dennison. Dr. Dennison also discovered that this exercise improves eyesight, increases sensory perception and motor function in the eyes, improves relaxation and short-term memory, increases mental and physical fitness, and helps with auditory recognition, perception, attention, and discrimination. “While pretending to yawn, close eyes tight and massage the areas covering the upper and lower back molars”, (p. 29) while making a yawning sound. Repeat 3-6 times.

Both Brain Gym book and Brain Gym Teacher’s Edition, Revised are available for purchase at the Life’s Garden stores in both office locations. The books have easy to follow illustrations and directions for getting your child started. I will discuss some of the other exercises in following newsletters, continuing next time with the final Energy Exercises and Deepening Attitudes.

Brain Gym is a registered trademark of Brain Gym® International, www.braingym.org.

Brain Gym, Teacher’s Edition Revised, P. Dennison, G. Dennison, 1989.

Illustrations by Gail Dennison. Brain Gym: Simple Activities for Whole Brain Learning,

Tags: balance buttons, brain gym, space buttons