Techniques & Movements

Primitive reflexes are present at birth and most remain active until the age of 6-12 months. If the reflexes are “retained,” it is an indication that the brain has not yet fully matured in that area. When reflexes are active past their normal period, or reactivated due to trauma, many difficulties may arise – emotional outbursts, cognitive challenges, poor coordination, social immaturity, anxiety, distractability, inability to adapt to change, or poor impulse control. Whether they remained active during a child’s development or have been reactivated, Primitive Reflexes can be “switched off” through specific, coordinated movements that stimulate the brain/body system to function at a higher neurological level.

The “Brain Gym 26” refers to the original 26 movement activities of the Brain Gym® program. They are movement patterns based on the natural, instinctive movements of infants as they are learning to move, to use their eyes and ears, and to explore the world around them with their hands and feet. For over 45 years these movements have shown their effectiveness in bringing about dramatic improvements in academics, organization skills, attitude, emotional well-being, and physical coordination. The Brain Gym 26 continue to be effective with teachers, students, athletes, clients, professionals, and artists.

The Touch for Health System is a practical guide to physical and emotional health. We begin with specific muscle testing procedures to determine if your energy and brain function is in balance. Then we utilize acupressure and massage points to activate and balance both the flow of energy and muscle function in order to improve your mental and emotional states. Touch for Health combines ancient Chinese energy concepts with recent Western developments in kinesiology to restore the natural energies of the body and bring the brain/body system into balance.

Meridians are energy channels within your body that direct the flow of energy through specific pathways. This is a key concept of traditional Chinese medicine, which holds that energy travels throughout the body in the same way that blood does. When the energy flow of a meridian becomes blocked or uneven, you may develop mental, emotional, or behavioral issues. In our work together, we will at times incorporate meridian work, through gentle touch, into the balance process in order to increase the flow of energy and thus release emotional blocks.

In as much as each of us tends to favor one eye, ear, hand, and foot over the other one, we also favor one brain hemisphere over the other. This preference for one side or the other determines our Brain Organization Profile, or “learning profile”. Our unique combination of dominant eye, ear, hand, foot and brain hemisphere determines how we take in information, how we process it, how we express ourselves, and thus how we learn and relate to people and the world around us.

Knowing our profile helps us understand why we may have more difficulty with one task and not another or why sometimes it is easy to learn and sometimes it’s more difficult. It can also help us better understand relationships with friends, family, and coworkers and how to improve them.

“Visioncircles” is a program developed by Gail E. Dennison that includes a series of movements (Vision Gyms®) specifically designed to activate the distinct brain circuitry of the eyes and how they work together with the other senses. The very precise visual-motor movements of Vision Gym activities promote changes in perception, thinking, and expression.

The visual system is one of the most important sensory systems for humans and is responsible for various aspects of human behavior. Vision is important in the early stages of learning, as the eyes are a major entry point for our sensory system. Eyes play a significant role in how we process new information, how we relate to our environment, our motivation, and how we think. It is through the visual system that we interpret the majority of sensory messages relating to people, our environment, and individual tasks. The eyes work together with all of the senses to interpret the world around us, and the Visioncircles progam gives us the tools to help our eyes – and the related thought processes and perceptions – to function optimally as an integral part of the sensory system.

Repatterning is a way to regain our ability to function cross-laterally – when the arms and legs move in opposition: right arm/left leg; left arm/right leg. Although we are designed to naturally function cross-laterally, we can become unilateral (one-sided movement) when we are under stress or experience trauma. Stress, fatigue, overwhelm, or trauma can affect the functioning of the cross lateral nerve pathways and change them into emergency response patterns. This is the body’s natural way of protecting itself. But when this “emergency mode” becomes the “new normal” we can begin to find life difficult both emotionally and behaviorally. The repatterning technique is highly effective in helping us return to normal functioning once it has been lost. The sequence involves a specific series of cross-lateral and unilateral arm and leg movements combined with eye movements and sound. By using the repatterning sequence, we can rebuild nerve pathways to retrain our nervous system for healthy cross-lateral function.