educational kinesiology

[bluegray]

Does anyone know anything about educational kinesiology or 'Brain gym'? Or know where I can find some good resources on the subject? I googled around, and there seems to be a lot of research that supports it. Some of the claims look a bit suspicious though.

[Jyera]

What triggered the interest in BrainGym ?

And what is it that you are planning to do about it, or with it ?

[Mojo]

Ben Goldacre has had something to say about it:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,,975223,00.html

[John Jackson]

From Goldacre's article: "children are required to take a swig of water and hold it in their mouths for a few seconds until the teacher tells them they can swallow. When I asked why, the teacher, who had been sent on a Brain Gym course by the school, informed me that the water was partially absorbed through the roof of the children's mouths and was absorbed by the brain, improving learning."

A teacher gave that answer. :rolleyes:

The UK site is here: http://www.braingym.org.uk/

It's full of claims, and authoritative answers, but there's no supporting evidence.

Example from their FAQs:

What is Edu-K’s Relationship to other Systems of Education and Kinesiology?

"Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a distinct work used by chiropractors, similar to Edu-K in its study of muscles and use of muscle-checking or muscle-testing, and yet different from Edu-K. AK is based on processes of “muscle-testing� that isolate the response of individual muscles in the body. Edu-K is oriented to goals, and to daily life function and performance, rather than to a medical or mechanistic model of the body. AK includes a set of specific tests and related corrections to restore balance in a therapeutic model, and uses test responses to make an evaluation of physiological health. One-to-one correspondence is frequently used between muscle “weakness� and organ or system function. The chiropractor corrects imbalances using spinal or other muscular, cranial, or lymphatic manipulation and/or by offering nutritional support...

[In Edu-K]...Muscle-checking is used primarily to anchor their new learning."

It all sounds pseudoscientific to me.

[bluegray]

Originally posted by Jyera
What triggered the interest in BrainGym ?

And what is it that you are planning to do about it, or with it ?

I'm not planning to do anything with it. Someone in my family was telling me about the wonders of braingym and that is why I'm checking it out.

[Kiless]

Sounds like a wacky interpretation of Project Zero's work on Multiple inteligences.

[flume]

'Applied Kinesiology' is 100% quack.

[Jyera]

Originally posted by John Jackson
From Goldacre's article: "children are required to take a swig of water and hold it in their mouths for a few seconds until the teacher tells them they can swallow. When I asked why, the teacher, who had been sent on a Brain Gym course by the school, informed me that the water was partially absorbed through the roof of the children's mouths and was absorbed by the brain, improving learning."
I have been through BrainGym courses.
But I don't recall mandatory requirement to hold water in the mouth. And I do not recall that it is BrainGym's responsibility to teach how water gets to the brain.

I would say, as Goldacre suspect, that the teacher was misinformed. Or perhaps too eager to rationalise how drinking water can have an effect on the function of learning.

On the other hand, note that the teacher was handling children.
Not easy to get a group of kids to co-operate.
Asking them to hold water in their mouth until the teacher gives instruction on the next step, isn't very surprising.
You cannot talk while having the mouthful of water, and it can be considered as fun by the children.
It allows the teacher to manage children effectively to do something as a group. The article did not mention it, but I believe it is likely to be part of a 4 step process called the PACE. Drinking water is only the first step.

[Jyera]

Originally posted by flume
'Applied Kinesiology' is 100% quack.
Cannot comment about the validity of the above statement.

BrainGym is related to Educational-Kinesiology, which is different from "Applied Kinesiology".

[Jyera]

Originally posted by bluegray
I'm not planning to do anything with it. Someone in my family was telling me about the wonders of braingym and that is why I'm checking it out. Is your someone in the family attending a BrainGym Course?

If "No",
tell him/her that s/he should not take the words of others for it.
She should verify it by participating in it herself. The only way to learn BrainGym is to go out and do it. And tell him/her it is from someone who has been through BrainGym.
Tell her that even if she believes the technique of BrainGym works, it is useless to her if she is unable to apply it and show that it has a positive impact on the recipent.

I know it sound "wooish", when people assert that "you won't understand if you don't experience it yourself" . But by virtual of it's motto, BrainGym cannot help it.
Because BrainGym teaches that "Movement is the door to learning" , therefore the best way to learn BrainGym is to get your butt off the chair and go and learn. Not just mentally but also physically. Practise it and feel it. And make a stand (really stand don't just say) whether it works or not.

If "Yes",

You are in luck. As you would have the chance to assist her.
She'll get you to help in revising and practising the technique of BrainGym. You'll learn first hand the kind of thing she learn.
Be kind to her, help her learn/practise the technique taught to her.
Never mind the theory. Focus on the technique.
Even if she has got the theory right, if she is unable to execute the technique properly, she should not expect to get a meaningful result.
Even if she has got the theory wrong, if the technique appropriately applied it should have an impact.

Assert your right to challenge her by sometime being innocently unco-operative.
This is because BrainGym practitioners can be thrown into the most difficult situations.
Eg. How to do a BrainGym exercise that requires the movement of the leg if a person is paralysed waist down?
Eg. How to improve the learning of a child, whose attention span is so short.

[Jyera]

Quote from Ben Goldacre's article ....
Fans of Brain Gym aren't the only ones targeting children: Noah's Ark Zoo Farm ...

I think it is rather unfair for Goldacre to compare BrainGym with "Noah Ark Zoo Farm".

There are reason why BrainGym seems applicable to children. But NOT because someone trying to brainwash a religious idealogy into the children.

Firstly,
- "Noah Ark Zoo Farm" is about religious ideas, which is determined by the religious people.
- BrainGym, on the other hand, is a technique or tool for learning.
The person using the tool may use of it to learn what ever they pleases, including learning to dislike and distrust BrainGym.

Secondly,
- It is my opinion that, BrainGym, would seek to shakeoff image that it is only in relevant to children.
- Some adult thinks that BrainGym are for children with "learning disabilities". So to use a technique applicable to children seems childish, and un-adult . They'd rather go for professional training, or pay Thousand dollars to listen to Motivational speakers.

I think, it is extremely disappointing to the BrainGym people to be described as "targetting children".

Above are opinion in my personal capacity.

[bluegray]

@Jyera
It sounds to me as though you had positive results from braingym. Would you mind telling us how it improved your life? What is so special about the braingym exercises?

[bluegray]

Originally posted by Jyera
Cannot comment about the validity of the above statement.

BrainGym is related to Educational-Kinesiology, which is different from "Applied Kinesiology".
from http://www.braingym.org/faq.html
What is Edu-K’s Relationship to other Systems of Education and Kinesiology?
Educational Kinesiology is based on a unique integration of the learning process with kinesiology, the study of muscles and their movements. The intention of the Edu-K work is to invite the emergence of latent potential through the vehicle of the body––the repository of thoughts, feelings, and movement patterns. The Edu-K processes offer a structure for the continuous interweaving of thinking, feeling, and sensation––the integration of mental and physical functions. Edu-K enhances, rather than replacing, other educational and kinesiological approaches to growth and development.

Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a distinct work used by chiropractors, similar to Edu-K in its study of muscles and use of muscle-checking or muscle-testing, and yet different from Edu-K. AK is based on processes of “muscle-testing� that isolate the response of individual muscles in the body. Edu-K is oriented to goals, and to daily life function and performance, rather than to a medical or mechanistic model of the body. AK includes a set of specific tests and related corrections to restore balance in a therapeutic model, and uses test responses to make an evaluation of physiological health. One-to-one correspondence is frequently used between muscle “weakness� and organ or system function. The chiropractor corrects imbalances using spinal or other muscular, cranial, or lymphatic manipulation and/or by offering nutritional support.

In Edu-K, the body is seen in terms of the situational or environmental context of the individual’s moment-to-moment needs, motivations, and interrelationships. The individual does not need to change, as they are in a growth process. He or she is fine just as they are. Presenting challenges or behaviors are valid just as they are. New learning is possible as a sense of objectivity and choice develops around old patterns. Muscle-checking is used primarily to anchor their new learning. The Edu-K process offers a multidimensional approach to balance emphasizing the learner’s discovery of movement patterns that release physical, mental, or emotional holding, making latent potentials more available.

This section from the FAQ alone tells me that Braingym is close enough to AK for me to doubt it's claims. I would still like to hear what it did for you though Jyera, and why you think it works.

[clarsct]

Hmmmm.

Does BrainGym have any double-blind placebo-controlled studies?

For instance, would some doing random exercises receive the same benefit as those doing the real ones?

Just asking.

[John Jackson]

Originally posted by clarsct
Hmmmm.

Does BrainGym have any double-blind placebo-controlled studies?

For instance, would some doing random exercises receive the same benefit as those doing the real ones? I strongly suspect that any positive outcome from using BrainGym will have more to do with the Hawthorne effect (http://www.burtonreport.com/InfHealthCare/Info&UseHawthorne.html) than with any scientific validity.

It has been around since 1969, yet I can not find a published study on it.

[clarsct]

Exactly what I was thinking, actually. I was just wondering what they considered a 'success' and how they got their success rates.

1969? I'm sure they must have SOME science on it by now...wouldn't ya think?

[Jyera]

Originally posted by bluegray
@Jyera
It sounds to me as though you had positive results from braingym. Would you mind telling us how it improved your life?
1. It provided me with a tools for improving learning.
2. It opens up insights on mind brain and learning.
3. I achieved my aim to find something meaningful to teach my children.

I am a father of 2 young child, concerned with what to teach them. Do I give them a head start in maths? language? science?
It seems there are too many thing a child need to learn. Too many important things, too little time. I chance upon BrainGym which is a tool to improve learning.

Originally posted by bluegray
What is so special about the braingym exercises?

This was one Question I asked myself.

I found that there is nothing special about the BrainGym exercises.
They are just a set of normal exercise which anyone can do.

However,
-What is special is the person doing the exercises.
-What is special is the person who is unable to do the exercises.
-What is special is the moment the person who is unable to do the exercise finally able to do it.
-What is special are the people who were trained about the exercises.
-What is special are the reasons why you do an exercise.
-What is special is the the person who find it uncomfortable doing a certain exercise/action.

[Jyera]

Originally posted by clarsct
...snipe... Does BrainGym have any double-blind placebo-controlled studies?
I doubt so it is possible to do a double-blind test.
Would you be able to suggest how a double-blind placebo controlled studies can be designed?
Originally posted by clarsct
...For instance, would some doing random exercises receive the same benefit as those doing the real ones? ...snipe...
Consider Physical Gym and physical exercise. Would some random exercise receive the same benefit as those doing the real ones? The answer would be 'yes' and 'no'. Can you rationalise why 'Yes' and 'No'?
Try answering this and I'll guide you along to the answer.

[clarsct]

Originally posted by Jyera
-What is special is the person doing the exercises.
-What is special is the person who is unable to do the exercises.
-What is special is the moment the person who is unable to do the exercise finally able to do it.
-What is special are the people who were trained about the exercises.
-What is special are the reasons why you do an exercise.
-What is special is the the person who find it uncomfortable doing a certain exercise/action.


>?<

The first two are contradictatory. The third is the result of practice, you can do that with Karate katas or any other form of exercise.

Being trained to move your body a certain way is special?
Run that past me again?

The last one seems a bit odd to me, as well. Doing something you're uncomfortable doing seems harmful to me.

The reasons why you do the exercise? To be healthier? Do you have any data that doing the exercises makes you smarter?

[Jyera]

Originally posted by bluegray
This section from the FAQ alone tells me that Braingym is close enough to AK for me to doubt it's claims.
Can you enlighten me about the similarity and difference you perceive between Edu-K, BrainGym and AK ? And how it leads to your doubt?
What is the particular claims you referred to?
Originally posted by bluegray
I would still like to hear what it did for you though Jyera, and why you think it works.
Can you clarify, what you mean by 'it', and what you mean by 'works'?

[Jyera]

Originally posted by bluegray
I'm not planning to do anything with it. Someone in my family was telling me about the wonders of braingym and that is why I'm checking it out.
What "wonders" was claimed?
Is the person attending a course on Braingym?

[bluegray]

@John
thanks for the link ;)

@Jyera
It looks to me as though the Braingym exercises was developed from AK principles and while it is not the same thing, it does seem to share some of it's characteristics.

I'm glad you shared your experience, it gave me a lot of insight to braingym and together with the other comments I am able to make a more informed decision on what Braingym can and can't do.

[Jyera]

Here's a reply to clarsct's response.
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Jyera
-What is special is the person doing the exercises.
-What is special is the person who is unable to do the exercises.
-What is special is the moment the person who is unable to do the exercise finally able to do it.
-What is special are the people who were trained about the exercises.
-What is special are the reasons why you do an exercise.
-What is special is the the person who find it uncomfortable doing a certain exercise/action.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point 1 and 2 are not contradictory.

Point 1 refers to BrainGym's philosophy of honouring the individual who needed help.

Point 2: A person who is unable to do a certain exercise in the brainGym menu is an indication to the BrainGym instructor to their physical mind body condition. Eg. if they have a problem in "crossing the midline". A normal person who do not have such difficulties will find it hard to appreciate.

Point 3: The moment of achievement, is a moment of joy and celebration. And BrainGym "celebrates" at the end of each "BrainGym Balance". A BrainGym is a 5 step learning process. It is important for a person the "balancee", who has special learning needs to celebrate the baby step. And it is the resposibility of the BrainGym "Balancer" to celebrate it without making the person feels demoralised because it might be still a long way before the person is able to do the exercise as comptently as a Karate expert.

If you are a normal competence person, you probably don't celebrate doing an exercise. But everyone has some hidden mental inhibition or choice, we do not realize that is limiting our potential. "Movement of the body" help unlease these self-awareness.

Point 4: to the untrained eyes, the exercises seems normal and laughable to be considered to have any positive effect. The Trained BrainGym instructor on the other hand, have the responisibility to know if an exercise is relevant to the needs of the person.

Point 5: Different reason means different objective and different expected result. The reason or objective also is important it determining which exercise are relevant to do.

Point 6: The level of being uncomfortable is an important indicator. Especially for "normal" "adult". BrainGym assert that mind/brain and the body are closely related. Do you feel uncomfortable physically when seeing a bowl of live worms beside your lunch?
In this case, there is fear, there is disgust, there is uncontrollable urge to walk away. BrainGym uses a method generically called named a "Balance" to remove these uncomfortable feeling.
And to anchor new learning into the brain+body as a whole unit.

Humans are not perfect.
Some will tell you "It is typical of me to be impatient".
"It is typical of me to be temparamental".
"I'm just a nice person" (Who gets trampled but more assertive people). Do you realise that if you are an impatient person, you might have learned to be uncomfortable with people who take a long time.

Are you feeling impatient with this post already???
Can you change it? Do you want and need to change it?

In Summary
So you see.

BrainGym is a tool.
(which is more than just the individual exercises)
The BrainGym instructor is trained on how to facilitate the use of the tool. And if they are proficient and know their stuff, they should expect it to be effective.

[Jyera]

Originally posted by bluegray
@John
thanks for the link ;)

@Jyera
It looks to me as though the Braingym exercises was developed from AK principles and while it is not the same thing, it does seem to share some of it's characteristics.

I'm glad you shared your experience, it gave me a lot of insight to braingym and together with the other comments I am able to make a more informed decision on what Braingym can and can't do. Be aware how "looks" can mislead.
Human and wild ape may share similar features but they might be subtly differently.

I have hardly shared much.