Sharing with you the article published in today’s Star (27 March 2013) written by Majorie Chiew of The Star who attended the “Brain Gym Vs Dementia” Talk & Exercise Session conducted at ADFM PJ Daycare Centre on 9 March 2013.
Instructor Goh Siew Siew gets the crowd swinging and clapping their way through a series of exercises at a recent Brain Gym vs Dementia talk and exercise session.
If our body needs exercise to stay in shape, so does the brain. EXERCISE can pack in a lot of fun, besides being good for the body and brain. At a recent Brain Gym vs Dementia talk and exercise session, the enthusiastic crowd swayed, clapped and sang in sync with Brain Gym songs such as Tony Chestnut, Apple Pie and Blueberry Pie.
“We’re going to make the best apple pie ... knee, shoulder, clap hands,” coaxed Goh Siew Siew, an international certified instructor of Brain Gym. The exercise involves touching the knees with your hands, then touching your shoulders and bringing your hands together in a clap.
“The left brain person needs instructions to do the exercise, while the right brain person knows how to do it, just by looking (at a demonstration),” said Goh.
She encouraged participants to “see it once and do it together!”
“Apple pie, apple pie, apple, apple, apple, apple pie. Anyone miss your pie?”
Before each workout, the participants are encouraged to drink water.
Goh said: “Time to drink water. Your brain needs ‘moisture’ to process (information).”
After the session, she asked: “Are you ready for Blueberry Pie (the exercise)?”
She was greeted with a resounding yes!
The talk and exercise session which was held at the Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation Malaysia (ADFM) PJ Daycare Centre, was open to care- givers and members of the public.
Brain Gym is a series of simple yet effective movements which are claimed to help stimulate neurological connections in the brain, reduces the stress of information processing, and rekindles the joy of learning.
It integrates the left and right hemispheric functions of the brain. As such, the exercises are claimed to enhance concentration, comprehension, reading and memory.
The movements also assist in balancing the body’s energy or meridian system and stress management.
The Brain Gym programme was the result of more than 30 years of clinical research by Dr Paul Dennison, an educational therapist, in the United States. It has been taught worldwide and is used in corporate, institutional and atheletic training programme.
Brain Gym consists of 26 simple activities to improve learning skills through the use of both brain hemispheres. The exercises are said to be helpful for students with dyslexia or hyperactivity.
“Whether it is the body or the brain, the benefits of exercising and keeping fit have been proven for people of all ages, whatever their conditions. It is especially critical for dementia patients,” said Goh, who believes Brain Gym exercises can help keep dementia at bay.
Goh explained to the participants that the left side of the brain governs logic, thinking and language. However, dementia patients have problems with language and communication. “They cannot remember words to express themselves or sometimes they forget that they have eaten and want to eat again.”
The left side of the brain processes information in a linear manner and in sequence, while the right side is often called the creative side of the brain.
“Brain gym is for everyone – young and old. It emphasises on exercises which balance both the right and left brain functions.
“To sing a simple nursery rhyme like Baa Baa Black Sheep, you need both sides of the brain,” Goh explained.
BRAIN GYM EXERCISES
Other Brain Gym exercises which Goh taught the participants included Brain Buttons, Cross Crawl, Hook-ups, Arm Activations, Lazy Eight and Double Doodle.
And if I yawned at the end of the session, Goh will understand. For mine is not the “bored” yawn. In Brain Gym, it is the “energe-tic” yawn for scientific research has shown that yawning is an exercise which brings oxygen to the brain and as such, enhances learning.
The talk and exercise session was well received by the participants.
Retired microbiologist and biochemist, Clement Wong, 65, had no regrets signing up for the session as he had enjoyed himself tremendously.
A wellness consultant for 30 years, he said: “I am open to anything to do with wellness.”
His wife, Lucille Lee, 63, a retired school supervisor, liked The Owl exercise the most. “I have neck pain and this exercise is good for the shoulders and neck.”
The movements in The Owl are said to improve visual and auditory skills, head rotation, and lessen neck tension.
Another participant, project manager Kit Yuen, 55, said: “The exercises are very useful and I have started variations of them with my 79-year-old mother who has Alzheimer’s and has been diagnosed as a moderately severe case a few years ago.
“She has problems with memory, coordination, xenophobia and sensitivity. She does not remember what she said or is said to her within 5 minutes. She can still manage routines like eating, sleeping, reading the papers (albeit with fleeting concentration) and watching TV.”
Kit Yuen and her sister share the caregiving of their elderly mother and father. Her mother is currently “very unsociable” and will not even visit friends, let alone attend an event with a room full of strangers.
“I vary the moves (for the exercises) because my mother is diabetic; her exercise regime incorporates strengthening the leg muscles as well as coordination. I like the coordination exercises – the ones that involve arm and leg movements together– as they are very challenging,” said Kit Yuen.
And so it was a group of very happy participants who went home that day, with a new spring in their steps, and armed with tips to improve their memory.
(Source: The Star, 27 March 2013, http://thestar.com.my)
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