Brain Dance is a full body/brain warm up exercise.
Developed by Anne Green Gilbert, Brain Dance uses eight developmental movement patterns that healthy human beings naturally move through in the first year of life. Cycling through these patterns at any age, while sitting or standing, has been found to be beneficial in reorganizing our central nervous system. Students can perform the brain dance in a chair, on the floor or standing. This dance can be done to any song to fit your schedule. You will want to check out Anne Green Gilbert’s site here.
Here is a visual you can use with your students. Initially, I do the movements, once learned, two students at a time lead the Brain Dance.
Here are more specific examples for each movement listed above:
Start by taking a couple of deep breathes.
Squeeze, pat, and brush all over your body.
Make a big shape and then a smaller one. Repeat a couple of times.
Wiggle all over, make sure to move your spine.
Move your upper half.
Move your lower half.
Move the left side of your body.
Move the right side of your body.
Use your eyes to track your hand up, down, right, and left.
Bring your right elbow to your left knee, then your left elbow to your right knee.
Lean over and swing between your legs.
Spin in a circle. Repeat the other way.
Click below to see Brain Dance in action!
With the craziness and chaos of Term 2, how about a little creative Brain Dance break to freshen things up a bit or slow things down!
Put on your favourite piece of music and enjoy the movement in your body.
