I am an unapologetic fan of Brain Gym®. A deceptively simple movement process, it has the ability to support us to feel more joy and do anything more easily. I know that is a huge call but I would love to share with you why I believe that.
I am innately quite a fearful and shy introvert. I liked being at home and playing. I found school incredibly painful. I had terrible trouble with the concepts of grammar, Jimmy and I vied for last place in spelling and maths was a nightmare – as was any subject that involved remembering names or phrases. Learning equalled stress. I couldn’t even hide in sports as I struggled with almost everything except uneven parellel bars and sprinting. I was the kid who was always reluctantly chosen last.
I credit 2 teachers for helping me to make it through school. The first angel was Mrs Catt in Grade 4 who gifted me with the ability to disappear into a book with her cleverly designed reading club. Draw a book jacket, write a review or explore the plot and get credit for your report card for every book you completed, with a bonus for ‘fat’ books. I ended that year as a committed life long ‘fat’ book addict, having read all the classics from Secret Garden to Peter Pan to Huckleberry Finn to Little Women. Books became and have remained my friends and most favourite activity.
My other guardian angel was Mr Jamieson, my business teacher in grades 11 & 12. He believed in me and saw an ability I didn’t. We had a deal, as long as I handed in my completed assignments and didn’t drop below A (my only A’s ever), he would ignore my continual absences. He even gave me a glowing reference when I left school that resulted in me scoring some incredible jobs overseas. His support kept me under the radar and able to slide through to graduation with even a uni entrance. (As if!) I still bless those two amazing teachers who had the ability to support me in a way that supported my way of learning. Without them I am not sure where I would be.
I left school with a pretty low self-esteem. It didn’t help that I was a perfectionist and 100% subscribed to a fixed mindset. That’s the one that believes that people are either innately good at things or not and doesn’t get that trying is worth the effort. I could have stayed stuck in that groove forever but along came my 2 boys who got me onto a quest to help them avoid the pain that I experienced.
Enter Brain Gym®. By this time I had started to do some counselling courses and training having recognised how much help I needed to be the parent and person I wanted to be. I enjoyed everything I learnt and was doing some peer to peer group work, however I saw that while people appreciated the knowledge, they were unable to change. Me Too. I couldn’t walk my talk either.
My first Brain Gym® workshop was a revelation – I was able to almost magically do things I had been unable to do before. I was changing me and helping my kids. I finally felt like I found something that made change possible. And so I started my kinesiology journey.
Of course I had plans to become a perfect person and had to discover that you can’t change your innate self – just build on it. But once I got that, Educational Kinesiology not only changed my life but also helped me to support my boys. I went on to do more and more training but would always come back to Brain Gym® when I needed on the spot help. It was just so simple.
I stepped into my worst fears and went to Uni, using Brain Gym® to get through. I discovered that I was actually quite intelligent! (I can’t tell you how surprising I found that.) I used it to free up my creativity – challenging my beliefs that I was not artistic. I used it to increase my flexibility and coordination, getting into yoga and feeling comfortable enough to physically try just about anything.
At the moment I am teaching myself how to play the piano. I desperately wanted to learn when I was young but it was not on the table. I have been learning how to read music, remembering where the notes are and what they sound like and using two hands at a time with, you guessed it, Brain Gym® helping me.
It was learning the piano that reminded me of how much I love the simplicity of Brain Gym® and how it can bring such joy into life. Once I started to use two hands or try to work with the timing I felt that same panicky terror that used to dog my life. And a balance or two later it was gone and I was getting all the aspects working together. I can’t say I am a musical talent but I am loving learning. And I do know that without Brain Gym® I would have given up or struggled painfully on not enjoying myself a whit.
This is why I think it is one of the most versatile things we can learn. It just makes anything easier and more joyful. And, having taught it for so many years, I can say that is a universal experience.
Even though I went on to study and understand the neuro-science behind the changes it creates, the reflex and sensory integration issues it addresses and the trauma it helps dissolve, the thing I love is that you don’t need to know any of that. It just works.
******** This was written with the intention of helping you to live your best life, I would love to hear your thoughts on this, And if you think someone else would enjoy it please feel free to share it around.*********
********* if you want to know more about how I can help you Create The Life You Want To Live please do get in touch! ********
Copyright 2021 Gay Landeta, Create The Life You Want To Live. All rights reserved.
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I found school incredibly painful. I had terrible trouble with the concepts of grammar, Jimmy and I vied for last place in spelling and maths was a nightmare – as was any subject that involved remembering names or phrases. Learning equalled stress. I couldn’t even hide in sports as I struggled with almost everything except uneven parellel bars and sprinting. I was the kid who was always reluctantly chosen last.