I was sick the day of my Body Break, but I was planning to do a mini-version of this. It is designed for ages 5 to adults. There is some information about the Brain Dance and how/why it was developed at http://creativedance.org/about/braindance/ and these explanations of the different movements are copied from a handbook I got at a PD session a couple years ago. The idea is to demonstrate the types of movements to students and then have them come up with their own versions of these types of movements. Can be done staying in one spot, moving around, sitting, or standing.
The idea is to create a "dance" with one or two movements from each category, not to do all movements all the time. This list just gives a lot of suggestions.
1. Breath: take four to five deep breaths through the nose and out the mouth
Benefits: increase flow of oxygen to the brain; bring awareness of importance of breath for ease and flow of movement.
2. Tactile: With your hands, squeeze each arms and each leg and the torso, back, head (whole body). Then tap lightly whole body, then brush smoothly whole body.
Benefits: strengthen bonding; develop sensory integration
3. Core-Distal: Move from the centre out, through and beyond the fingers, toes, head and tail. Then curl back to torso. Movement that grows and shrinks, stretches and curls in big "X"s and little "o"s is great.
Benefits: relate to self and others; develop full body extension and awareness of core for correct alignment
4. Head-Tail: Move the head and tail (lowest part of spine) in different directions. Play with movement that brings head and tail together curving forward and backward and side-to-side. Keep knees bent. End with a spine wiggle.
Benefits: increase spine flexibility and neck strength; move through space with ease; create an open path for central nervous system to fully function
5. Upper-Lower: Ground lower half of body by pressing legs into floor with a slight knee bend. Swing arms in different directions and stretch and dance with upper body (arms, head, spine) in different ways. Ground upper half by reaching arms out into space with energy as though you were hugging the earth. Dance with lower half - try marching in place, simple knee bends, jumps, and other actions.
Benefits: articulate body halves for mobility/stability, function and expression; develop emotional grounding - you reach for goals and set boundaries
6. Body-Side: Make a big X with your body. Dance with the left side of your body while keeping the right side still. Then keep the left side still and dance with the right side. Follow your thumb with your eyes as it moves right to left and left to right.
Benefits: articulate body sides; balance both side of the body; develop horizontal eye-tracking and side dominance
7. Cross-Lateral: Do a standing crawl with knees and hands in front of you. Let your eyes travel up and down looking at one thumb as it reaches high and low. Find as many ways of moving cross-laterally as possible such as touching right knee to left elbow, left hand to right foot, left hand to right hip, skipping, etc.
Benefits: integrate brain hemispheres; develop vertical eye-tracking; create complex three dimensional movements.
8. Vestibular: Choose a movement that takes you off balance and makes you dizzy. Swing upper body forward and backward and side-to-side. Tip, sway, roll, and rock in different directions (any movement that makes you dizzy). Spin one directions until you feel dizzy, breathe and rest, then spin the other way. Take three or four deep breaths to centre yourself after spinning.
Benefits: develop spatial awareness, balance and coordination; strengthen the system that controls the five senses
