What BRAIN-IN-A-BAG will Do For YOU!

by Dean Brittenham

Scientific discoveries about the Brain and Nervous system have revealed that the brain’s potential is practically Unlimited.  In the past year there has been an explosion of research, publications, and books about the tremendous potential of the brain and its ability to learn, grow (neurogenesis, which is never ending), and change (neuroplasticity, which is the lifelong capacity of the brain to change and rewire itself in response to the stimulation of learning and experience).

The groundwork prediction sixteen years ago by two geniuses, Michael Gelb and Tony Buzan, was that everyone has a virtually unlimited potential to grow the brain and become a genius. Their book, “Lessons From the Art of Juggling,” confirmed the foundation PREVIOUSLY laid with our Ambidexterity program. The basic reason that we developed an extensive juggling program was to develop the sensory system−quick hands for playing all sports that involved catching and throwing a ball. Little did we know that this Ambidexterity was growing the brain's right hemisphere, and our athletes had a distinct advantage as they were becoming Whole Brain Thinkers.

The second activity we incorporated in our Athleticism program was forty-to-sixty footwork or bilaterality drills per workout. The research now shows that these activities were also growing the right hemisphere. Dr. Art Kramer, Dr. Heyn, and Dr. Colcombe are just a few researchers who confirm that drills, exercise, and fitness training increases cognitive performance. Dr Gage’s work with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has shown that exercise helps generate new brain cells, even in the aging brain.

John Ratey’s book “Spark” confirms the contribution of COMPLEX MOTOR MOVEMENTS and exercise toward neurogenesis (brain growth). Michael Lavery’s book “Whole Brain Power” also confirms that Ambidexterity training ensures neurogenesis, myelination, and increased blood flow, which leads to greatly improved right brain activities and whole brain thinking. These statements, along with others by leading neurologists and scientists in our Reference List, lay the foundation for the activities, programs, drills, exercises and skills performed with the Brain in a Bag tools.

In studying the highest achievers in Music, Art, Science, and Sports there is a common thread... the vast majority of these individuals were Ambidextrous. Becoming ambidextrous grows both hemispheres of the brain and the corpus collosum, leading these brilliant performers in all areas to become Whole Brain Thinkers.

The #1 Activity to grow the entire brain, particularly the right hemisphere is juggling:

1. Juggling fosters rhythmic coordination between the two sides of the body and the two sides of the brain, resulting in Psychophysical Ambidexterity.
2. Juggling teaches you to relax and focus at the same time, leading to Relaxed Concentration.
3. Juggling is learned by going from one step to the next − a great model for learning in general.
4. Juggling develops quickened reflexes, muscle tone, and highly refined hand-eye coordination. Research has proven that there is a direct relationship between hand-eye coordination and the ability to write and read.
5. Juggling is a perfect metaphor: all of life is juggling time, energy, money, family, friends, activities, etc.
6. The majority of the juggling tools – games that are in Brain in a Bag – involve crossing the vertical and horizontal mid-lines of the body. This is great for tuning up the nervous system and the coordination between the hemispheres of the brain.

The Brain in a Bag backpack is filled with all the tools and instructions to help you learn different types of juggling combined with other skills:

• Sticks and Balls, Paddles and Balls, Catching Coins, Brick Tricks, Catching Poker Chips, Snooker Ball Rotations
• A Jump-Rope to help you learn a multitude of steps and movements. Rope skipping is rated the #2 Activity for growing the brain.
• A Stretching Belt will help you improve the flexibility of your body as well as your mind
• A Twenty-four Page Booklet of drills, exercises, bilaterality and ambidexterity activities, footwork and movement drills, power development skills, a flexibility program, core development programs, conditioning suggestions, etc.
• Also included is a DVD to teach you the various juggling and movement activities
• Two pages of penmanship drills, drawing from memory, games, puzzles, writing backwards with non-dominate hand
• A set of Speed Stacks and a DVD to learn fast hand-eye coordination which contributes to neurogenesis. This activity tunes up the electrical system as you continually cross the horizontal and vertical midlines of the body.

There is a world of concrete evidence about people in the sports world who are obvious Whole Brain Thinkers. While there are always those who feel that everything needs to be researched under the strictest of controls, the greatest laboratory is the athletic field, court, diamond, etc. There, competition is performed by the strictest rules under the oversight of competent officials on consistent fields of competition. The statistics in every sport — timed and measured performances, individual head-to-head competition, rankings of competitors, shooting percentages, averages, win-loss percentages — make it very easy to assess and rank who is the very best in their sport. There is an obvious difference in the leading performers, and the scientific leaders who rank them see their obvious Whole Brain Thinking qualities:

1. They are in "the zone"
2. They see the game in slow motion
3. They exhibit relaxed concentration
4. They are more creative, aware, focused
5. They are in the right place at the right time
6. They know what is going to happen before it happens
7. They find a way to win and they make everyone around them better

The year 2010 gave us three very obvious Whole Brain Thinkers who were the very best at what they did:

• WES WELKER: All-Pro wide receiver, who led the NFL in receptions (123 for 1348 yds., averaging 96.3 yds. per game). He had a knack for being open for critical first downs.
• STEVE NASH: A former 2-time NBA–MVP. Past great point guards all say he is the best ever. He consistently leads the league in assists averaging 11.0 per game, free-throw shooting .938, field goal percentage 50%
• NDAMUKONG SUH: By consensus, the number one collegiate football player in the nation by the majority of coaches, players, and fans

How did these three phenomenal athletes rise to the very top of their sport? These three super-performers all grew up playing soccer at a very high level, a Bilateral activity which contributed greatly to their Right Brain Growth! The empirical evidence shows that their great footwork skills—Bilaterality & Ambidexterity— did a tremendous job of building the right hemisphere of their brains, which is essential for a performer to develop into a Whole Brain Thinker. In another empirical example, a class of twenty-five soccer players (none of which knew how to juggle three balls) ALL learned to very successfully juggle in three minutes. This case illustrates that people who have developed great Ambidexterity and Bilateral skills have consistently become superior performers with exceptional Whole Brain Thinking abilities.

Learning and Perfecting the hundreds of activities in BRAIN IN A BAG will put YOU on the pathway to becoming a WHOLE BRAIN THINKER and reaching your GOALS.

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