Brain Development
What is Breathing Lazy 8 ? Best Brain Gym
Feb
What is Lazy 8 or Infinity Breathing tracking Board ?
Lazy 8 , or some know this as the infinity sign is the Best Brain Gym exercise for Kids .
An intervention designed by the educator and reading specialist Paul and Gail Dennison in the year 1970 is Brain Gym. Focus to improve various outcomes including attention, memory, and academic skills. In this intervention the participants needed to engage in a variety of movements to help the body recall the movements from the first stages of life when they were learning to coordinate the hands , eyes and whole body.
Just like exercise do to our body, the brain exercise stimulate the brain activity and enhance whole brain learning abilities.
It helps to improve visual attention and eye motility, by improving ocular motor function which assists with reading smoothly and crossing the mid-line improves integration between the two hemispheres of the brain.
Lazy Board is a wonderful tool to establishing cross lateral integration. The term Cross-lateral is the diagonal connections in the body which give access to three-dimensional movement that requires coordination from both sides of body, the left and right. This cross-lateral movements assist the child’s development by the integration of the two halves or of the brain’s motor cortex – the mind/body connection.
| Area | Benefit | Rationale |
| Brain Integration | Activates and integrates both hemispheres of the brain. | The pattern requires continuous movement across the midline of the body, which is essential for coordinating the left and right sides of the brain. |
| Writing & Dysgraphia | Improves writing flow, speed, and accuracy; helps eliminate letter and number reversals. | Develops the smooth, controlled arm and eye movements necessary for fluent handwriting, which is a major challenge for children with Dysgraphia. |
| Eye Tracking | Enhances visual tracking, smooth pursuit, and binocular vision (eye teaming). | Following the curve continuously with the eyes strengthens the ocular motor muscles, which is vital for smooth reading (tracking words across a page). |
| Motor Skills | Develops fine motor control, gross motor planning, and hand-eye coordination. | The repetitive tracing motion (with a finger, stylus, or marble) builds arm and wrist control and helps establish hand dominance. |
| Focus & Calm | Increases attention span and focus; has a calming effect. | The rhythmic, non-linear tracing is often used as a brain break or a calming activity to prepare the mind for learning. |
The benefit of
- Improve memory
- Think more clearly
- Improving a sense of calm
- Academics: Reading, writing, math, test taking
- Enhance eye-hand coordination
- Increase attention span and focus
- Improve writing flow and speed
- Balance emotions and relaxing
- Improve cross laterality
- Enhance visual motor skill
- Improve scanning skill
- Enhance Oculomotor skills
- Help to develop hand dominance.
Studies found that the brain gym improves Quality of life in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Lazy 8 board activity is very much useful or beneficial for the kids with Dyslexia, ADD, Dyspraxia Developmental Delay.
How to do :
- Keep the board in a flat surface in the front towards to the middle of the nose and between the shoulder (no to the sides). Kids have to hold the pencil correctly with a pencil grip. This will encourage the correct pencil grip. Make sure middle of the page is parallel to belly button as it is importance to cross the body’s mid-line while practicing
- Choose the dominant hand (the hand used to write).
- Trace the grove in the board with any wooden dummy pencil or wooden stick. Make sure smooth movement is possible.
- Trace towards left up and around counter clock wise then towards the middle then cross the middle line up around and then down clock wise and back to middle line.
- Do separately 3 time with each hands. 3 times with right hand and 3 times with left hand. Three times with both hands.
- The movement should be slow and fluid.