Smart Moves. Why Learning is Not All in Your Head

This book examines the body's role in learning, by reviewing recent scientific insights into the ways that movement initiates and supports mental processes. Part 1 focuses on the brain and physical development, emphasizing the growth of the body/mind capacities with which we learn. It explores three distinct but interconnected kinds of body/mind processing: sensation, emotion, and thought. It also examines the ties that bind body, emotion, and thought together and looks at how movement anchors thought. In part 2, the book discusses the importance of movement and introduces Brain Gym, a coordinated set of integrative movements to enhance learning. Part 3 examines the need to manage stress, nutrition, and other physical requirements of learning. Stress is seen as extremely damaging to learning potential and as the root cause of many of the learning problems seen in people labeled as hyperactive or having attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Contains extensive reference notes for each chapter.) (DB)