Crossing Exercises for Managers
Worn out?
Recent research has corroborated the old insight that our level of
achievement is closely linked to the level of
interest and motivation we have for a particular field or affair.
Moreover, researchers have found that if we are bored, part of our brain
simply switches off. This can happen when we listen to a boring speech or
when we have to accomplish routines over and over, without getting any
pleasurable feeling out of it.
Unfortunately, even the most creative beings also have to
deal with routines. We have to work out
an idea, to market or sell a product, to arrange, to improve, to work over.
As a general rule, working out our ideas takes much
more time and needs more endurance than producing ideas.
Handle Your Brain
In order to avoid our brain to switch, and thus to operate on a reduced energy and intelligence level, we can do crossing, simple but effective exercises that involve both brain hemisphere so that they become more coordinated.
Our brain is functionally asymmetric
Crossing exercises, done regularly, help us to use our brain as a whole, and in a way that both brain hemispheres work in synch. They namely act counter to an overuse of the left brain hemisphere, which is a result of primarily intellectual activities. In addition, they really sustain the brain's natural functioning in an asymmetric manner, that is not right and right and left and left, but right and left, and left and right.
Famous Painting by
Picasso
Functionally speaking real asymmetry is the highest form of symmetry, which is an insight great visual artists and also great musicians know about. A striking example is Pablo Picasso whose asymmetrical lines in his mature art works shock many non-receptive citizens, logically so, because ordinary people are conditioned to system-conformity which is but a distillation of symmetrical thinking. While both nature and the genius think asymmetrically!
They also refresh and stimulate and act counter to fatigue when done after meetings, conferences, and at coffee breaks. People report to be more calm and concentrate better after having done crossing.
The Brain Gym Method
Here are two of the 26 Brain Gym Movements created by Paul E. Dennison, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of educational kinesiology. They involve moving your arms and legs in opposition across the body's midline. As natural as a baby's crawl, these integrative movements help dissolve the stress of daily life and keep us in balance physically and mentally.
Dennison's research has shown a relationship between asymmetrical movement and asymmetrical thinking, reflecting an imbalance between the intuitive and logical sides of the brain. His Brain Gym moves, including these four, can help you activate the nervous system to promote balanced activity between the hemispheres.
More Info on Dr. Dennison's Brain Gym Method
Brain
Gym for Business
Instant Brain Boosters for On-The-Job Success (Perfect Paperback),
co-authored by Paul E. Dennison, PhD
New York: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc., 1994
ISBN-10: 0942143035
ISBN-13: 978-0942143034
Buy This Book
Cross Crawl
Stand with your feet slightly apart, arms at your sides. Lift your right
knee toward your chest as you cross your left hand over the midline of your
body, placing the hand, palm open, to the outside of the right knee.
Return to the starting position, and repeat with the right hand and left
knee to complete 1 set. Do at least 12 sets. You can perform this move
quickly and rhythmically to build energy, or very slowly to emphasize
balance.
Benefit: Synchronizes both brain
hemispheres, and promotes balance.
Cross-Crawl Crunch
Lie face-up on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Place your fingertips, unclasped, behind your head. Pull your abdominals in
so your spine is in contact with the floor.
Bend the left knee in toward your chest as you cross your body's midline to bring the right elbow toward the left knee. Lower the left foot to the floor, and repeat on the opposite side (left elbow to right knee). Continue alternating elbow to knee rhythmically for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Benefit: Synchronizes both brain hemispheres, and tones the abdominal oblique muscles.
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