This is for those of you, who were doing my Neuronet head stand exercise.
Works on balance and has side benefit of teaching a headstand!!
Start by having hands and head in triangle again, and get feet into tripod position from stool. Now press soles of feet together (last position in part 2), being sure that little toes meet. This is really important and you might push feet together for child or even have them sit on floor with soles together so they can feel what this is like.
1 Hold position of soles together for 10 seconds.
2. Now pull feet apart a few inches and “clap” together. Do this 10 times, trying hard to get little toes to meet.
3. Now, keeping soles of feet together, raise legs off hands. You want
to just want to slowly raise feet up off hands with soles together until back is straight. You don’t do anything else to legs. Once back is straight, stay in position for 10 seconds.
My two little guys, 6 and 10, both shake doing the stage 3. It requires a lot of concentration and balance for them.
Beth
Re: Headstands, part 3.
I said much the same thing to the therapist. She actually demonstrates these exercises!! She told me I could learn to do the whole series in six weeks. I can’t say I have been motivated to try.
This series of exercises forces the vestibular system because there is no way of compenstating. I think the head stand is a by product and is certainly more amusing to the child than other things. My two boys actually love the exercises and compete with each other to see who is better. It is so cute to see my six year old doing this.
Beth
handstands
Good thing I don’t have to do this. I have YET to be able to do a hand stand OR a cartwheel. (Don’t plan to start now either) I remember in MS everyone lined up to do 3 cartwheels for a grade. When the PE teacher looked down to grade the girl in front of me I ran from one end of the line to the other. She tried to make me do them - I just took the “zero”. At least I wasn’t embarrassed WITH a “zero”!
Re: Headstands, part 3.
Lol! I’m right there with you on the cartwheels! My legs were just too long…too far to fall!!!
Janis
Re: Headstands, part 3.
My non LD child can’t do a cartwheel at all and I’ve sometimes wondered if this means anything beyond her avoidance of risky situations. When she was in elementary school I had her in gymnastics for about 3 years. I have to admit, she didn’t ever progress. Oddly, she looks like someone who would make a great gymnist or ballerina. I wonder if she has some type of balance/vestibular thing going on? She has no reading difficulties ( as a matter of fact has been reading the entire day today!). But she has an extreme fear of roller coasters and rides that shoot downward. In fact, when she was 10 she cried and refused to go on The Pirates of the Carribean at Disneyland!!!! That seems a bit extreme. I’m definitely not like this and loved doing cartwheels as a child or flipping over the metal bar at the market when I was very young.
Thanks Beth!
We have been doing just headstands because he mastered the last set you posted. He does shake and it does require balance and concentration. I will try these new ones.
I had worked with him in the past on balancing exercises that involved standing upright on one foot. He scored pretty low on balance when tested by the dev optometrist.
I can see that these exercises take balancing to a whole new level. Great stuff!
I have to say, we were just with my husbands family. These are the same people who would complain about my little wild child. One of them told my son, “I thought I came to all of your birthdays but it does seem as though you have matured more than a few years recently.”
All of this therapy has added so much to his confidence and helped him in so many ways.
I just had to laugh when I read this, Beth! I surely would be labeled with some disorder if it depended on being able to do this!!!
Janis