Rhythmex®

Whole Tutoring is proud to be the only tutoring house that incorporates Rhythmex activities into the curriculum. Rhythmex is a fitness routine that works out the body --> to access the brain --> to affect the mind. At its core, Rhythmex is what it sounds like: rhythmic exercises.

Its power is in its simplicity -- you don't even have to break a sweat! By following 5 principles, the ABCD+R, Rhythmex creates a simple and versatile method for designing your own routines:

• Alternating hand and feet motions
• Bilateral movements (both sides of the body)
• Crossing the imaginary midline of your body with your movements
• Duration of 30 to 90 seconds at a time (only!)
• Rhythmic tempo (i.e. steady pace)

There are literally endless combinations of movements. The best part is that the goal is not to get good at it! You don't "practice" Rhythmex to improve your physical abilities -- like you would Pilates or dance -- or to increase your tempo. To get the most from these activities you want to maintain a "beginner's mind" -- a state in which you are fully attentive and somewhat struggling.

The purpose of these activities is to mimic the way the brain learns. The brain processes new information by routing it through both hemispheres and across the corpus callosum (midline bridge). If the synapses occur at a steady repetitive pace for a sufficient duration, a new memory or thought process is created.

Rhythmex exercises are no mere parlor trick. Your brain is the most complex bunch of bundled wires in the world (it puts that mess behind your TV to shame!). Different areas, like motor control, memory, language processing, and emotions, overlap in many regions. When we straighten one wire it helps straighten out the rest. A straight path, in turn, leads to easier, quicker access to desired ideas, fewer missed connections, and less emotional spillover. The brain actually re-maps itself -- at any age!

One recent study of about 40 eight- and nine-year-olds at a state home for abused children found that with just 5 minutes of Rhythmex activities 2-3 times a week for 8 weeks (just 15 min/week), the children increased their effective mental and emotional ages by a year, almost catching up to their peers. Also, the number of behavioral incidents dropped substantially.

Another study, of a single Traumatic Brain Injury victim, found that a steady regiment of Rhythmex exercises helped the patient recover use of the right side of her body nine years after the accident! Also, her IQ went up by 30 points in eight months, she got a high school diploma, and now she is attending college. The brain can re-wire itself in ways we never thought possible.

We employ Rhythmex activities at Whole Tutoring because they are simple to learn and modify, free to practice, short and varied, and have been shown to effect major changes in learning, behavior, focus, retention, and mood in even extreme cases. They give our students an extra edge.