STRESS BUSTER: Indian cricketer Sreesanth and others at a brain gym in Chennai

The high of finding a fat-salaried software job at the age of 20 was short-lived. P.K. Krishnan had barely figured how the coffee machine worked when he was put on a critical three-month assignment. “A client wanted a job done in three months that usually takes six months,” recalls Krishnan, 23, quality executive at Ramco Infotech Solutions, a Chennai-based information technology firm.

Krishnan and his two colleagues worked round the clock, writing work processes for 1,000 people. “It was hectic. After a point, I felt I couldn’t concentrate on work any more,” he says. When the project got over, Krishnan took one week off from office to attend a brain gym training programme. “I had heard that brain gym exercises help relieve stress and improve mental skills. It’s just what I wanted,” he says.

Just like you exercise to keep your body fit, so you work out the grey cells to keep the brain ticking. “The brain gym offers a set of physical movements that help the brain to function better. It also helps overcome memory loss, phobias and stress,” claims Dinesh Victor, managing director, SIP Academy, an institute with branches all over India that teaches abacus and brain gym exercises to children. The concept was invented by a California doctor, Paul Dennison, 40 years ago.

Indians began flexing their cortex and cerebellum only recently. “Brain gym training was imported to India in the last five years. It’s now a big fad among students and young professionals,” says Shihan Pushpanathan, chairman, Soroban Education for Mental Arithmetic System (SEMAS) India, a Chennai-based brain gym and abacus training centre. SEMAS started brain gym training classes in 2003. So far, it’s trained 75,000 children and 500 adults — 300 of whom are software professionals.

As performance pressure peaks in schools, students are looking for quicker ways to mug up the chronology of the Mughal kings. “As schools get competitive, children face learning difficulties because of stress and brain fatigue. Brain gym training helps counter study stress,” claims SIP Academy’s Victor. A lot of parents are convinced about the benefits of brain gyms. SIP Academy runs abacus and brain gym programmes at 350 centres across India and claims to have trained 50,000 students.

In Bangalore, Malini B.R. enrolled her daughter for brain gym training two years ago. “Now my daughter can study up to two subjects a day during exams,” says Malini. She makes her eight-year-old daughter do a few exercises before she sits to study every day. The dose increases during exam time. “I make her do her brain gym exercises every half an hour,” says Malini.

Software professionals are also flocking to brain gyms to sharpen their mental skills. “Brain gym exercises are used to improve logical thinking and beat stress — both benefit IT professionals,” says C.J. Jeychander, a Bangalore-based brain gym consultant. In the last two years, Jeychander claims to have taught brain gym techniques to over 300 techies — at Rs 3,500 for an eight-hour training programme.

Managing twin daughters, a house and a high pressure job was taking a toll on P. Chitra. “I had to get my daughters ready, send them to a crèche and then rush to office to handle clients and sales deadlines. Life was a whirlwind,” says Chitra, director, I-trek Private Ltd, a Chennai-based software firm. Two years ago, Chitra enrolled for a brain gym programme. “I exercise for 10 minutes every morning. It helps me stay positive,” she says. Now every time Chitra’s children annoy her, she does a quick acupressure exercise — and keeps her cool.

If you feel the Indian cricket team suffers from a think-negative syndrome, refer them to the Chennai-based sports academy, the MRF Pace Foundation. Last year, the academy — which trains fast bowlers — started brain gym classes for its students. “It is meant to help the boys concentrate better and think positive,” says T.A. Sekar, chief coach at the academy.

Like yoga, mediation and ayurvedic massages, brain gym training is turning into a trend in urban India, as it copes with rising stress levels. “Stress is going up in the Indian corporate sector. So anything that helps beat work pressure becomes popular,” says SIP Academy’s Victor.

Also, as Indians increasingly travel and work abroad, they bring western fads to the country. “Many western theories like abacus, neuro-linguistic programming and hypnotherapy have become fashionable in India,” says Bangalore’s Jeychander. But not everyone is convinced about the benefits of brain gym. “There is no scientific data to prove that brain gym exercises increase individual intellect,” says Dr Milind Sankhe, a neuro surgeon at Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital. Sankhe says doing anything that is not routine helps the brain. “For routine activities, man uses the left brain. If he does something different he sets the right brain ticking,” he explains. So if a software professional enrols for dance classes, it will help him as much as brain gym exercises.

Brain biology aside, Chennai-based techie P.K. Krishnan says brain gym exercises come handy in crunch situations. Whenever Krishnan feels sleepy during an office meeting or training session, he massages a joint in his jaw with both hands. “I yawn a few times and then the sleep vanishes,” Krishnan says.

Therapeutic tricks

Here are two brain gym exercises

Positive points

Touch the point above each eye — halfway between the hairline and the eyebrows — with each fingertip lightly. Then think of something — like the spelling of a word or a potentially stress-producing situation. Close your eyes and experience the image or the associated tension and then its release.

This exercise is said to help during sports performance, public speaking and stage performance.

Lazy 8s

Align the body with a point at eye level. This will be the midpoint of the 8. Then using your left hand first, activate your right hemisphere. Start on the midline and move counter clockwise — up, over and around. The eyes follow an eight, the head moves slightly and the neck remains relaxed. Do three repetitions with each hand separately, and then with both together. Two colours of chalk or ink should be used. Humming while doing the Lazy 8 works better.

The exercise helps in relaxation.