Enhancing Goal Attainment with the 5-Step Balance Process

Remove Blocks to Achievement and Boost Primitive Reflex Integration

by Sonia Story

Have you ever wanted to do something but felt blocked in starting it, or unable to follow it through to the end? I know I have. Accomplishing meaningful goals is easy for some, but much more intimidating for others. Children can be especially challenged when trying to reach their goals.

The "after" writing is steady, with letters well-spaced, completely formed, and all facing the correct direction. In the Brain and Sensory Foundations® program we teach a 5-Step Balance process that is very useful for helping children and adults achieve their goals with less stress, more enjoyment, and greater effectiveness.

How does it work? In the 5-Step Balance, we begin with a goal in mind and we do an activity for 10 seconds to help the brain and body become aware of the goal and any stress we might have related to the goal. Then we do a unique combination of movements to engage the brain and body in positive ways that help release the stress or tension attached to the goal. At the end we do the same 10 second activity that we did at the beginning, only this time we notice any changes or progress we have made in relation to the goal.

In most cases, the whole process takes only 5 to 15 minutes! Even young children enjoy the 5-Step Balance, and parents and therapists have had great success making the process playful and fun. See more examples of goal achievement using the 5-Step Balance.

If you look at the before and after pictures here, you may be surprised that these changes happened in the course of just one short movement session using the 5-Step Balance from the Brain and Sensory Foundations® program.

One of the things I love about the 5-Step Balance is that it can also supercharge reflex integration at the same time. For example, for goals involving drawing or handwriting, we often add in integration of the hand reflexes to the sequence of movements in the 5-Step Balance. This boosts both the reflex integration and the goal at the same time.

I originally learned a form of the 5-Step Balance process from Brain Gym® and Touch for Health courses. In my private practice I modified the 5-Step Balance to be child-friendly and to include reflex integration. It worked so well that I decided to teach it in the Brain and Sensory Foundations, First Level course. I still use the life-changing 5-Step Balance on a regular basis for my own goals and reflex integration needs.

The "before" drawing is light with less detail. The "after" drawing has more confident strokes and more detail.According to Ellen Winney, Occupational Therapist, the 10-year-old boy who drew these pictures had a school assignment involving drawing a person:
"He initially drew a picture (left) of a girl, showing signs of discomfort (wiggling, lack of focus, disparaging remarks about his drawing).

After the 5-Step Balance, he made a second drawing (right). This time "he was visibly much more relaxed and even asked if he could continue the drawing by adding more detail. I especially love how in the second drawing, he drew a word bubble with the boy saying, 'What a nice day'. Any skepticism I had about the 5-Step [Balance] Process disappeared seeing these drawings!"

Thank you to occupational therapists Emma Duryea (handwriting sample) and Ellen Winney, (drawing sample) for providing examples of work with children using the 5-Step Balance from the Brain and Sensory Foundations, First Level (Part 1) course.

Get the tools for greatly enhancing effectiveness with goals while boosting primitive reflex integration.