Right Brain Exercises

The human brain is the most complex of all organs in the body. In humans, the brain is divided into two hemispheres, the left brain and the right brain. It is intriguing to note that the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa. While the left brain is the centre of logical reasoning, language skills, mathematical ability and scientific reasoning, the right brain represents the ‘non technical’ side of the thought process. The right brain is responsible for activities like appreciation and creation of art (in any form), holistic thinking (also known as the ‘Big Picture’) and intuition. The academic exercises that one performs when one is in school are designed to strengthen the left brain (analytical thinking). Some psychologists debate that, even though analytical thinking can be enhanced by the academic pursuits one follows; there are no courses or exercises that can help with exercising the right brain. Read on then to gain insights on some exercises that are believed to be helpful in developing the right brain.

 

The brain must be exercised in order to develop it further. Right brain exercises are designed to help people develop holistic thinking and improve their creativity.

 

This exercise was a technique used regularly by Pablo Picasso himself! For this exercise you will first need a plain sheet of paper. Now, using a pencil, draw random lines on the paper and make sure you don’t consciously guide the pencil. Once you are done, you will notice that you have created a random pattern with lots of individual spaces on the paper. Once the pattern is ready, use crayons or colouring pencils to fill in these individual spaces with any colour you like. The end result is what is known as a “Wild Pitch”. When you look carefully at it, you will start seeing specific patterns in this creation. These specific patterns are an example of the right brain indulging in holistic thinking.

 

This exercise is aimed at teaching you how to capture the essence of what you see with your eyes. You will need a big sheet of plain paper, a timer or a stopwatch and a pen. The aim of this exercise is to improve your hand-eye coordination by moving your hand as you move your eyes. Set the stopwatch to 30 minutes and choose a subject to draw and make sure that it is not a simple subject. It would in fact be a great idea to choose a subject with lots of detail and intricacy. Now that you are all set, start drawing.

 

Take the first few minutes to observe the subject and understand it. Start drawing what you see and try not to look at the paper while drawing. Let your eyes and hands move in the same direction at the same time. Don’t draw in the centre of the paper because that would lead you to draw very small drawings and the object of this exercise is to draw big and follow your eyes with fluid motion. Once the 30 minutes are over, stop drawing and start all over with a new sheet and a new subject.

 

Since acting in a movie or a play is considered an art, it is directly linked to the right brain. What you can do is to think of a situation and start acting it out with your friends. Let there be no script or set dialogues. You don’t even have to have a set story line. What you have to do is, propose a situation and then assume roles in the situation and interact with fellow participants. Your performance flows as a reaction to what the other people in the play are doing and encourages you to be more creative thus exercising the right brain.

There are numerous other exercises that can enhance your creativity and holistic thinking, but there is no such exercise or activity that can develop intuition in a laboratory. Intuition is still developed in the field and learnt through intense personal experiences.