What are Windmills?
Windmills strengthen and tone the entire body, making them a popular warm- up exercise in physical education, yoga, and martial arts. Windmills are also good for improving brain power. Moving opposite limbs across the body engages the brain and integrates brain hemispheres.
What are the Benefits?
Windmills stretch your arms, shoulders, core and lower back. Windmills are also a core exercise as you use your core muscles to twist and return to an upright position.
Cognitively, windmills strengthen the brain. Windmills require your child to cross midline, which refers to being able to reach across the body with arms or legs. Midline is an imaginary line down the center of your body. Being able to cross midline is an important developmental skill that is linked to reading and writing.
What to Say.
- Stand up tall in Mountain Pose with your feet apart.
- Take a deep breath in. Stand up taller.
- As you breathe out, bend over and touch your right foot with the left hand.
- Breathe in as you stand up.
- Time to switch sides. Keep going!
Windmills are a fun and easy brain break. They can be done almost anywhere and best of all they are building brain power! Want more easy ways to build your child’s brain? Join us for an aerial yoga class or read Mindfulness for Children.
