Friday, February 29, 2008

Left Hand Dominant Day


Last night I was watching a show on keeping your brain fit. On it was a vet who had lost the use of some of his brain functions in Iraq, so they covered his right hand and he spent 8 hours a day doing things with his left hand, which built new pathways in his brain. Sorry I'm a layman, not a Dr. so I don't know how to explain it better. Anyway, the piece reminded me how critical it is to use both hands to keep your brain fit as well as saving wear and tear on your joints.

As a juggler, I know how important being ambidextrous is. In a juggling pattern, it is mainly your non-dominant hand that makes the most errors. And if I make a bad right hand throw, it's the left hand's job to fix the problem and return the throw correctly. So I've declared today my personal non-dominant hand day, and in my case that's my left hand. So I put a bracelet on my left wrist as a constant reminder. Like a dance partner in a waltz, my left hand gets to be the leader today. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I also want to try wearing a blindfold an hour a day, to force my other senses to work harder. It should improve both my sense of touch and my hearing.

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