Yoga for the Brain: Daily Writing Stretches That Keep Minds Flexible and Strong [Paperback]

Cheryl Miller Thurston (Author), Dawn DiPrince (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

Want to keep your mind sharp? Exercise your brain with these daily writing stretches!

Yoga for the Brain helps writers of all ages, 12 through adult, learn to write more freely, take risks, and experiment and play with language. Far too many people have come to look at writing as a chore, something to be graded or picked apart. Yoga for the Brain quickly helps dispel that notion with 365 daily writing prompts that are interesting, playful, lighthearted, challenging, quirky—or all of the above!

This book also includes suggestions for "real world" writing activities that are designed to help involve writers in truly meaningful projects as they hone their writing skills.

Yoga for the Brain can be used by writers on their own or in a classroom setting. Either way, they will sharpen their minds—and their creativity!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dawn DiPrince is also the author of UnJorunaling and Twisting Arms. She an elementary, middle school, and adult writing teacher and the former owner and editor of BlueSky Quarterly. She lives in Pueblo, Colorado. Cheryl Miller Thurston is a former English and writing teacher and the author of UnJournaling, Ideas that Really Work, Surviving Last Period on Fridays and Other Desperate Situations, and other books for teachers. She lives in Loveland, Colorado.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Prufrock Press, Inc. (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877673714
• ISBN-13: 978-1877673719
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real life writing, July 10, 2007

By 

Susan Larson (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yoga for the Brain: Daily Writing Stretches That Keep Minds Flexible and Strong (Paperback)

I know this book was written for teachers, but as a newspaper columnist, I am often asked to conduct writing workshops for adults and teens who want to become writers. Not only do DiPrince and Thurston give hundreds of prompts for on-the-spot writing exercises, many of which help the writer practice and identify good writing techniques, but they also give 50 examples of how to get started writing in "the real world," which is what most adults in these workshops want. For years I'd done my own research and shared my own experiences concerning good places to start out writing, but this list tops anything I ever did on my own. Also, as a substitute teacher, I sometimes find I have dead time to fill and these prompts are fabulous both as fillers and as full lessons for those times teachers leave no plans. There's something in here to cover all bases and as the title implies, this book provides exercise all areas of the brain.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Writing Tool!, April 11, 2006

By 

Patsy L. Shouse "Middle School Lover" (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yoga for the Brain: Daily Writing Stretches That Keep Minds Flexible and Strong (Paperback)

Yoga for the Brain is a wonderful tool for teachers of writing. I use this book daily, along with Unjournaling, as journal prompts for my 6th grade students. They laugh, talk, and really get the imagination going! My kids no longer whine when it is journal time...they actually remind ME to do it! Great book to buy!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yoga for the Brain is a great workout!, August 6, 2007

By 

Patty K "parent and teacher" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yoga for the Brain: Daily Writing Stretches That Keep Minds Flexible and Strong (Paperback)

Teaching students to write used to be so boring. I can remember my teachers in school saying, "Be creative!" but I was never really taught how to do that. I am now a teacher and am faced with the challenge of teaching students to be creative. Yoga for the Brain is a great addition to my writing program in that it gives the student something to base their creativity. For example one entry is "What has been a hard lesson for you to learn?" What a great idea to think about! This is not your typical sentence starter book.