HES students take Bal-A-Vis-X on the road
Staff writer
Bal-A-Vis-X, a program started in Hillsboro Elementary School this year, is an exercise technique to make both sides of the brain work together. The name Bal-A-Vis-X stands for balance, auditory, visual exercises, and that's exactly what it is. The balls, bean bags and balance boards used are for more than fun: they are tools to employ both sides of the body and brain.
Becky Carlson, physical education teacher, and Evan Yoder, HES principal, took a group of seven fifth graders to Memorial Home Wellness Center in Moundridge on Feb. 3.
The students had been to a Bal-A-Vis-X workshop in Wichita with the originator of the program and were glad to get the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in the exercises.
"It was really neat for me," said Carlson, "to see these young kids working with the adults. They really showed their knowledge of the exercises and had such confidence. It was really great."
The students worked with groups of five to seven adults instructing some and having fun.
"People really enjoyed it," said Becki Yoder, Activities Director at Memorial Home Wellness Center in Moundridge. "The seniors were so glad the kids could come. It was a great intergenerational thing."
Yoder saw a program on PBS about the Bal-A-Vis-X program. Bill Hubert, a Wichita Middle School teacher and creator of the program, was talking about the benefits to children in memory, balance and hand eye coordination.
"I thought, wow, if it works for kids, why not for older adults?" said Yoder.
Moundridge Manor started the program in January and is the first to start using Bal-A-Vis-X with older adults. Yoder, who has worked with adult fitness and activities for 10 years, has already seen improvements in her participants.
"Sometimes as we get older, we stagnate and quit doing many things. These exercises help reconnect the hemispheres. It makes the brain buzz by integrating both sides."
