LASD staffers learn Bal-A-Vis-X. 

LASD staffers learn Bal-A-Vis-X. 

Oriole News is a presentation of Ludington Area School District in partnership with Mason County Press

LUDINGTON — Over the weekend, OJ DeJonge Physical Education teacher Alison Helminski, along with MaryAnn Short, certified Bal-A-Vis-X instructor hosted administrators, educators and paraprofessionals, as well as occupational and physical therapists from around the state for a three day training. 

Bal-A-Vis-X stands for balance, auditory, visual and exercise. Through rhythmic exercises that use sand bags and racketballs, students are able to engage both sides of the brain. These integrated movements create a true mind-body connection. Bal-A-Vis-X is a program that activates the vestibular system, improves behavior, increases cognitive development, improves emotional regulation and heightens the ability to process information.  The exercises can be incorporated in numerous contents particularly math and literacy.

“I have used Bal-A-Vis-X in the physical education setting as well as the traditional classroom,” said physical education teacher Alison Helminski. “We incorporate ‘brain balls’ when I volunteer in a kindergarten classroom twice a week. I’ve even gone to some assisted living centers and worked with residents there. It’s truly for all ages. The exercises are pretty simple. The magic happens with the rhythm, the pattern, the sound and crossing the midlines in different ways; that’s what makes them so powerful.”

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