The Big Green Ball

*Please note- this blog post was written during my time at Brain Fit Academy Inc. I have since continued this amazing work under my own company- Brain FUNdamentals LLC. I hope you enjoy!

There it lay- on the carpet, half of the air out of it, deflated and saggy. It was my Big Green Ball. Yes, I actually named it that. 

It's one of those really large rubbery-type balls that people use for yoga, sitting on or for different exercises? You know what I mean, right?

I sat there and looked at it and I could literally hear the song "Funeral March" in my head. The ball was gone. It had passed on to another world, gone over the rainbow bridge to the great ball heaven in the sky.

I know what you're thinking- it's just an exercise ball. 

This woman is writing a blog post about an exercise ball!

Has she gone off her rocker?!?

But, you see- that ball, that seemingly magical ball was my all-time favorite "prop" (for lack of a better word) for using with Brain Fit Clients.

That ball lived in the back of my car for months, until COVID-19 happened and it came in the house to rest and be used by my own kids. It was such a fixture in the back seat of my car that I often joked about drawing a face on it and pretending it was a passenger!

So-you're probably wondering. Just what is it that's so special about that Big Green Ball? 

That ball was able to:

• Entice kids into just the right positions for Primitive Reflex Integration.

• Give vestibular input for the many children who would bounce endlessly on it during our sessions.

• It helped me to incorporate rhythmic movements- getting more rhythm into the body.

• It allowed me to get creative while working on reflexes such as the MORO, TLR, ATNR, STNR and Landau.

• It would help my client and I to play, give proprioceptive input and was just plain FUN!

You see, if you ask Pam Formosa (the director) or any coach at Brain Fit Academy, they will tell you the same thing.  The body knows what it needs.  We see this in multiple ways when working with clients.  We see it when we muscle check.  We see it when we give clients a balloon or a toy and they seem to "know" exactly how to use it to integrate the very reflex they need to on that day.

But that Big Green Ball- that magical tool, would help facilitate that for me!

• I can't even tell you how many Brain Fit movement activities I am able to do with kids on that ball.

• I can't count the number of times that kids have melted into rhythmic movements while on that ball (with the parent looking on in awe). 

• I can't believe the number of times that ball has been requested- by client after client- wanting me to bring it for our sessions.

That Big Green Ball.  My Big Green Ball. Sitting there on the ground in front of me. Flat and unusable.  

The first thing I did?

I took a picture to remember it.

Next? 

I started looking for a new ball to replace it.

And, you know what? The new ball may not end up being green this time.  But that's ok. It's ok because it will still be seemingly "magical". It will still help me with my work with Brain Fit Clients, and it will still come to live in the back seat of my car and will attend countless sessions with me.

And, who knows? Maybe this time I actually will draw a face on it.

After all, I'm going to get to know it really, really well.