Julie Buckeye is an advanced athlete and dancer who was looking for a way to help people with limited mobility or balance issues enjoy the benefits of movement and dance while staying fit.
She had dealt with some short term mobility issues herself and as an athlete became frustrated with lack of exercises that she could do while seated in a chair.
Through her fitness background and her love of dance she began to realize that there were large groups of people who were shying away from exercising for the exact same reason.
It wasn’t that they did not want to exercise, it was just that mobility and balance issues made the “normal” types of exercise programs impossible for them to participate in properly.
Julie realized that senior citizens face this exact problem, and they love to dance and groove to the music. It was the perfect match. The desire by senior citizens to remain active and entertained but the lack of ability because of the advances of aging affecting their balance and stamina.
To solve this problem, Julie developed the BalloFlex seated chair exercise program that incorporates the elements of music and dance.
The response was phenomenal. Assisted Living facilities and adult day care centers rushed to have Julie come in and conduct regularly scheduled BalloFlex fitness programs.
The seniors loved the ability to exercise while sitting in a chair and it quickly became “the event to attend” in these senior residences.
Activity coordinators of the senior facilities quickly realized that BalloFlex was an out of the box activity that had their residents clamoring to attend and participate. It was fun, entertaining and greatly improved their morale as well as their movement abilities.
Julie then took this success and applied it to corporate locations and day care centers for children.
Facilities working with developmentally disabled individuals have approached Julie and she is exploring other applications for her BalloFlex chair fitness program.
Currently there are over 100 BalloFlex classes being conducted by a licensed and certified BalloFlex instructor in Northeast Ohio. Plans are in process to license and certify instructors in the next six months to teach and lead BalloFlex classes for senior citizen independent living residences, Assisted Living, Adult Day Care and corporations across the U.S. and Canada.
Information on becoming a BalloFlex instructor can be found on her website at: http://balloflex.com/become-a-balloflex-licensee-instructor/.
To meet demand outside Northeastern Ohio, Julie created a DVD series that people can use to stay fit in their home, at their desk at work and even when they travel.
Julie realized from her classes that senior citizens like to travel and take tour bus excursions. Often the seniors had to entertain themselves while on the bus.
Julie created two seated chair dance type exercise specifically for people traveling long distances. Sitting for long periods of time can cause leg cramping and back pain. The BalloFlex Tour and Travel DVD provides a fun way to stretch and move to music while seated in the bus seat.
The overall trip experience improved and participants gained a bit more energy and easier movement when reaching their destination.
Four new BalloFlex DVDs are now available for senior citizens, busy working adults, people confined to wheelchairs and developmentally disabled individuals.
To learn more about Julie’s BalloFlex seated chair fitness program visit her website at: http://BalloFlex.com.