Move More, Learn More: The Importance of Bringing Movement, Art & Music Into Your Healthy Life

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we travel to Finland to speak with Darlene Koskinen, creator of MoovKids, an online movement program for children ages three to seven, a fourth dan black belt karate instructor, longtime gymnastics coach, and three-time national champion in three sports.

Darlene shares why a strong movement foundation in the early years gives children a head start in every area of life, what karate can teach us about coordination, focus, and confidence, and how Finland is putting physical skills at the heart of school readiness. Lynne and Darlene also tackle one of the biggest worries teachers have about getting kids up and moving, and Darlene leads a simple, surprisingly powerful activity you will want to try with children right away.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we sit down with Renee Washington, a three-time All-American soccer player at La Salle University, former professional with Sky Blue FC, now Gotham FC, multiple Hall of Fame inductee, and today a sports broadcaster, speaker, and founder of Renee Washington Media & Consulting.

Renee opens up about the lessons sports taught her long after the final whistle, the small daily rituals that keep her grounded on a schedule where no two days are the same, and why her story is far less picture-perfect than it looks on TV. It is an honest, warm, and motivating conversation about humility, resilience, and owning your voice, from a woman who is determined to be the person she once needed.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, Lynne sits down with her own Pilates instructor, Kerry Picken, an Arizona-based advanced Pilates instructor certified to teach all five levels on every piece of equipment and an equestrian who works alongside trainers to coach riders. Lynne shares how, two years ago, Kerry helped her restore her balance and rebuild her strength to where it was at 35, and the two dive into a topic that is rarely discussed openly: the pelvic floor.

Kerry explains what the pelvic floor is, and clears up common misconceptions. She describes how to find and activate the pelvic floor, and how to practice engaging and releasing throughout the day while driving, standing in line, getting out of bed, or sitting down. The conversation also touches on Tai Chi, static balance, and the vestibular system, and closes with Kerry's reminder that pelvic floor strength affects far more than pelvic health, reaching the back, neck, jaw, and even the feet.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we speak with Dr. Siobhan D.  Flowers, a Dallas-based licensed psychotherapist, wellness consultant, adjunct professor, and former seventh-grade English teacher and high school counselor. After a decade in private practice, Siobhan expanded into coaching and consulting to reach more people, blending neuroscience, business psychology, and emotional intelligence to help organizations build psychological safety, trust, and trauma-informed leadership.

Siobhan and Lynne explore why core values serve as a North Star for wellness, how to identify your own values by noticing when you feel most grounded, and why values and boundaries go hand in hand when it comes to knowing your non-negotiables and advocating for yourself. Siobhan explains the difference between stress, chronic stress, and burnout, a pattern many educators have normalized, and defines stress as the gap between what you are doing and what you want to be doing. For people who feel trapped in unhealthy work environments by financial pressures, she offers a compassionate, practical path forward: start with small daily moves that restore a sense of agency. Listeners will leave with a simple values exercise, a powerful self-check question, what do I need in this moment, and a preview of her upcoming book, Wired to Win, along with Lynne's takeaway that leadership and business frameworks belong in brief, everyday psychotherapy.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we speak with Dr. Charles Hillman of Northeastern University, director of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health and one of the most published researchers in the world on physical activity, brain, and cognition, having just passed his 400th article. Charles traces his path from a psychophysiology lab studying emotion, to a master's thesis on sports fans that landed in Sports Illustrated, to EEG research on marksmen and, finally, the study of how movement shapes the developing brain.

Charles shares his FitnessGram findings, featured in Spark, showing that aerobic fitness and BMI predict math and reading achievement in third through fifth graders, and explains how fitter, more active children show differences in brain structure, neural network function, executive functioning, and mental health. He describes his newest work on single bouts of exercise, including benefits for children with ADHD and a surprising finding that children with higher adiposity may need differently designed interventions. Lynne and Charles discuss coordinative rhythmic movement, with Charles making the case for multidimensional programs that blend cardiorespiratory, coordinative, and cognitive demands, much like sport. He lays out his ideal school day: Zero Hour PE, 10 minutes of varied movement every hour, active recess, and after-school activity that honors each child's interests, including the performing arts. The conversation closes with his vision for a transdisciplinary institute spanning music, development, mental health, and motor control, and a promising exchange with Lynne on motor praxis in autism.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we speak with Dr. Julian Reed of Furman University, a leading voice in the physical activity and cognition space. Julian shares his colorful upbringing in Malibu, the son of a pioneering rock-and-roll radio DJ, and how his own restless, always-moving childhood, along with his father's early death from heart disease, shaped his lifelong focus on movement and health.

Julian talks about developing the Walkabouts platform, which lets teachers integrate movement directly into math, language arts, science, social studies, financial literacy, and test prep while still meeting state academic standards, so no instruction time is lost. He describes how the program adapts by grade level, from character-led adventures for younger students to sport-themed, decision-based movement for third through fifth grade, and shares his current research linking measures like upper-body strength and core fitness to academic achievement in tens of thousands of South Carolina students. 

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we sit down for an unscripted "gripe fest" with Mary Mountstephen, a UK-based SEND and dyslexia expert, international author, and contributor to the Move More, Learn More book, where she wrote on writing and dysgraphia.

Mary and Lynne dig into why early intervention can't wait until children are seven or eight, when delays are often dismissed as something kids will simply grow out of. Mary shares stories from her training courses, including moments when adult participants, asked to crawl and roll on the floor, discover they can't do movements most assume are automatic, and explains why observing fundamental floor-based skills as early as two or three is critical to catching developmental gaps before they cascade. The conversation ranges from primitive reflexes and the loss of tummy time to the impact of screens and "parking" children in buggies and containers, with both hosts landing on simple, memorable advice for parents: be your child's favorite toy, narrate your day, and lean on rhythm, rhyme, and repetition to build authentic engagement.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we're joined from Italy by Professor Piero Crispiani and Dr. Eleonora Palmieri to talk about the Crispiani Method. Professor Crispiani is an honorary professor at the University of Macerata with more than 50 years of experience in special pedagogy, and is one of Italy's most recognized experts in motor cognition. Dr. Palmieri is a clinical psychologist and pedagogist who has collaborated with Professor Crispiani for many years and runs a clinical center and homeschooling program built entirely around his method.

Together they discuss the idea that movement, particularly sensory-motor movement, precedes and shapes cognition, language, and emotional regulation, and they introduce the concept of neuroactivation, the neurological process behind how quickly and effectively someone initiates action. They walk through their Activity Gym, an intensive, five-vector movement practice designed to spark communication between brain hemispheres and build self-regulation and coordination, along with their newer work in "motor didactics," which integrates movement directly into teaching subjects like language and math. They close by sharing their upcoming publications and the Istituto Itard network of clinical centers where families can access the method.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we're joined from Hungary by Dr. Erzebet Stephens-Sarloz, a researcher, scientist, and program developer specializing in embodied cognition. A former physical education, adapted PE, and biology teacher of nearly 30 years, she now researches and teaches at the university level, with a focus on primitive reflexes and sensorimotor development in children, adults, and senior citizens.

Dr. Stephens-Sarloz explains how unresolved primitive reflexes, automatic responses rooted in the brainstem that should be inhibited by the cortex within the first year or two of life, can underlie challenges like ADHD, dyslexia, sensory processing disorder, and anxiety when they persist. Drawing on her PhD research with nearly 800 children and her use of fNIRS brain-imaging technology, she describes how targeted movement exercises can inhibit these reflexes and support development, and shares her pilot findings linking screen time to retained reflexes in young children. She also discusses her book and video training programs, and her ongoing work exploring whether these same exercises may help protect against dementia in older adults.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we speak with Andy Milne, physical education and health teacher at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. Originally from London, Andy has spent more than 30 years teaching and coaching, is a SHAPE America Health Teacher of the Year, delivered a TEDx Talk titled "This Is Not Your Parents' Health Class," and runs the long-running Slow Chat Health blog amplifying voices in health and PE.

Andy talks with us about moving away from fear-based, one-size-fits-all teaching toward empowering students with the skills and confidence to embrace movement for life. He shares how he builds social connection and belonging in his classroom, from student-driven electives to his "Lovely/Unlovely Walk," an activity that helps students find the silver lining in everyday setbacks. Throughout, Andy emphasizes teaching with students rather than to them, and preparing the next generation to advocate for movement, equity, and inclusion in their own communities.