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

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we speak with Doug Kenney about the power of art and mentorship in youth empowerment. Doug worked most recently at the Gary Comer Youth Center, the largest independent youth center on the south side of Chicago, and spent years on the ground with community organizations across the city helping them run their programs and develop mentorship initiatives. He now consults for a number of community organizations, artists, and entities focused on empowering youth through art.

Doug shares his philosophy of giving young people voice and choice, bringing them into the design of programs from the very beginning so they can guide their own learning. He describes collaborative art projects, from self-identity portraits made with paper cutouts to canvases painted alongside professional artists, that help youth ages 14 to 24 explore identity, culture, and belonging. He also talks about connecting young artists, especially artists of color, with mentors who understand what it means not to have had a guide of their own.

Doug speaks about his work with the ACT 2 Foundation, founded by former college and NFL athlete Kyle Prater, which helps student athletes translate the discipline and resilience built through sports into their next chapter through workshops on mental health, wellness, and entrepreneurship. Throughout, Doug emphasizes a ripple effect: the young people he works with are asked to take what they learn and teach it to others, extending the impact of every mentorship and every project into their homes and communities.

Today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast, we learn with the esteemed Andy Vasily about shifting your physical education and coaching mindset with insight and a focus on the well-being of your students. Andy Vasily is a certified trust-at-work leadership/performance coach, pedagogical leader, educational consultant, and podcaster based in Toronto. He was recently the PYP coordinator at the Antwerp International School in Belgium. He has taught at fully authorized IB schools in 6 different countries over the past 20 years. His Run Your Life Podcast has been downloaded more than 800,000 times in 85 countries and features interviews with Olympians, pro athletes & global CEOs about what excellence means. Andy recently released his first book, "The Wisdom of Alignment: Connecting our Heads, Hearts, and Hands to a Greater Purpose."

Physical education thought leaders, Paul Zientarski & Tim McCord, speak with us today on our Move More, Learn More! podcast talk about their experiences lighting a SPARK in physical education as featured in John Ratey's New York Times bestseller SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. They have recommendations for refocusing physical education on health, wellness, passion, connectedness, and daily movement. As they point out, physical education is the one class in school that touches on brain development, physical health, reading, math, and academic achievement. Therefore, physical education educators are best suited to understand child development and the brain, enabling them to make an even more meaningful difference in the lives of children and adolescents.

Jorge Lozano Márquez es el Director Atlético Deportivo del Tecnológico de Monterrey en Guadalajara. Jorge is a retired professional tennis player who reached his highest doubles ranking of World No. 4 in August 1988. During his career, he won two mixed doubles titles at the French Open: in 1988 with Lori McNeil and in 1990 with Arantxa Sánchez. Jorge was the Davis Cup Captain in Mexico for eight years.

With a focus on developing youth leaders, Jorge speaks with us today on the Move More, Learn More podcast about the importance of resilience, seeking external support when needed, and being a well-rounded athlete. He teaches us about some of the lessons learned as a tennis player, a father, and a collegiate athletic director in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In this episode of Move More, Learn More, we speak with our colleague Zach Bell, who teaches us about the power of Somatic Coaching. Zach walks us through an activity you might enjoy. 

Zach A. Bell, M.Ed.Certified Somatic Coach helps purpose-driven professionals to sustain their impact over time and communicate more effectively at home and at work. He is a certified somatic coach with the Strozzi Institute for Somatics, and he specializes in conflict, boundaries, burnout, anger management, anxiety, men’s work, gender identity, listening skills, and intimacy. His methodology, the Bodymind Breakthrough, brings together Nonviolent Communication, somatics, and role play to create practical, meaningful changes for leaders and teams. He runs a private practice in Oakland and virtually, which includes individuals, Men’s Groups (Oakland and San Francisco-based), and giving workshops at various retreats and family camps throughout the Bay Area.

His background includes founding his dream summer camp that brings together young leaders from different races and class backgrounds to build empathy; serving as an Oakland public middle school classroom teacher, dean, and Restorative Justice facilitator; and roles in education technology, management consulting, and nonprofit consulting. In addition to his clinical work, he channels his passion for men’s work through Real Men Share, a website where men can anonymously share first-person stories about their experiences with masculinity, in an effort to reduce shame, promote healing, and shift perceptions of masculinity in our culture. He is also an avid basketball player, contact improv dancer, Jewish ritual host, late-in-life theater kid, and Ram Dass devotee. 

Learn more at www.bodywisdomcoach.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Move More, Learn More, our colleague and friend Ali Golding introduces us to what she has learned in 20+ years as a dancer and program developer for neurounique children. 

Ali Golding, MSc is a dance scientist and specialist dance educator with a background as a professional choreographer. Ms. Golding’s research focus is on dance and cognition, with a particular interest in early years and special education. Founder and director of MovementWorks, a charitable organization dedicated to providing evidence-based applied research with an objective toward fostering interdisciplinary practice in education, health, and social sciences (www.movementworks.org). 

A published academic author, Ms. Golding has also contributed editorials for One Dance UK, Early Arts UK, The Royal Society of Arts, and Autism Eye. She’s presented research at a wide range of conventions globally, including The British College of Occupational Therapists Conference, The Times Educational (TES) SEN Show, The National Autistic Society International Congress, and Movementis conferences at Harvard, Tel Aviv, and UCL. 

MovementWorks has frequently been featured at the National Autism Show and the National Autistic Society Professional Conference, with regular invitations to contribute internationally, including Adelphi University’s Traditional Therapies and Expressive Modalities Course (Asia) and NYU’s Nest program, the City Public Schools’ largest inclusion program for autistic students. Ms. Golding has delivered a TEDx talk, which you can find at movementworks.org.

Today's teachers and students are facing regulation challenges. Encouraged to sit, rather than move, students present with emotional overload, dysregulation, and inattention. Emily Read Daniels, M.Ed., MBA, the creator of The Regulated Classroom, has solutions, and she brings them to our Move More, Learn More Podcast.

Emily is the creator and author of The Regulated Classroom, an evidence-based framework that enables educators to cultivate conditions for felt safety in the classroom. 

She developed this framework after spending years as a school counselor working with dysregulated students and staff, knowing that teachers needed tools and practical strategies for coping with and recovering from trauma.

Emily has a B.A. in Sociology and Women's Studies and a Master’s of Education in School Counseling from the University of Delaware. She also holds an MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability from Antioch University New England.

She is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) through the NBCC (National Board of Certified Counselors) and continually refines her understanding of the applied science of trauma.

She has completed more than 120 hours of training in Somatic Experiencing.™ She has trained in SMART (Sensory-Motor Arousal Therapy) as well as trauma-informed sensory modulation with Dr. Tina Champagne. She’s participated in small group consultation with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk and completed an introductory class in NMT™ (Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics). 

Emily is also a Reiki practitioner and completed a certificate in the Penn Program for Mindfulness. She relishes opportunities for nerding out – refining her skills, broadening her knowledge, and improving her effectiveness as a trainer, consultant, facilitator, and leader.

In this episode of Move More, Learn More, Dr. Widmann discusses incorporating kinesthetic movement into instructional design to improve learning.

Dr. Missy Widmann is a nationally recognized educational leader whose work sits at the intersection of educational neuroscience, classroom practice, and, most recently, artificial intelligence. With a doctoral degree specializing in Educational Neuroscience from Northeastern University (Seattle) and over two decades of experience in K–12 and higher education, Missy bridges research with practical application. As education evolves, so does her work. A growing curiosity about the intersection of AI, ethics, and neuroplasticity is guiding her on a new path. 

As Co-Founder and President of Neural Education, Missy leads professional learning experiences that empower educators to design brain-aligned classrooms grounded in curiosity, movement, emotional engagement, and ethical use of technology. She also serves as a Visiting Professor at Pacific Lutheran University, where she prepares future educators to integrate neuroscience in ways that center human connection, equity, and transferable learning.

In this episode, we speak with the CEO of Advanced Brain Technologies, Alex Doman, about the use of psychoacoustics to alert attention and calm the mind. Dr. Kenney was eager to interview Alex, as she has worked with him since 2014. She is trained in two of ABT's programs, The Listening Program and In-Time, and she uses Vital Neuro at home and at the office with children, adolescents, and adults.

Alex Doman is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, psychoacoustic music producer, and TEDx speaker with more than thirty years of experience in neurotechnology. His mission is to help children, adolescents, and adults achieve their optimal potential and become the best versions of themselves through music. Alex is the creator of The Listening Program and co-developer of In-Time with Shelia Allen, OTR, and Nacho Arimany, Musician for the Brain. 

Learn more at https://advancedbrain.com

In today's episode of the Move More, Learn More Podcast, we speak with physical activity champion Nick Clement from Wales. 

Nick studied sports science and is a certified coach. He possesses child-centered views, helping students develop self-esteem and confidence through sport and physical activity.

Nick values giving children the opportunity to perform, explore, create, exercise, and build confidence through a variety of different projects and physical activities. 

Nick is a bilingual teacher with over 10 years of experience in primary education.  He started his career as a supply teacher and has taught in primary schools across different counties throughout South Wales.

You can learn more at: https://www.chieducation.co.uk/the-founder