# 25 - From Music to Motion: One Educator’s Journey

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As Mike Kuzcala comes from a long line of educators in his family, teaching has always been in his blood. However, his path in education has been an unorthodox one, taking many interesting twists and turns along the way. Mike is an accomplished author having written the books The Kinestetic Classroom (2010) and Training in Motion (2015). He has devoted himself to sharing the neuroscience behind the brain/body connection and the powerful impact that it has on learning in both education and in the corporate world.Through his writing, presentations and talks, he has had a profound difference on the way educators deliver learning in their classrooms. Embedded within Mike’s work is a passion for mindfulness, meditation, and the critical importance of well-being and the role it plays in the personal and professional lives of teachers. In this episode, he shares his unique journey in education and discusses specific strategies and approaches he wrote about in the Kinesthetic Classroom. Although much of Mike’s work is rooted in the importance that movement plays in learning, he carries with him an extensive musical background having graduated with a Masters of Music Education at the University of Northern Colorado. It is this musical background that has also had a big impact on who Mike is as a person and an educator. He is a huge fan of the arts and appreciates the aesthentics that music brings to peoples’ lives. With joy I bring to you this episode with Mike Kuzcala. Mike’s Bio:Mike Kuczala is a leading authority on using movement and understanding the brain/body connection in both educational and corporate settings.  His keynotes, workshops and professional development programs have been enjoyed by tens of thousands of teachers, administrators, parents, trainers, and corporate executives across the United States. The Director of Instruction for the Regional Training Center, an educational consulting firm based in Randolph, New Jersey, and President of Kuczala Consulting, Mike is the coauthor of the Corwin best-seller and Association of Educational Publishers’ Distinguished Achievement Award nominated The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement.  Mike’s 2nd book, Training in Motion: How to Use Movement to Create Engaging and Effective Learning was released in June of 2015.His standing room only presentations have been experienced in such diverse settings as The American Society for Training and Development, The Forum for Innovative Leadership, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Lawyer Brain OD Roundtable.Mike proudly and humbly comes from a family of educators including his wife, sister, both parents and three grandparents. “I am the product of three generations of teachers. Education is what I love and do. It is always an honor and pleasure to work with both educators in helping them to become true instructional leaders, and corporate executives and trainers in providing presentation skill and effectiveness. My background in education gave rise to my love of teaching, public speaking, curriculum and training design, and helping people create goals and live their dreams.”Connect with Mike:Twitter: @kinestheticlassWebsite: mikekuczala.comEmail: michaelskuczala@gmail.comThemes Discussed:Brain/Body ConnectionNeuroscience of MovementThe Kinestetic ClassroomMindfulness and MeditationTony RobbinsTeacher and Student Well-BeingStrategies to Integrate Movement in LearningPhysical ActivityRelevancy in Physical Education