Motional Literacy
M.L for Residents & Interns at the Department of Pediatrics at University of Michigan
M.L. at a Google Workshop with a team of their engineers in NYC
ARD’s Motional Literacy Workshop Enjoy and discover the unexpected benefits of movement! Motional Literacy is ARD's unique movement workshop that supports personal and professional development. Learn new tools to access vulnerability and implement empowerment techniques, whether at work or in your daily routine. Our proprietary approach allows people of all ages and experiences to express themselves through movement.
Motional Literacy is offered as a movement technique workshop that helps participants apply its benefits to personal and professional development. We provide meaningful physical experiences that connect communities through a shared movement practice. The workshop experience teaches skills and tools to allow the individual to show up completely and achieve an embodied vulnerability. Whether it's through movement or taking a quiet moment with oneself to reflect inwardly, individuals are given practice and guidelines for implementing the techniques that allows empowerment and self-care which one can apply to a particular environment or professional obstacle. This approach has built a new community of movers who aren't necessarily in search of a path towards professional dancing, but one that offers a safe space to express themselves through movement, organize the body and mind, and discover the emotional benefits of dance.
Team Building | Self- Care | Empowerment
ARD’s introductory workshop introduces the entirety of the Motional Literacy approach and provides participants with practice and guidelines for implementing the techniques. More focused workshops delve into a subset of Motional Literacy elements as applied to a particular environment, personal need, or professional obstacle and can be tailored to incorporate various movements if desired.
Team Building, Self- care, and Empowerment are three focused workshops that use the elements of Motional Literacy to provide a physical experience, felt exploration, and skill development of the theme.
Motional Literacy Elements
Open: Practice how to fully “show up,” embrace an open mindset, and achieve a posture of inclusion and understanding.
Lengthen: Use simple alignment techniques and movement efficiency to activate an individual’s internal resources and innate strengths.
Make Space: Tools and exercises to help find space for mental and creative growth.
Yield: Use physicality and awareness to better navigate our community or work environment.
Reset: Tools for regrounding and tips to turn attention back to the self.
Curated workshops can focus on any subset of Motional Literacy elements based in classical, educational, medical, and therapeutic techniques.
This workshop series has been presented virtually and at Google global workshops, World Dance Alliance, Hydro Health and Wellness workshops, many schools, and 28Muses.
“So rad. Thank you so much. Really cool to interact with other Googlers/strangers as well. We in tech, especially in NYC need more of that, we’re so stuck to our devices and forget to trust in other literal humans.”
““This workshop was excellent. It went beyond just getting people to move around – it included lessons on working together and building trust with your teammates. I would give this 6 stars out of 5.””
“I really loved this —it was something very different than anything else I’ve done at Google. It was really effective at getting me out of my head, no easy feat. I loved being physical in ways I hadn’t tried before. It also brought out my inner curious and playful childlike side, which I know is a huge way for me to combat stress and anxiety.”
“It was a good way to get some exercise during the day and have some fun!”