Jordan Blazo, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
The Minds in Motion Lab (MiML) is a dynamic research hub dedicated to understanding how sport and physical activity can enhance experiences through innovative research, high-quality teaching, and engaging community outreach. Founded in 2020, the MiML has rapidly become a beacon of sport and exercise psychology in the region. With a team of diverse experts spanning cognitive kinesiology, youth sport and exercise psychology, and community focused health and wellness coaching, the lab thrives in collaboration and interdisciplinary pursuits. Under the direction of Drs. Jordan Blazo, Drew Parks, and Alison Reichter, students are given opportunities to engage in a wide range of research projects, professional development, and community outreach.
One arm of the research efforts in the MiML has looked to better understand the current landscape of youth sport in North America. Partnering with The Aspen Institute and Utah State University, this work has been used as a launchpad to guide policymakers’ and community organizations’ efforts to best inform positive youth development through sport. Additionally, work completed by students in the MiML has recently cataloged the overarching body of sport and exercise psychology research literature. This expansive work required the hard work of numerous students to complete and has provided significant insight to the scope of work in the field.
Delving into the mind-body connection, recently graduate students have completed impactful thesis projects, further preparing them for advanced degrees. One thesis project partnered with Rock Steady Boxing to better understand the physical activity, quality of life, and cognition in adults with Parkinson’s Disease. Another project has explored the influence of guided meditation on attentional components of college students. These projects provided students with in-depth mentoring experiences to hone their research skills.
Lastly, the MiML is preparing exciting new research programming centered on student-led interventions dealing with health-coaching programming. Instrumental to this work has been crafting programmatic opportunities in the Department of Kinesiology that will enable students to pursue Health Coaching Certification. This certification not only provides students with an advantageous credential but also an opportunity it lead impactful research programs with our university students and community members.
These projects are just a small snapshot of the work the MiML has been engaged in, with each project relying on innovative techniques, immersive student experiences, and community engagement. With new endeavors on the horizon and students developing their own projects, the MiML has become a thriving collaborative space to best understand how movement and the mind blend together.
The Exponential Factor 