by Lavinia Plonka | Jun 27, 2024 | Kinesa Newsletter |
My Father lost everything: his home, his store, almost his life, to the Nazis. After the war, he lost everything again trying to open another store in London. And finally in his later years, he lost everything again, bankrupting himself with an ill-fated travel...
by Lavinia Plonka | Jun 2, 2024 | Kinesa Newsletter |
I don’t remember any of my Mother’s stories. I do remember her by the bed, leaning over me, singing: Tell me a story Tell me a story Tell me a story And then I’ll go to bed There are more verses and I remember them as well. But I can’t conjure the image of my Mother...
by Lavinia Plonka | May 1, 2024 | Kinesa Newsletter |
There is a theory that before humans developed words, they sang to each other, like birds. Imagine the nuance of melody as the angry female demanded to know why the man was so late coming home from the hunt. Or the cooing of a lovers’ conversation. Diplomatic...
by Lavinia Plonka | Apr 15, 2024 | Kinesa Newsletter
It was a beautiful relationship. Always there when I needed it, scooping, wiping, scraping without ever a complaint, our orange spatula had been with us since the days before silicone utensils. It had traveled with us when we moved from New Jersey 22 years ago, a...
by Lavinia Plonka | Mar 11, 2024 | Kinesa Newsletter
I have worked my entire life on softening. Whether it’s my DNA, my upbringing, my astrological destiny, my Human Design, my karma, my Chinese designation as a Dragon, or the fact that I grew up in NJ, I’ve always been a “hardass.” I have been quick to judge, dismiss,...
by Lavinia Plonka | Feb 26, 2024 | Kinesa Newsletter
It started innocently enough. I was working with a retired client and asked how she had done with her movement practice during the last week. I had given her 5-10 minutes of movement explorations to support her learning. She sighed, “I haven’t done it once. I just...
by Lavinia Plonka | Jan 8, 2024 | Kinesa Newsletter
I was on a walk the other day and passed a woman who smelled like she had just stepped out of the shower. The fresh, pleasant scent wafted down the street, making me smile. Why would that scent make me happy? We live in a world of smell: the scent of bread and...
by Lavinia Plonka | Dec 19, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter
Merriam-Webster has announced that the word of the year is “authentic.” Apparently it was searched more than any other word this year. You’d think we know the definition: not false or imitation: REAL, ACTUAL. The folks at Webster explained that humanity’s concern over...
by Lavinia Plonka | Nov 21, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter, The Creative Body
The harvest is done. The deer got all the grapes. The voles feasted on the sweet potatoes (I rescued eight). The tomato hornworms had their way with, yes, my tomatoes – in spite of my propitiating the devas, thanking the parasitic wasps who laid their eggs on...
by Lavinia Plonka | Oct 11, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter
Shortly after I had given up my performing career, I was invited to a Halloween party. I had just spent the last 25 years donning costumes, performing on stage and at hundreds of parties as everything from a Florida retiree to a Star Trek character. The idea of...
by Lavinia Plonka | Sep 11, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter |
I bought a new office chair. On sale. Good deal. It arrived in a box. Weighed a ton. When I opened the box, and saw the pieces, it seemed like a no brainer. The illustrated instructions had no words at all, just a bunch of letters and arrows pointing to parts. I began...
by Lavinia Plonka | Sep 11, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter
I wasn’t allowed to complain as a child. Each time I whined because I wanted a parka like Kathy H’s or a Barbie like Mary J’s or at least pizza, I was admonished. “You have no right to complain. You have not been captured and tortured by Nazis. You have not had your...
