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...
by Lavinia Plonka | Jul 5, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter
While I love how the Feldenkrais Method helps improve the way we move; improving balance, flexibility, and resilience, I’ve always been much more impressed with how it has improved my inner balance, my mental flexibility and my emotional resilience. The simple and...
by Lavinia Plonka | Jun 1, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter, Movement as Medicine
Last night, one of the raccoons that have taken up residence under my shed discovered the cat door. What had previously been a lovable pack of rascals had now become a potentially harmful intruder. I try to live in harmony with nature’s insistence on introducing...
by Lavinia Plonka | May 7, 2023 | Kinesa Newsletter
About 15 years ago, I was out to dinner with a friend at a trendy nouvelle cuisine restaurant. There was a dish boasting dasheen wraps. I asked the waiter what that was. “That’s what they make the tortilla from,” was his answer. In other words, he was clueless. But...
