by Lavinia Plonka | Jul 5, 2011 | The Creative Body
When I recently visited Prague, I carried a map in order to navigate the labyrinthine streets. After getting helplessly lost several times, I realized that layout of the actual streets was more complex than it appeared. In Budapest, we went in search of the Gellert...
by Lavinia Plonka | Apr 17, 2011 | The Creative Body
My sister and I picked up this expression from an old Bob Hope movie and made it our goofy mantra for whenever we found ourselves in a difficult situation. More recently, I was teaching a class where I asked people if they knew where their feet were and everyone...
by Lavinia Plonka | Mar 30, 2011 | The Creative Body
Whether you were taught to fold your hands on your lap, hold your hands behind your back, or shove them in your pockets, you won’t be able to avoid the fact that your hands are communicating all the time. After many years of debate, researchers have finally agreed...
by Lavinia Plonka | Mar 28, 2011 | The Creative Body |
Einstein once said: “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours. That’s relativity.” Everyone is moaning that time is speeding up, that we have less time to...
by Lavinia Plonka | Feb 2, 2011 | The Creative Body
I couldn’t say it better myself. This article by Edward Yu, a Feldenkrais practitioner and tai chi teacher reminds us that it’s not how hard you work, but how smart. Check it out as well as his newbook, The Art of Slowing Down.
by Lavinia Plonka | Dec 26, 2010 | The Creative Body
I was teasing my husband the other day about his attraction to shiny objects: the chrome of a motorcycle fender, the glimmer of a diamond earring, the reflection of light in the bottom of a pot he’s cleaning, Ron is always chasing the light. We’re all in love with...
by Lavinia Plonka | Nov 8, 2010 | The Creative Body
I love gravity. Not the kind some of my professors had in college, where every word they uttered landed like an anvil on my shoulders till I felt moored to my desk like someone stuck in a drill press. I’m talking about that wonderful law that nobody seems to...
by Lavinia Plonka | Oct 2, 2010 | The Creative Body |
When I was a young performer, I had the privilege of touring with a seasoned director for several years named Claude Kipnis. When I encountered difficulty in performing a role he growled, “Don’t get stuck in your limitations, turn your liabilities into assets!” I...
by Lavinia Plonka | Sep 11, 2010 | The Creative Body
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?” William Shakespeare, Macbeth My husband Ron and I are listening to the radio as we drive, and the DJ announces an 18th century oratorio by Kozeluch, another Mozart wannabe. It’s called Moses...
by Lavinia Plonka | Sep 11, 2010 | The Creative Body
Salvador Dali’s unforgettable image of watches dripping off branches has been a favorite of mine since I was a child. Time can melt, but never disappear, like the memory of an event. Except of course, it’s not true. Memory itself melts, distorts and recreates...
by Lavinia Plonka | Sep 4, 2010 | The Creative Body |
Welcome to the Creative Body, a resource and forum for exploring the intersection between body and mind, movement and possibility, expression and introspection. Take a tour, post a comment. If you’d like to submit an article, please send material to...
by Lavinia Plonka | May 20, 2010 | The Creative Body |
I was working with someone recently who had a great deal of back pain. She was lying on her side on the table and I was gently exploring the area where her spine connected to her ribs. “What are you doing” she asked.“I’m exploring how your ribs...
