Upcoming Workshops
A Somatic Approach to Self Expression
Utilizing Alba Emoting and Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement: taught by Lavinia Plonka, GCFP and Laura Bond, MFA, CL5
July, 20 – 27, University of North Carolina Asheville Register/info
Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage,” and each one of us plays many roles during the course of a lifetime. Some professions require the ability to take on a role or an emotional attitude: actors, psychotherapists, teachers, lawyers for example. But everyone carries a repertoire of emotional postures and attitudes that are the result of a lifetime of conditioning and habit.
The ability to recognize, understand and intentionally embody various emotions can be learned by anyone. Lavinia and Laura have designed a five day somatic immersion into expanding emotional awareness and kinesthetic sensitivity by combining their extensive experience in their respective fields. Read more…
Unfolding Possibilites: Stepping into Yourself
A Feldenkrais/Creative Body Workshop, Casperia, Italy, September 27 – October 3
We move according to our perceived self image. Contained within every step and every breath are all of our possibilities, dreams, obstacles, limitations and the emotions we associate with them. What or who do you wish to be? Unfurl your wings and fly. It’s not about thinking outside the box. It’s about recognizing that there is no box.
Using the meta-theme of Unfolding Possibility, we will explore the following ideas:
- Your History/Biology
- Postural and Movement Archetypes
- Illusion/Perception
- The Masks We Wear
- Thinking/Not Thinking
The Creative Body Laboratory has a flexible format. Workshops can be a half day or go for as long as a week (with a one day break in the middle) Participants who complete 150 hours of learning can qualify for the advanced training program in development.
Available Week Long Programs
Eloquence in Action: What is Your Story?
Uncover your history through understanding your anatomy. Are your feet taking you forward or holding you back from your desired goals? Discover how unlocking your pelvis can also unlock your creativity. Open your heart center and breathe in new ideas, emotional freedom and greater flexibility, all without strain. Learn to link head and heart, mind and body.
Starting with the feet, each day will be an exploration of movement, metaphor, art and science, thematically emphasizing a different area of the self. The pelvis, trunk, spine, arms and head as well as feet and legs each have a story to tell that links to your physical, emotional and mental state. This is a week exploring from the ground up to the heavens.
Practical Shape Shifting: Self Image in Transition
Stanley Kelleman says that our shape is the result of “insults to form.” But nothing is set in stone. What is the pay off for staying the same? What are the risks of transformation? What can we trust as we move toward the self we wish to create? With each day, we will discover ways to melt away old postures. Michaelangelo said of his sculpture David, “I merely removed the stone that wasn’t the sculpture.” We will uncover the work of art that is you.
Perpetual Motion: Physics/Metaphysics
We are always in movement. Even in stillness, the breath continues, the heart keeps beating. Feldenkrais once said, “Movement is life, without movement, life is unthinkable.” This week explores the science of movement, from neuroscience to the enneagram, from stellar motion to the dance of the atoms. Rhythms, pauses, vibrations and more are found in the study of our own movement.
One Day Workshops
Opening The Trunk
Many of us remember a trunk up in the attic filled with mysteries that fired the imagination. Our own trunks, between the neck and the legs, contain much more: four chakras, our vital organs, and according to ancient teachings, our emotional center. In a safe, nurturing environment, this mind/body workshop combines movement, discussion and theater exercises to help you speak your will and open your heart to your possibilities. No experience necessary.
Putting Your Head In Its Place
Do you know where your head is? Literally, the placement of your head affects everything: your posture, your sense of safety, your ease with others. Learn how to relieve headaches, TMJ or neck pain and even back problems.
Power of the Pelvis
Activate and enliven your vital center. Athletes, martial artists and performing artists rely on its power for peak performance. Rediscover the potential for greater spontaneity and mobility, even if you’ve had trauma or injuries.
A Leg to Stand On
Are you striding along? Or limping? Are your legs a sturdy, reliable support system you can rely on, or does it sometimes feel life has knocked you off your feet? Explore new ways of standing on your own two feet as we explore the “dance” between stability and mobility.
