🎭 SenseAbility July/August 2024 🎭

Encouraging Playfulness

July/August 2024

In this month's SenseAbility we explore the subject of Play.

The challenge we set ourselves was to do so playfully. To support that process we selected the main image of a child sitting in a bucket, throwing water around and loving life!

It seemed like the perfect representation of the inner playfulness that we are striving towards, outwardly it may seem like an act of rebellion (to the non play-informed world) but inwardly it would feel amazing!

In this edition we have two great contributions, firstly from Catherine Rosasco Mitchell who was also featured last month. She kindly agreed to write a follow up piece on the subject of play, which is an integral part of her Wellness Through Movement program that she has taught in schools for many years. Catherine has gracefully shared one of the secrets behind her learning philosophy, which is that play evolves our consciousness.

If you are interested in playfulness and learning, it is required reading!

We also have an interview with a very important person in the Feldenkrais® community, especially in relation to the subject of play. That person is Lavinia Plonka, long time Feldenkrais® practitioner and trainer, and founder of the Kinēsa® process.

In her interview she goes into detail about her own life's journey, and why play has been the guiding thread that has helped her live and authentic, rich and playful life.

She also discussed why she thinks playfulness is a great approach to becoming unstuck in life and creating positive changes, don't miss it!

Ready, set, play!

Feldenkrais® Communication Team

Jane, Michelle, Seth and Joe

An Article by Catherine Rosasco Mitchell

From the first days in the body there are movements, reflexes. These are the first movements, the playfulness that kicks our feet, gurgles from our mouths, and curls our toes. This playful action is stimulated through the interchange of desires and incoming sensations. As we begin to interact with sensations we start to explore the nature of being in a body to the world around us.

At this young age, we don’t think to learn. Through play and the motion inside the body we feel to learn. The body says, "Let’s see, if I feel how to reach this way, do I get…? If this is what I want, I will try the feeling again. If the action induces success, desires and actions want to be repeated. Repeated patterns of action are what help build memory. The awareness through motion senses, "If I do this... I will get that." Muscle patterns and coordination are what start to develop our perception.

From the playfulness of motion that become patterns of actions start to make cognitive distinctions, build neural pathways of behavior, and develop our perceptual processing...

Catherine Rosasco Mitchell, Feldenkrais® Practitioner, has taught tens of thousands of people in private and public schools from elementary to university levels. For the last forty years, she has studied how the body works symbiotically with thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Her focus has been on understanding how perception is influenced and developed from the sensation of motor circuits. As director of the Wellness Through Movement program, she has implemented, revised, and tested the curriculum in five different elementary schools.

Her website is: Wellness Through Movement

This month Joe Webster interviews Feldenkrais™ Practitioner Lavinia Plonka about becoming Play Informed. Lavinia introduces us to three key concepts in our ambitious adventure towards becoming playful.

Surprise and delight. The combination of pleasurable sensations along side intrigue creates a powerful (and fun) learning environment.

Compulsion and spontaneity. When we feel stuck in life our choices often feel limited and playfulness is a key ingredient to allowing ourselves to step outside our patterns and become more spontaneous.

Fear and safety. When we are afraid we close up and protect ourselves, this is why Feldenkrais® provides a very safe environment to allow ourselves to feel and move without the fear of getting things wrong.

This creates a supportive environment for the person who feels stuck and not playful to feel their own potential for change and progress. Which they can use as a stepping stone to creating positive changes in the parts of their lives they feel stuck with.

It's a fascinating interview that we would very much recommend watching!

Lavinia Plonka is an assistant trainer with over 30 years of experience teaching the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education. She is a certified Alba instructor, lead instructor of the Emotional Body® and founder of Kinēsa®. She has published several books exploring applications of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education and many, many audio and video programs that explore everything from Joy to Graceful Aging.

Her website is https://laviniaplonka.com/

Finding the floor - An audio lesson from Lavinia Plonka (mentioned in her interview)
Finding the Home Breath - An interview with Cat Mitchell

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How play evolves consciousness

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