à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Fear
Shopping for Glasses Within a Feldenkrais Framework
When quarantine began, I felt as if the pandemic had thrust us into an an intense, but short-lived, Camino-like experience. Rather, the ongoing pandemic feels like a continuous Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson which poses these questions: How much freedom, ease or possibility can be found amidst the constraints we are living under? Which habits … Continue reading
Why We Need True Diplomacy, and Feldenkrais, More than Ever
When I learned that George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, would be testifying in front of Congress as part of the impeachment inquiry, I thought: Thank God. I met him during the 1991-1992 academic year when were both students at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in … Continue reading
#MeToo: Thoughts on Vulnerability, Victimhood, Secrets and Privacy
During my freshman orientation at Bryn Mawr College, the resident advisor invited us into her dorm room to sit on the floor in a circle and get know each other. To break the ice and build connection, she wanted each of us to share something we were either bad at or nervous about (so I … Continue reading
What’s Scarier than Public Speaking? An Aikido Rank Test
It’s a truism that many people fear public speaking more than death. I can safely say that an Aikido rank test is more terrifying than addressing a group of people. When I began practicing Aikido in early 2017, I sought an intense physical and spiritual challenge to lift me out of a dark place. I … Continue reading
Unexpected Reflections for 9/11
I was at work when planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York and another into the Pentagon. Someone plugged in a small television and we watched the unspeakable unfold. Even the office manager, a normally stoic man with a love of beer, began to cry. He dismissed us for the day. I … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
Recent comments