à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Spiritual Practice
Feldenkrais as Embodied Teshuvah
Like water, teshuvah is both destructive and creative. It dissolves the person you were but simultaneously provides the moisture you need to grow anew. It erodes the hard edges of your willfulness but also refreshens your spirit. – Dr. Louis E. Newman Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. … Continue reading
Feldenkrais and Food: When Old Habits Die Hard
San Francisco, a foodie paradise, is the location of my Feldenkrais program. The training venue is sandwiched between two streets, Geary Boulevard and Clement Street, both chock full of food, mostly Russian grocery stores and bakeries, mom and pop fruit and vegetable markets, and a plethora of ethnic eateries (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Burmese and more), many of … Continue reading
Dropping Weight: Notes on My Great Art Giveaway
In the midst of my KonMari decluttering, I wondered what to do with some of my mosaic art. Diverse pieces created between 2007 and 2012 had not sold when I actively engaged with this medium. During those years, I designed and maintained a website and a Facebook page. I served as vice president of a mosaic art group, … Continue reading
When Adventure Beckons, Pause. Then, Buy a Toothbrush.
Last weekend I attended a workshop at the Embodied Life School in Sebastopol, CA, in Marin County. It’s a 75 minute drive from San Francisco, the location of my Feldenkrais training program, far enough that I needed to rent a car, yet close enough that I couldn’t justify getting a room for the night. Marin, with its rolling hills and farmland that … Continue reading
It Takes a Village to Go Viral
Recently I decided to venture from this blog and submit an article to an online magazine. It was a bit of an experiment to send “Why I Do Feldenkrais Instead of Yoga” to Elephant Journal, a yoga-centric publication whose staff, readers and contributors includes tons of yogis (both committed and disgruntled). Indeed, when I practiced yoga, I avidly devoured many articles in that very … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
Recent comments