Lavinia Plonka, RSME
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Immerse yourself in Lavinia Plonka’s proprietary, leading-edge somatic movement method, the Kinēsa process, for enhanced physical health, balanced emotions, mental acuity, deepened spiritual practice, and overall heightened wellbeing.
Expand your teaching and healing repertoire through a comprehensive set of next-level Feldenkrais movement skills and techniques in this Somatic Movement Teacher Training Certification.
Work with the 7 bodies and 7 distinct principles of Kinēsa and become certified in a profoundly effective, clinically based somatic process you can use in any professional practice.
Lavinia Plonka, RSME, has designed this program with ISMETA Educational Standards in mind. Graduates of this program are eligible to apply to ISMETA through the Independent Track Process.
*A $250 refundable deposit is due at the same time as your application. With a limited number of spaces available, your deposit holds a spot for you. See details below.
What if you could help others reduce their pain, improve flexibility and balance, and live life to its highest potential — not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, all at once...
... all through building awareness of your body and how you move?
Because you recently completed Lavinia Plonka’s course — The Kinēsa® Process: Advanced Feldenkrais®-Inspired Movement for Heightened Physical, Emotional & Spiritual Wellness — you’re already aware that you have the capacity to change your life and the lives of others using this new somatic movement process.
Lavinia introduced you to your seven bodies and guided you as you experienced subtle, powerful movement, cogent wisdom, and meditations — to help you move with greater freedom, cultivate emotional fluency, and turn your own sensations into a roadmap for healing.
Along with Lavinia, we created The Kinēsa® Process, a Somatic Movement Teacher Training Certification Program to give people the training they need to share this life-changing process with the world.
How the Kinēsa Process Works
It’s the ONLY learning system, movement modality, and personal growth approach available that brings together the “seven bodies” and seven distinct principles (more about that below). By immersing yourself in this work, you not only dramatically increase your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health, but also guide others in their own transformation.
As a student in this program, you’ll:
- Learn and practice a full range of movement lessons — to improve one’s emotional life, physical health, and mental abilities... and awaken joy and wellbeing
- Acquire skills and tools of the Kinēsa process to achieve heightened physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellness by focusing on movement from a more holistic perspective
- Develop your skills to lead, teach, and help others do the same as a professional Kinēsa practitioner, to:
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- Bring awareness to different parts of the body and improve the physical experience, reducing pain and tension and helping people become more nimble, balanced, and integrated
- Help others develop emotional resilience and fluency, for the ability to respond rather than react to life
- Improve mental acuity, heighten intuition, and strengthen the ability to think ahead.
- Take your spiritual life to new heights with movements that are connected to ancient wisdom traditions and neuroscience
- Build your transformational business practice with expert guidance
- And much more...
This approach works on all levels of a person’s being... on what Lavinia calls the seven bodies, all of which live within us, including the visible:
- Physical — The senses, functions, systems (nervous, skeletal, etc.), and relationship to gravity
- Mental — How we think, plan, execute, and reflect our intentions
- Emotional — The way our nervous and hormonal systems create sensations within us that we call emotions, and how we express ourselves
- Creative — That, in every moment, we’re creating our body, reality, and appearance
And beyond visible:
- Archetypal — How understanding archetypal energies can empower our life’s journey
- Energy — How energies relate to each other through movement, based on yogic, Taoist, and other ancient traditions
- Alchemical — How movement can help us become a vessel for inner and outer transformation... turning our personal lead into gold
When you work with all of these bodies simultaneously, you gain clarity about the full range of your potential and the vast possibilities for your life — and apply it in everything you do, personally and professionally.
Have questions? You can schedule a group meeting with Program Manager Meghan Rufener and other prospective students here.
What You’ll Receive in This Program
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Online Video & Audio Learning
An in-depth curriculum with new teachings designed and taught by Lavinia every week for 12 months — including weekly 90-minute live online video classes followed by 30-minute Peer Discussion Groups. -
Online Classes
This will include teachings from Lavinia, interaction with Lavinia and Feldenkrais assistant trainer Candy Conino through live Q&A, Peer Discussion groups, and virtual connection to other students from around the world. -
In-Depth Teacher Training Curriculum
13 units each composed of multiple classes (50 classes throughout the year) — with a total of approximately 180 hours of teaching. *For those seeking personal development, there is an option to take Part 1 only. See details below. -
Integration Sessions
Three 90-minute sessions per month with Lavinia or Candy (a total of 43 throughout the year) to explore and clarify the material you’re learning, with Kinēsa Process demonstrations and in-depth Q&A. -
Small Group Collabs
Two 90-minute sessions per month over Zoom with a cohort of 12-15 of your peers for feedback and support to practice throughout the duration of your study. -
Collab Leaders
You’ll benefit from the support and guidance of your Collab Leader, a somatic movement professional hand-selected by Lavinia and Candy, who’s taking the program right along with you and will facilitate your small group learning and practice throughout the yearlong training. Your Collab Leader will be an amazing resource! -
Additional Live Q&A Sessions
During each class there are additional opportunities to go deeper into your learning with ample time for questions and answers. -
Elective Sessions
During the certification training program, we’ll invite guest faculty to provide live elective teachings (a total of nine throughout the year), followed by Q&A, on a wide range of supportive topics, from energy healing to transformational business marketing — all designed to complement and deepen your learning experience and support your professional practice. -
Online Community
Our exclusive Facebook online community is the perfect place to continue your discovery process after each class. Here, you can continue your discussion about the teachings and interact with Lavinia and your fellow students, to take your exploration to an even deeper level. -
Practicum
At the end of the year, you’ll engage in a Practicum, in which you’ll teach or practice sharing the Kinēsa process in your Collab among fellow students and in your local area — to demonstrate your growing skills and capacities as a Kinēsa practitioner.
Click here for more detailed information about each of these elements.
You’ll work closely with Lavinia, Candy, and your Collab Leader to master and apply Kinēsa’s seven principles in practical ways to whatever you do — whether you’re a dancer, yoga instructor, school teacher, healer, therapist, body worker, somatic movement practitioner in a clinical setting.
Who This Certification Program Is For
*To save your spot, a $250 refundable deposit is due at the same time as your application. See details below.
About Lavinia Plonka, RSME
Lavinia’s commitment to understand movement and the psyche builds upon 50 years of dedicated study. Out of this profound journey, she has synthesized many of the leading modalities into a method that is powerful, easy-to-learn, and creates real freedom for clients. We are confident that this is at the leading edge of the field of somatics.
In this certification program, Lavinia will guide you through a synthesis of different disciplines — movement, meditation, science, and spirit — designed to train you holistically and expedite healing and enhanced wellbeing for you and your clients.
Check out the video below to learn more about her remarkable and diverse background — all of which has culminated in the creation of her NEW process, Kinēsa, a distillation and synthesis of all of her study, wisdom, teaching, and practice based on the teachings of Moshé Feldenkrais .
I Am Lavinia Plonka
About Candy Conino
Also joining this stellar team is Candy Conino, a Feldenkrais assistant trainer and one of the top Feldenkrais teachers in the world. Candy, who Lavinia specifically chose as the Integration Facilitator for this training, will lead two of the three Integration Sessions per month and lead the team of small group leaders with whom students will work all year long.
Candy Conino Introduces Herself
Elisa Cotroneo, RSME/T, Executive Director of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association
Guest Faculty
Lavinia has invited other world-class teachers, colleagues, and spiritual guides with expertise in specific areas to join her throughout the year to share a wealth of teachings (Click on images to read bios):
Cynthia Allen
Senior Movement Intelligence trainer
Russ Hudson
Renowned Enneagram teachers
Laura Bond
Founder of the Emotional Body® method
Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone
Jungian psychotherapist
Sharla Jacobs
Co-founder of Thrive Academy
Zoran Kovich
Feldenkrais® teacher
Anodea Judith
Founder and director of Sacred Centers
Stephen Nachmanovitch
A leader in music, dance, theater, and multimedia arts
Donna Ray
Feldenkrais® trainer and licensed psychotherapist
*To save your spot, a $250 refundable deposit is due at the same time as your application. See details below.
What Are the 7 Principles of the Kinēsa Process?
The Kinēsa process brings our awareness to every movement made, every action taken, and every word uttered. It will help with effective communication and brings understanding to the source of pain — physical and emotional —
According to Lavinia, there is no more important time than now to cultivate these capacities, because the world is in dire need of attention, clarity, ease, and elegance. For Lavinia, the most effective way to do that is to achieve personal mastery — this is where embodying the seven principles of Kinēsa can be essential.
So, what are the seven principles and how do they offer such potent transformation?
- Sensation — The skills of proprioception (the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body)... exteroception (the sensitivity to stimuli outside the body, and how you perceive your environment)... and interoception (the felt experience of the internal workings of the body, such as digestion, breath regulation, emotions, etc.)
- Breath — The gateway to the self and others
- Perception — The way we interpret and integrate our sensory experience
- Choice — The freedom to feel, think, and act
- Power — The strength and potency to achieve what you want
- Balance — Dynamic stability... physically, mentally, and emotionally
- Presence — Authenticity and curiosity
If you want to help others as a professional Kinēsa teacher, or practitioner of any other somatic or therapeutic art, this program is for you.
The descriptions of the multi-class units farther down this page detail the specific and far-reaching content of this program.
More About the Certification
The Importance of This Certification Program
Many ancient wisdom traditions tell us that we have to go through our own personal growth processes and embody our own transformation before we can share our learning and wisdom to help others. As such, this program is divided into two 6-month parts.
Part 1 is an immersion into deep personal healing, development, and transformation, through which you can finally release anything that’s been holding you back from living the life you desire. This immersion can be undertaken as a stand-alone program — if you believe it will fulfill your needs for personal development, you can apply for Part 1 only.
If you feel called to take this work even further — to cultivate your skills as a Kinēsa practitioner or teacher and grow your capacity to assist others — join us also for Part 2 of this yearlong somatic movement teacher training program.
Somatic Movement Certification — Part 1
An Immersion Into The Kinēsa Process
for Personal Transformation & Healing
The 6-month immersion is a process of learning through movement... integrating movement lessons with research... multidisciplinary explorations... guided meditations, inquiry, and discussions. This exploration into your biology, history, and humanity provides a body/mind/emotion/energy prism for personal transformation.
Throughout Part 1, the 6-month Immersion, you’ll work with healing from the Kinēsa perspective — that is, through kinesis, emotion, sensation, and attention. Let’s break down what that looks like:
- Kinesis relates to the awareness of the position and movement of the parts of the body through the sensory organs in your muscles and joints. For example, when you’re not able to move the way you want to, you can make different kinesthetic choices to understand the source of your pain or limitation, and its relationship to other parts of yourself.
- Emotions are carried in different parts of the body and can get stuck there, causing tension. As you untangle your habitual movement patterns, you begin to reveal and understand the emotions that you’re holding. Through that movement process alone, you can sometimes release the emotions and the correlating pain.
- Sensation is a powerful source of feedback. As you’re working with your movement and feeling your emotions, you experience sensations — restriction, for example — which you can then use to help reorganize your body into more effective movement.
- Attention to any part of yourself brings awareness to your senses, emotions, and thoughts — as if your cells themselves are talking to you. You can use the power of that attention as a currency, literally moving energy into more flow and wellbeing.
During the Immersion, you’ll engage more deeply with the seven bodies, spending one full unit with each. You’ll work with the seven principles of Kinēsa and explore how they can move you toward profound personal healing, self-development, and self-exploration... using movement as a lens through which you study yourself.
As you do, you’ll gain more flexibility, balance, and resilience... learn how to interact more effectively with your emotional life... and enhance your spiritual practice.
Over these six months, you’ll experience powerful transformation as you:
- Develop physical and emotional resilience, become more flexible — physically, mentally, and emotionally — and reduce stress
- Build a vast repertoire of movement lessons for personal practice to learn new ways of moving, thinking, and feeling
- Cultivate your own proprioceptive sense of self-awareness, curiosity for self-inquiry, and self-practice
- Use the 7 principles of sensation, breath, choice, perception, power, balance, and presence for intentional self-development
- Learn the neuroscientific research and anatomical understanding that went into the development of the Kinēsa process
- Heal old and new wounds more quickly and with greater ease
- Improve your relationships with yourself and others as you clarify and evolve your self-image
- Immerse yourself in a personal exploration into the 7 bodies and 7 principles of Kinēsa, and experience their impact on your self-healing and transformation
- Prepare the groundwork to take on whatever is your life’s calling
- Learn how to change your brain map for pain reduction and physical and emotional balance and regulation
- Experience the power of true embodiment, as you increase your personal power and effectiveness
- Improve your skills of observation, and become mentally and physically nimble
- Develop stronger interpersonal skills to strengthen your relationships with friends, family, and colleagues
The descriptions of the multi-class units farther down on this page detail the specific and far-reaching content of this program.
Somatic Movement Certification — Part 2
A Certification in the Kinēsa Process for Healing & Teaching Others in a Professional Setting
Part 2, which is also six months long, will build on the self-transformation you underwent in Part I, to train you to become the most effective Kinēsa practitioner or teacher you can be.
When you complete the full year, you’ll receive a certificate that will help you create an added dimension in your practice and effectively expand your clientele, thereby building a successful healing profession. This is for everyone who wants to integrate this into a teaching practice that can help heal others and support conscious evolution.
You’ll expand your knowledge of and experience with concepts and movement lessons that build on what you learned in Part 1.
The second half of the year provides extensive opportunities to apply the principles to your personal practice, your profession, and your relationships... as you practice the skills you’re mastering with your student colleagues and receive guidance and feedback from supportive mentors and world class leaders.
When you participate in the complete certification program, you’ll transform personally as you:
- Walk the path of self-mastery and gain a more thorough, embodied sense of self-awareness and understanding
- Experience more sophisticated movement sequences and learn to apply them to your personal practice
- Powerfully integrate the 7 bodies for holistic manifestation
- Become more fluent in using the 7 Kinēsa principles in your life
- Master the use of formative assessment for self-examination
- Create your personal approach to Kinēsa, supported by the class community
- Develop your personal brand for sharing Kinēsa
- Increase your confidence, poise, and communication skills
- Gain greater emotional regulation skills
When you participate in the complete certification program, you’ll transform professionally as you:
- Develop a solid repertoire of movement lessons for your professional practice
- Learn how to share these teachings with others or to be a practitioner of the Kinēsa process
- Receive in-depth instruction in how to help others improve their health, happiness, and wellbeing
- Learn to apply the Kinēsa process principles in a very practical way to whatever you do — whether you’re a bodyworker, musician, therapist, coach, parent, teacher, or whatever you choose to be or become
- Master the use of formative assessment for professional examination
- Are mentored by Lavinia and Candy, two of the most highly regarded and respected professionals in the somatic movement field
- Have opportunities to demonstrate and practice your teaching skills with your cohort of fellow students
- Get tips on how to build and manage your successful Kinēsa business, monetize your professional practice — and even create your studio space
- Gain access to a comprehensive body of material you can use for your teaching practice — including all of Lavinia’s lessons and research
- Become fluent at reading body language while monitoring your own
- Receive somatic tools to help people move from a challenging state to something more positive
- Participate in numerous group activities for inspiration on how to bring new information and practices to your clients
Upon completing the full year, you’ll receive a certification affirming that you’ve been educated and trained as a professional Kinēsa practitioner, and are prepared to work with clients in any appropriate clinical setting.
The descriptions of the multi-class units farther down this page detail the specific and far-reaching content of this program.
What You’ll Discover in This Certification Program
Join the Livestream — or Download Later to Watch at Your Convenience
You’ll connect with Lavinia and her guest faculty through livestreaming video via any connected device. This connection is easy to use and will enhance the impact of the transmissions.
While we hope you’ll attend all the sessions live, you’ll be able to download or stream recordings of the weekly classes and the three monthly Integration Sessions if you occasionally need to miss one. As you’ll discover, your live attendance is integral to your learning, understanding, and community connection.
Primary Weekly Class Sessions Thursdays at 10:00am Pacific
This program will feature LIVE teaching transmissions, demonstrations, movement processes, Integration Sessions with Lavinia and Candy Conino, two monthly Collabs, nine Elective sessions with guest faculty, and Q&A. Each session will build harmoniously upon the previous ones to help you develop a complete, holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to receive the highest benefit from this comprehensive study.
Program Schedule
All sessions will be held online through Zoom. There will be no in-person engagement.
The 6-month Immersion (Part 1) starts on November 29, 2022, and ends on June 6, 2023.
The 6-month Certification (Part 2) starts on July 6, 2023, and ends on January 16, 2024.
Holidays: There are holiday breaks throughout the training, including a full month off in June 2023, and a week off for Spring and holiday breaks.
Class Sessions: 120 minutes per week on Thursdays at 10:00am Pacific, most weeks of the year. Students may attend live on Zoom or access the recording soon after. Students are expected to attend all class sessions or access the recordings during the same week of the live teaching.
Integration Sessions: 90 minutes on three Tuesdays at 10:00am Pacific throughout each month, led by Lavinia Plonka or Integration Facilitator Candy Conino. Students are expected to attend or access the recordings of two Integration Sessions monthly.
Guest Faculty Sessions: Workshops will be offered one Tuesday per month, most months of the year, on various topics to expand on the teachings. Students are expected to attend two Electives per 6-months (four total sessions) throughout the year for their certification. Recordings will be available for students to access on their own time.
Program Details
Fifty 120-Minute Class Sessions With Lavinia Plonka
Experience a unique opportunity to be mentored and taught by body language expert and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher Lavinia Plonka, RSME — online, from the comfort of your own home. Each class includes a live streaming video option and guides you to immerse yourself in deep, comprehensive, practical, somatic teachings. You’ll receive experiential practices and opportunities to build your skills and catalyze profound transformation. Primary class sessions are on Thursdays at 10:00am Pacific.
Three 90-Minute Integration Sessions Every Month
As part of the core curriculum, Integration Sessions will be led by Lavinia or Candy Conino for deeper learning, further immersion in the teachings, and working closely with faculty, who will demonstrate the Kinēsa process in action and provide group direction. Integration Sessions will be recorded for you to refer to time and again.
In these sessions, you’ll be able to ask questions and practice movement processes, concepts, and techniques you’ve learned under Lavinia and Candy’s guidance. They’ll demonstrate the key components of a successful professional somatic movement process — with group member contributions. Integration Sessions are on Tuesdays at 10:00am Pacific.
Two 90-Minute Collabs Every Month
Twice each month, you’ll be able to meet with a cohort of 15-20 fellow participants on Zoom. Here, you can have more personalized discussions and experiences, and practice embodying the teachings. Each Collab will be led by a Collab Leader (CL) who has extensive somatic movement training in one or more modalities — including the Feldenkrais Method, Somatic Experiencing, or others. You’ll meet with the same CL and group for the duration of the program. You’ll be required to attend at least one of these Collabs each month, and live attendance is required. To safeguard confidentiality, the Collabs will not be recorded, so they won’t be available to watch later if you’re unable to attend. We will do our best to schedule them for a variety of days and times to accommodate participants’ schedules and time zones.
Elective Sessions
Throughout the year, you’ll be invited to attend several online workshops on somatic movement-related topics, presented by guest faculty on Tuesdays when there is no Integration Session. These offerings will supplement and personalize your yearlong experience as you gravitate to what most interests you. You must attend at least four Electives throughout the year to receive your certification, but you are welcome to attend all of them. Elective sessions will be recorded so you can listen to them again and again.
Video Recordings of Class Sessions
After each online class, Integration session, and Elective session, the digital video will be available for you to stream in high-quality format. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can watch anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Audio Recordings of Class Sessions
After each online class, the audio will be available for you to download in high-quality MP3 format. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can listen anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Transcripts of Class Sessions
In addition to the high-quality videos and MP3 audios, you’ll also receive the entire class transcription after each session is completed. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Practices and Questions for Each Unit
Lavinia will be teaching principles that are best absorbed through direct experience. She’ll provide you with movement processes to practice between sessions to accelerate your learning and more deeply embody the material. You’ll complete a written reflection after each unit to demonstrate your understanding of the content.
Online Community
Our exclusive online community is the perfect place to continue your discovery process after each class. Here, you can continue the discussion about your program materials and interact with your fellow students to take your exploration to an even deeper level.
Curriculum Details for Certification Part 1 — An Immersion
Unit 1: Your Physical Body — Discovering & Activating Your Personal GPS
It all begins with reaching for the coffee cup. Running up the stairs. Crossing the stream. Catching the ball...
Your connection with the ground, the movement of your limbs, your ability to bend, reach, stretch, and recover start with sensation and function.
This first unit is literally the ground on which the certification is built, as well an avenue toward grounding yourself.
Yet, how much do you know about how it all works?
The path to wellbeing is a journey of discovery of how movement and sensation inform every action. The study of your physical body is an opportunity to program your personal GPS coordinates...
Every moment of your life is mobilized by an intention, even if it feels invisible.
In the Kinēsa process, anatomy is not studied in a textbook or memorized in charts. It’s experiential anatomy. As you go inside yourself and learn how things work within, you’ll develop the ability to make choices to move and feel better.
During Unit 1, you’ll discover:
- How to develop grace and power with simple, sophisticated movement sequences
- A deeper understanding of both inner and outer balance
- Tools for improving flexibility
- Dexterity and precision in movement and in life
- The ability to use your sixth (kinesthetic) sense to navigate your life journey
- How to use sensation as information for improved vitality
- The powerful connections between sensation, perception, and pain relief
- How to experience grounded presence without feeling weighed down
- The meaning and power of experiential anatomy
- And more...
Your Unit 1 classes:
- Class 1: How Do You Know Where You Are? (December 1)
- Class 2: How Do You Know Where You’re Going? (December 8)
- Class 3: Why Do We Try Defying Gravity? (December 15)
- Class 4: Which Comes First — Structure or Function? (December 22)
Unit 2: Your Emotional Body — How You Move Affects How You Feel & How You Feel Affects How You Move
Your emotions aren’t strange, alien forces that appear out of nowhere and rule your life.
Your emotions are part of every move you make. Your posture, breath, and face send instant messages to your nervous system — to create sensations that become the stories we call joy or sorrow.
Your emotional body responds to the environment as well as your inner experience, sometimes realizing and sometimes betraying your intentions.
Learning to recognize your habitual emotional patterns can recalibrate your reactions so that you develop choice on how you respond to life’s circumstances.
Learning the somatic markers of different emotional reactions can help you navigate difficult situations and offer objective solutions to unwanted emotional states.
During Unit 2, you’ll explore:
- How to become trauma aware
- Easy access to physical joy
- Restorative strategies for reducing stress
- More practice in clearing an unwanted emotional pattern
- An introduction to the Emotional Effector Patterns
- A deeper understanding of the physical components of stressful emotions
- How to recognize when your habits sabotage your sense of wellbeing
- The connections among your brain, nervous system, and emotions
- Tools for regulating emotions
- And more...
Your Unit 2 classes:
- Class 1: Who’s in Charge? How Your Central Nervous System Works (January 5)
- Class 2: Introduction to the Emotional Effector Patterns — Breath, Posture & Face (January 12)
- Class 3: Identifying Tension & Anxiety Patterns (January 19)
- Class 4: Breath & the Relaxation and Pleasure Patterns (January 26)
Unit 3: The Mental Body — Applying Movement Intelligence to Plans, Choices & Goals
Different spiritual paths speak about the emotional and mental bodies — located outside your physical border — that connect you to higher functional abilities...
People often talk about these other “bodies” interpenetrating in subtle energy patterns. But there’s another way to look at the mental body. It’s how we apply intelligence to our actions. Like your emotions, your mind lives within and is influenced by your physical functions.
While your breath reveals your emotions, it’s also a source of information. Every breath you take is actually part of a feedback loop of information and energy.
We’ve all heard of the mind/body connection. Yet in reality, your mind is your body. It’s not someplace separate. Your brain gathers all your sensory data, refers to your past and your knowledge base, and communicates that information to everything all at once. When you want to “use your mind” you’re accessing information from all your parts and bringing them together in the cognitive process.
Your eyes are your information processors. The eyes actually have neurons in them that connect to functions in your brain. And, as you learn to connect your two information systems — the breath and the eyes — you will begin to clearly see the path ahead.
Recent research shows that your mental abilities are directly connected to your mobility. Intentional movement with attention is intelligence squared.
During Unit 3, you’ll explore:
- Using breath as support for sequence, pacing, and proportion of change
- How your breath can influence and improve your mental state
- Strategies for clarifying goals and enhancing memory
- Movement lessons that refine planning and execution abilities
- How to develop greater insight, hindsight, and foresight
- And more...
Your Unit 3 classes:
- Class 1: Looking Backward — Memory, Hindsight & Learning to Access Imagination (February 2)
- Class 2: Moving Forward — Planning, Foresight & Timing (February 9)
- Class 3: Recapitulation — How to Reflect on Your Plan & Move to a New Plan (February 16)
Unit 4: The Creative Body — Spontaneity, Reversibility & Just Plain Old Ability
Fear of failure, rejection, and injury can govern and limit our choices. Yet, when we choose to stay stuck, we’re also making a choice.
As Lavinia will share in this unit, your moment-to-moment experience, your mood, and your actions are your creation. Making mistakes, trying new things, and finding yourself in unfamiliar situations can invite freedom or freezing.
The ability to be open, relaxed, and ready to welcome the unknown is one of the many steps in the creative process. Which at times, is difficult to do.
Lavinia has a mantra for herself — when the going gets tough, the tough lie down. It’s not about giving up. It’s about recalibrating, reorganizing, and reconnecting to the muse within yourself.
Once again, the key is in your relationship with yourself. It’s about going back and reconnecting with the physical, emotional, and mental bodies.
As you’ll discover, your ability to be spontaneous, seriously playful, and open to surprise are all within your creative body.
During Unit 4, you’ll discover:
- Movement lessons that explore the necessity of play and rest for nurturing creativity
- How to create in the moment without stress
- Strategies for accessing your muse
- Ways to enjoy the creative process without attachment to the product
- The fun of being in the unknown
- The difference between spontaneity and feeling scattered
- How to be focused without tunnel vision
- And more...
Your Unit 4 classes:
- Class 1: Compulsion & WORK vs. Play & Permission (February 23)
- Class 2: Improvisation — Applying Creative Solutions to Physical, Mental & Emotional Challenges (March 2)
- Class 3: Rest & Presence (March 9)
Unit 5: The Archetypal Body — Embodying the 4 Meta Archetypes for Power, Compassion, Healing & Vision
Four powerful archetypes echo through history and are part of us — the Warrior, Teacher, Healer, and Visionary.
In this unit, Lavinia will share how each archetype has a Center of Presence which, when activated, helps you embody the highest qualities of humankind. This includes the warrior’s grounded presence in the pelvis... the teacher’s compassionate presence in the chest... the healer’s energy of the hands... and the visionary’s connection to the art of seeing.
By learning to access these Centers of Presence, you can become the change you want to see in the world.
As you’ll discover, one way to access the wisdom and energy of these forces of nature is through finding the embodiment of each energy.
By experiencing the power of the pelvis, the receptiveness of the heart center, the energy in the hands, and the clarity in your vision, you cultivate tools for navigating life’s challenges from a place within your body. Then when you encounter challenges, you can use your somatic wisdom to make changes.
By accessing the energy of these archetypes, you begin to literally change your story — the one you’ve been carrying since childhood — and create a life you’ll love.
During Unit 5, you’ll discover:
- The importance of understanding the embodiment of archetypes
- How movement activates the Energy Centers (Centers of Presence) of the 4 Archetypes
- Strategies for integrating and balancing the archetypal energies
- Skills for employing the archetypal energies for acting in the world: become the change you want to see
- The superpowers and kryptonites of each archetype and how to use them with intention
- How to awaken your power center
- How to soften your “emotional armor” for more compassionate listening
- The healing energy of your hands
- Strategies for envisioning your ideal goals
- And more...
Your Unit 5 classes:
- Class 1: Introduction to the Archetypes/The Warrior (March 23)
- Class 2: The Teacher (March 30)
- Class 3: The Healer (April 6)
- Class 4: The Visionary (April 13)
Unit 6: Your Energy Body — Prana, Chi, Spiritus & Ruach
May the force flow through you...
Movement is life, from the first single cell to the most complex mammal.
While science is still arguing about what “moves us,” there are clues in ancient teachings that inform our physical, mental, and emotional presence.
From kundalini to meridians to the Tree of Life, a study of energy and how it moves can help bring us toward greater health.
The human body at rest generates 100 watts of electricity — enough to power a light bulb. But when you learn to use and conserve that energy, you generate the power to do so much more. You’re also a conductor of energy, receiving from the air, and transmitting to the earth.
When there’s tension, trauma, or stress, energy becomes trapped. Moving your body also moves what’s inside you — your organs, your blood, and your energy, freeing your energy centers to do the “great work” of connecting to your highest purpose.
During Unit 6, you’ll discover:
- Physical manifestation of the energetic systems
- Movement lessons that restore the full integrity of the 7 chakras
- How to relate the dantiens to movement of energy
- The link between energy and creativity
- How to identify the sensory experience of energy
- And more...
Your Unit 6 classes:
- Class 1: First & Second Chakras/Lower Dantien — Stand Strong & Generate New Power (April 20)
- Class 2: Third & Fourth Chakras/Middle Dantien — Listen to Your Gut & Follow Your Heart (April 27)
- Class 3: Fifth & Sixth Chakras/Upper Dantien — Think Clearly & Speak Your Truth (May 4)
- Class 4: Seventh Chakra — Open Your Crown & Connect (May 11)
Unit 7: Your Alchemical Body — Transforming Your Personal Lead Into Gold
Your personal lead affects all seven bodies. Where do you feel it, sense it, and understand it? How has it affected your life and your choices?
The lead can take many forms, some of which you’ve discovered in previous units — habitual anxiety patterns, old wounds, stories from the past, blind spots, and emotional distress, for example.
Transformation can be messy or elegant. A caterpillar completely liquifies before metamorphosing into a butterfly. You can learn to drop the lead or transform it into an asset without melting down.
Becoming centered, literally getting yourself together, is the unifying process connecting all seven bodies with your divine nature. When you’re connected to yourself, you feel weightless, like water or space.
Inner alchemy offers you the opportunity to literally re-organize yourself. As you’ll discover, with practice you can take what holds you back and transform it into an integral part of how you move through life.
By connecting your alchemical body to the other six bodies, you become a unified whole. The power of attention — as a currency that connects you to others, yourself, and higher energy — can move freely, offering you greater ability to choose your direction.
During Unit 7, you’ll discover:
- How to connect your roots to your future possibilities
- Strategies for integrating the previous lessons and connecting them to a higher purpose
- Movement meditations that unite your 7 bodies
- Sacred movement that unites spirit and self
- How to unify inner and outer attention
- And more...
Your Unit 7 classes:
- Class 1: Fantastic Voyage — Going Inward to Find a New Relationship to Your Personal Obstacles (May 18)
- Class 2: Re-membering Yourself — Impartiality, Serenity & (W)holiness (May 25)
- Class 3: Metamorphosis — Moving Through the 7 Bodies (June 1)
Curriculum Details for Certification Part 2
Unit 8: Presence, Prayer & Possibility — Linking Tradition & Neuroscience
You’ll now begin to apply your learning from the first six months to others, while going deeper into connecting the ancient and the modern, the science with spirit, and the theoretical with the practical.
The foundations of the Kinēsa process and your relationship to your seven bodies is based on seven pillars of learning and experience: Breath, Sensation, Perception, Choice, Power, Balance and Presence.
In the first six months, these principles were implicit in the exploration of the seven bodies. As you move into the certification process, Lavinia will share how these pillars will become your allies, teachers, and guides toward becoming a Kinēsa practitioner.
Your body is a mysterious sacred vessel that carries your longing and possibilities of deeper connection. You can take a scientific approach toward understanding what’s taking place. What is the relationship between awareness and the inner attention spoken of in various traditions? Is there a way to quantify a somatic experience? Can movement literally move energy toward something ineffable?
As Lavinia will explain, there are cosmic laws at play at every moment. These cosmic laws impact how a lesson is constructed, how a play is written, the rhythm of a good joke, and the rise and fall of empires. As you begin to sense how these laws manifest in your physical existence, you begin to experience the possibility of a deeper embodied presence.
During Unit 8, you’ll explore:
- Movement processes that challenge and improve your inner and outer attention
- How to use logic and intellect to deepen your spiritual practice
- Lessons that offer a path toward inner freedom
- A deeper understanding of the science behind various movement traditions
- How you can integrate this learning into your personal and professional practice
- And more...
Your Unit 8 classes:
- Class 1: As Above, So Below — Your Inner Life & Your Outer Circumstances (July 6)
- Class 2: The Laws of 3 & 7 in Movement (July 13)
- Class 3: Every Step Is a Prayer — Embodied Movement as a Sacred Practice (July 20)
- Class 4: Dynamics, Equilibrium, Rest & Surrender (July 27)
Unit 9: Emotional Fluency
You can think, feel, sense, and move simultaneously. Movement helps you uncover habitual emotional patterns for a more satisfying life. While emotions move faster than the thinking mind, and can therefore be difficult to “catch,” you can begin to recognize emotional patterns in yourself and others.
The breath, posture, and facial expressions that connect with the sensations we call emotions can be studied and eventually mastered. This skill helps you create rapport, improve your ability to respond instead of merely react... and better understand the story behind the story that people are telling you.
During Unit 9, you’ll discover:
- The breath, facial expressions, and postural patterns of the 6 basic emotions
- How somatic movement can support emotional fluency
- Movement lessons that facilitate engaging in pleasurable emotional patterns
- The benefit and power of (seemingly) negative emotions
- The difference between sensuality and eroticism
- How to have compassion without pity
- Tools for self-regulation
- And more...
Your Unit 9 classes:
- Class 1: The 6 Basic Emotions — How Breath, Posture & Facial Expression Tell Your Story (August 3)
- Class 2: Standing Your Ground & Getting Energized — The Power of Anger & Learning to Let Go (August 10)
- Class 3: Safety, Sensuality, Threat & Recovery (August 17)
- Class 4: Joy & Sorrow — Dealing With Ups & Downs (August 24)
Unit 10: The Art of Falling & Getting Up
According to the American Psychological Association, “Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.”
Resilience is the quality that allows you to recover and thrive.
Throughout this certification training, you’ve developed processes and strategies for returning to yourself — the sensation of the physical body, the resilience of the emotional body, the intelligence of the mental body, the resources of the creative body, the power of the archetypal body, the light of the energy body, and the integration of the alchemical body.
As you deepen your skills, you’ll improve your capacity to navigate bumps in the road — and become empowered to recover, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and learn from your experience with minimal collateral damage.
Developing your personal resilience helps you support others as they deal with adversity.
During Unit 10, you’ll discover:
- How to turn challenge into opportunity
- Strategies for regaining equilibrium
- Movement processes that teach resilience and reversibility
- Meditations for recirculating your energy body
- Powerful practices for negotiating challenge
- Resources for moving forward with courage; retreating with grace
- How to reframe failure
- And more...
Your Unit 10 Classes:
- Class 1: Gravity — It’s the Law (September 7)
- Class 2: How to Survive a Crash Landing (September 14)
- Class 3: What Are You Afraid Of? (September 21)
- Class 4: You Do YOU! (September 28)
Unit 11: The Kinēsa Process in Action — No Limits to Your Possibilities
Nothing is permanent about our behavior patterns except our belief that they are so.
— Moshe Feldenkrais
You’ve been on a journey of expanded possibility, developing resources, skills, and awareness — bringing together the seven bodies that make up human functioning, recognizing your sabotaging behaviors, and exploring new ways of learning.
Now, how do you make this learning stick?
The seven Kinēsa pillars are here for you as touchstones and support: Breath, Sensation, Perception, Choice, Power, Balance, and Presence.
Each of these principles provide guideposts and allies on your journey toward the life you want. As you tune in to each of your seven bodies, you have the ability to investigate your relationship to each principle. In this way, you not only maintain the benefits of what you’ve learned, you continue to expand.
As your skills develop, you start to see how these pillars manifest in others, and you develop choices from your own repertoire to navigate toward your highest purpose.
Whether you want to change careers, improve your relationship skills, heal your physical or emotional pain, or something else, you can use the resources you’ve developed to alter your reality and be the change you want to see in the world.
During Unit 11, you’ll discover:
- How to apply the Kinēsa pillars to a daily practice
- Movement lessons that illustrate the power of these 7 principles for practical life purposes
- Dynamic problem-solving sessions that inform as they entertain
- Tools for developing an enhanced sensitivity to subtle cues in relationships
- How to repair the past to prepare for the future you want
- How to use the Kinēsa pillars to address physical, mental, and emotional pain
- Strategies for retaining the benefits of an enhanced experience
- The connection between somatic intelligence and intuition
- And more...
Your Unit 11 Classes:
- Class 1: A Somatic Inner Journey (October 12)
- Class 2: Your History, Your Biology & Your Possibilities (October 19)
- Class 3: Less Pain, More Gain (October 26)
- Class 4: Pillars of Wisdom — Your Relationship to the Kinēsa Principles (November 2)
Unit 12: Stepping Up, Stepping Out — Applying Kinēsa Strategies to Practical Life Situations
Now it’s time to put all you’ve been learning into action.
Whether you’re a yoga teacher, psychotherapist, doctor, school teacher, or politician, you face challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning every day.
Life without challenge would limit the possibility of growth. Obstacles can be turned into opportunities when you apply somatic wisdom to the process.
A Kinēsa practitioner develops a deep understanding of how the interplay of the seven bodies and the seven pillars can be applied to life’s challenges.
This unit is an opportunity to use your own life as your laboratory — and begin to use the learning in your professional and social environments. You’ll take your real-life challenges and explore step-by-step processes to make actionable plans.
During Unit 12, you’ll discover:
- Powerful guidance for realizing your personal and professional goals
- How to use the movement lessons you’ve learned to support your aim
- How to turn obstacles into opportunities
- Practical exercises and activities for problem-solving
- A way to practice deep listening to yourself and others for resolving challenges
- A process for personalizing the learning to your specific needs
- And more...
Your Unit 12 Classes:
- Class 1: If You Think You’ve Found the Path, It’s Probably the Wrong Path (November 9)
- Class 2: Serious Play — Using Games to Get Out of Your Head & Into Right-Brain Solutions (November 16)
- Class 3: It’s All About You — Creating a Personalized Plan of Action (November 30)
- Class 4: Putting It All Together — Reflecting, Integrating & Rewarding (December 7)
Unit 13: Practicum
You want to finish this program with panache, with a flair, with the supreme delight of a job well-done.
To become certified, there’s just one more step — actually taking Kinēsa into your life.
Maybe you want to teach movement, or offer a course on deep listening. You’ve learned how Kinēsa can impact your own life choices. As a Kinēsa practitioner, you’ll be able to use your learning with others.
You may choose to integrate it into your yoga classes, or develop a movement repertoire based on the lessons in this training.
Perhaps you want to create units in your Humanities course, or offer one of the units to a group that could really use it. You can choose to use your Kinēsa training professionally or among friends. Either way, this last unit is your opportunity to own your story, make magic happen, and see how far you’ve come.
It’s not a test. If you’ve come this far, you have learned what you need to know. This is a chance for you to celebrate your accomplishment — and take it out into the world. The world needs it!
During Unit 13, you’ll discover:
- Powerful mentoring to shepherd you toward your personal goals
- Concrete strategies for integrating Kinēsa into your profession and your life
- How to teach Kinēsa movement lessons
- Marketing materials and training
- Resources for building competence and confidence
- Templates and guides for writing and speaking
- And more...
Your Unit 13 Classes:
- Class 1: Meeting Clients & Students Where They Are (December 14)
- Class 2: Anatomy of a Successful Lesson (December 21)
- Class 3: You Own This — Tailoring Kinēsa to Yourself & Your Audience (January 4)
- Class 4: If You Build It, They Will Come (January 11)
Program Fee is $5,000.
What People Are Saying About Lavinia Plonka…
— Lisa Stanley: “I’m 60 Years Old, and I Feel Stronger and More Balanced and More Capable Than I Did in My Thirties”
— Brenna Wilcox: “I Can Stand Up Long Enough Now to Cook Dinner”
— Chrish Kregse: “Lavinia Is a Patient, Understanding, and Very Wise Witness to Your Process”
“... feeling taller, stronger, pain-free, and awakened...”
In practicing Feldenkrais, it looks and feels like you’re doing next to nothing, yet the effects are profound. Taking Lavinia’s classes always leaves me feeling taller, stronger, pain-free, and awakened to the potential of a better me. The power in the art of the subtle can’t be emphasized enough, and Lavinia delivers it with fun, precision, and grace.
— Merina Ty-Kisera, LAc, DiplAc, author of Acupressure With Essential Oils
“Lavinia... helps you know your body in easy and accessible ways that lead to transformation.”
Lavinia is an engaging and expert movement teacher who helps you know your body in easy and accessible ways that lead to transformation. I’m consistently amazed at how small movements have huge effects.
— Leanne Cusumano Roque, president of Shine Like the Sun and author of the award-winning book Live Light: Simple Steps
“The more I learn, the more I’m able to effect change in a positive way — for my physical, mental, and spiritual being.”
The more I learn, the more I’m able to effect change in a positive way — for my physical, mental, and spiritual being. Lavinia is a wonderful teacher and she makes these teachings easy to understand.
— Tressa Guth, San Jose, California
“... an invaluable resource to get out of pain and back to the ease that our bodies have capacity for...”
Lavinia’s online lessons are an invaluable resource to get out of pain and back to the ease that our bodies have capacity for... but that we lost out of habit, stress, or injury. Lavinia’s clarity and excellent teaching make it simple to do these lessons with her from the comfort of your own home. I’m grateful that she’s committed to making this profound learning method available to as many people as possible online. If you haven’t tried it... don’t wait!! You’ll be glad!
— Judy Greenman, Feldenkrais Center of the Florida Keys
“... pitched perfectly for both lay people and professionals.”
The Feldenkrais Method with Lavinia Plonka has been pitched perfectly for both lay people and professionals. As a yoga therapist, my training has been aligned with the principles of Feldenkrais, placing emphasis on the uniqueness of each and every individual and the integration of movement. I love the balance of Lavinia’s explanations and practical application.
— Therese Lew, yoga therapist
“Lavinia’s course was a powerful, clear, insightful, and practical introduction to developing an awareness of your body’s habitual movements and postures...”
Lavinia’s course was a powerful, clear, insightful, and practical introduction to developing an awareness of your body’s habitual movements and postures, offering experienced and skillful guidance to support you to develop a new kind of relationship to your body and habits. I’d really recommend this to anyone curious about their habits and keen to understand how to create a more positive and connected relationship to their body.
— Rebecca, Derby, United Kingdom
“I felt taller today... and more easefully flexible...“
I felt taller today when the class ended, and more easefully flexible — which is saying something for me given the physical challenges I’ve been healing from. If you cannot do a movement as directed, Lavinia is great about reminding you to amend it and get creative, and often offers specific suggestions for how to try an alternative/modification. These classes are designed to meet you where you are — regardless of physical condition or ability.
— Julianne
Join the Global Community
The Somatic Movement Certification offers some of the most advanced online teachings available, within a thriving global community of learning and practice.
Join fellow students and practitioners from around the world to support and inspire each other as you integrate the teachings and practices Lavinia Plonka will share in this powerful certification program.
You’ll be part of an international community leading a global movement to manifest a world grounded in principles of health, resilience, spiritual wholeness, and cooperation — to help bring about the change our world so desperately needs.
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join the Somatic Movement Certification
We feel honored that Lavinia Plonka has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive LIVE online training program. This is a unique opportunity to interact directly with Lavinia and other renowned somatic movement teachers whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and transform ourselves and our world.
If you’re serious about immersing yourself in a world-class certification and doing the intense inner work necessary for personal and global transformation, please join us for this one-of-a-kind training. Lavinia is deeply humbled to journey with anyone who feels this level of calling and commitment.
If you’re ready to take the next step in evolving yourself, click the Register Now button below to start the process now.
Save $500 when you enroll before September 28, 2022 (Yearlong Program Fee is $5,000)
Please note: We’ll be limiting the number of students in this extraordinary teacher training program to ensure that each person receives the learning, practical application, individual attention, and support they need as they move through this in-depth curriculum.
The full Somatic Movement Certification is a yearlong program. You can register for the first 6-Month Immersion (Part 1) alone if you are interested in personal growth only and don’t wish to pursue the professional certification. If you’re interested in participating in the 6-Month Certification portion (Part 2), the Immersion is its prerequisite. You will not be able to join only for Part 2.
Total Program Investment:
6-Month Immersion Only
$3,000 when paid in full
Full Yearlong Certification Program
$5,000 when paid in full
Various payment plans available. Any applicable discounts will be deducted from the total amount at the time of purchase.
*A $250 deposit is due at the same time as your application. With a limited number of spaces available, your deposit holds a spot for you. See details below.
This deposit is 100% refundable within five calendar days for any reason, and 100% will be returned should your application be declined.
Upon acceptance of your application, your deposit will be applied to the total cost of the program and deducted in equal amounts from the balance due according to the payment plan you choose.
Have questions? You can schedule a group meeting with Program Manager Meghan Rufener and other prospective students here.
To consider you for this Somatic Movement Certification program, we must receive your completed application and refundable deposit by Midnight Pacific on November 15, 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions
Note: If you have NOT experienced Lavinia Plonka’s The Kinēsa® Process: Advanced Feldenkrais®-Inspired Movement for Heightened Physical, Emotional & Spiritual Wellness (through her 7-module course), you’re welcome in this yearlong certification program, but we ask that you register at a different page. Please click here to discover more and apply.
Q: What is the price point, and do you offer payment plans?
A: For graduates of The Kinēsa® Process: Advanced Feldenkrais® -Inspired Movement for Heightened Physical, Emotional & Spiritual Wellness, the investment is $5,000 USD if paid in full (9- and 10-month payment plans are available).
If you register with a payment plan, your first payment will be due upon registration, and subsequent payments will be automatically processed every 30 days until complete. The total payment plan price includes a finance charge.
*A $250 deposit is due at the same time as your application. As we have a limited number of spaces available, your deposit holds a spot for you. See details below.
This deposit is 100% refundable within five calendar days for any reason, and 100% will be returned should your application be declined.
Upon acceptance of your application, your deposit will be applied to the total cost of the program and deducted in equal amounts from the balance due according to the payment plan you choose.
Q: Are scholarships available?
A: A limited number of partial scholarships are available. For more information and to apply for a partial scholarship, click here. (Do not fill out a regular program application or submit a deposit if you wish to be considered for a partial scholarship.)
Q: What is the refund policy?
A: Your purchase will be refundable on or before Midnight Pacific on Thursday, December 15, 2022. Refunds will not be available after this date.
Q: Will this program certify me to practice as a somatic educator?
A: Lavinia Plonka, RSME, has designed this program with ISMETA (International Somatic Movement Education Therapy Association) Educational Standards in mind. Graduates of this program are eligible to apply to ISMETA through the Independent Track Process. For more information, click here.
Q: If I participate, how many hours per month should I plan to dedicate to this certification program?
A: This will vary, depending on whether you choose to attend all offerings or the minimum requirement, but on average, you can expect to spend approximately 16 to 20 hours per month on this program.
For answers to additional questions about the Somatic Movement Certification, please see our extended Frequently Asked Questions support page.
To consider you for this Somatic Movement Certification program, we must receive your completed application and refundable deposit by Midnight Pacific on November 15, 2022.
