What Are You Afraid Of? A Body/Mind Guide to Courageous Living (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The person walking toward me on a crowded Manhattan street..." (more)
Key Phrases: Bell Hand, Holy Grail, Moshe Feldenkrais (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to the author, a seasoned workshop leader in movement therapies, "fear is often the process of taking a past negative experience and posing it as a potential future negative experience." Children who are raised by overprotective parents, for example, can turn into adults who are so frightened that they will not even drive a car. Their fearful disposition, Plonka says, may be expressed by rigid posture or shallow breathing. She offers a series of physical and mental exercises designed to uncover the layers of anxiety that mask the cause of current fears, such as fear of starvation, illness or death. For example, she recommends dealing with fear of injury by doing breathing exercises, "discovering your options" through body movement and writing down new ways to handle fearful emotions. Many of Plonka’s strategies for living bravely are drawn from the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, a pioneer in the field of how the nervous system is impacted by "movement, repetition and rest in a safe environment." While the author doesn’t delve deeply into the psychology of fear, her sensible and clearly explained program should help provide relief for many beset by debilitating anxiety.
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Product Description

The ordinary manner in which we carry ourselves physically, our automatic gestures, and the accustomed comforts of our bodily habits inadvertently reinforce fear's hold on our lives. What Are You Afraid Of? explores how our fears often arise from physical and mental triggers that have been learned over the course of our early lives-and can be un-learned. Fear, explains award-winning movement teacher Lavinia Plonka, is not the product of intractable psychological demons; instead, it often revolves around repetitive body/mind cues. By teaching the body new habits through a series of exercises and postures, the cycle of fear can be broken.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (March 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585423939
• ISBN-13: 978-1585423934
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #806,690 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful introduction to a profound topic, May 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: What Are You Afraid Of? A Body/Mind Guide to Courageous Living (Hardcover)

Once one has explored a bodywork-oriented fitness discipline -- Pilates, Yoga, Feldenkrais, Tai Chi, etc. -- in detail, you will begin to notice something interesting: there are certain exercises/postures/positions that are difficult where the difficulty has nothing to do with the mechanics of doing the exercise. You've got the strength, the flexibility, and the balance, but you still can't do it. Maybe the difficulties have to do with something that we are -- or were -- afraid of, and the fear is still embodied in our posture or our movement.

In our culture, we usually pay little to no attention to such issues. In other words, we have a fear of revealing our fears -- especially to ourselves. This book is about the courage to see those fears and, through awareness, to begin to have some mastery over them.

For me, understanding how I hold my fear in body is profound. It is the "juice" which keeps me practicing Pilates. While I most certainly appreciate the increased strength and flexibility I've achieved, this connection is what touches my heart. Courage is exactly what it takes to keep exploring this connection.

I suspect a desire to avoid the mind-body connection is also why many people stop pursuing such disciplines. Many instructors are afraid (!) to discuss such things in their classes; they may or may not have a powerful relationship with these concepts themselves. Ultimately, I think ignoring this topic is counterproductive; students will eventually stumble onto it themselves. I also suspect that this is why more women persue these disciplines -- they tend to intutitvely grasp both the existence and the value in exploring this particular mind/body connection.

To this end, this book is a great introduction to these concepts. I highly recommend it to anyone who regularly practices any of these disciplines. I also recommend it to anyone interested in gaining mastery of their fears -- this avenue is quite likely to produce profound results.

Lavinia writes with great clarity and illustrates her points with many stories from her Feldenkrais practice. Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book For Our Times, August 25, 2004

By	JoAnne McFarland (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Are You Afraid Of? A Body/Mind Guide to Courageous Living (Hardcover)

Lavinia Plonka's book What Are You Afraid of? is certainly a book for our times. It seems that fear is everywhere, in our political, social, and private lives. I found this book enormously insightful. The author is direct and honest in her approach to acknowledging fear and gaining mastery over it. What I particularly found helpful was the focus on ACTION - do this and help is on the way. Ms. Plonka's extensive background in the Feldenkrais Method and her years as a performer lend credence to the exercises she offers here. The illustrations were a delightful bonus.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to Feldenkrais, October 2, 2005

By	Jenice C. Lange "JL" (FLA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: What Are You Afraid Of? A Body/Mind Guide to Courageous Living (Hardcover)

I've only experienced a couple of the exercises in this book and am so glad I got it. This book is great. I was afraid to excersise after a car accident because simple movements hurt. I was deathly afraid of physical therapists and thier torture machines. Thankfully someone recommended Feldenkrais and someone else reccommended this book in particular. I was afraid my life was over but not anymore. One of the excerises in this book is from Anat Baniels joint pain series so I bought Anat Baniels neck pain exercises. Even though I never thought about what I was afraid, I had a lot of fears and still do. I have a lot less now. Lavinia Plonka thank you! Great book! Let your life begin! reviews over!!!!! but on side note, why not get an extra copy and carry it with you, it's compact enough, when you see someone with a no fear t-shirt or big sticker on thier vehicle, give them a copy. They may not look like they need it, but it could be best book they ever owned.