What a Body Knows

Finding wisdom in desire.

Kimerer LaMothe Ph.D.

Pure Promise on a Bleak Day: Why Desire Needs Gratitude

What do you do on a bleak day when spring seems far away?

Live Theater: Do We Need It?

When the story is sung, danced, and acted, performers and audience members alike cultivate life skills that are essential for health and well being.

"To Dance is a Radical Act" and Nine Other Top Posts

To celebrate ten years of writing a blog, here is a top ten list of blogs I have written.

Dance More!

When you dance for joy other concerns fall into place. The dancing facilitates clarity of heart and mind. Priorities reorder themselves. More is revealed. More becomes possible.

Wisdom From the World of Dance

I offer a playful, very preliminary exploration of “wisdom” I have learned through the study of American modern dance and contemporary ballet.

Paying Attention: Consciousness of What?

Participants all engaged in specific patterns of bodily movement designed to help them acquire a consciousness of some thing—consciousness of what?

Why Practice Repeating Ordinary Bodily Movements?

Are the bodily movements in religious ritual simply symbolic? Why is the action of repeating ordinary bodily movements effective in promoting health and well being?

The Faith Project: Finding New Moves to Make

The Faith Project is on track to offer deeper understanding of how movement patterns – and practices of dancing – are at work shaping realms we assume are cerebral and spiritual.

Mourning a Young Life

I went to a funeral this weekend for a woman whose bright life ended far too soon. As I sat there, steeped in grief, I reflected again, anew, on how religion is dance.

Running for a Song

How do you write a song? someone asks. I am new to this game, and am almost embarrassed to answer: “I go for a run.”

Happy If—Happy When: Why Write a Musical?

I am writing a musical called Happy If—Happy When about two artists and their five children who move from the city to a farm in the country. Why write a musical?

Making Mozzarella: The Process of Not Being Perfect

I embark upon this process of making mozzarella again and again without knowing for sure whether or not the cheese will be perfect. And that is OK with me.

Dancing in the Face of Death

What response is possible to an event that is as horrific as the shootings at the Pulse nightclub?

More Than a Horse: Saying Goodbye to Marvin

Marvin, our large, 26-year old chestnut quarter horse, had fallen in the snow, and was unable to stand up by himself. He had to get warm -- soon. What could we do?

Why the Bodily Action of Marching Matters

Those who marched were rehearsing patterns of movement that enable us all to work together in manifesting further the qualities that actually marching requires.

A Message for Artists -- and for the Artist in Everyone

Art is not a luxury. In the wake of the 2016 election in the United States, making and appreciating art of all kinds is more important than ever. It is vital to our humanity.

Are Humans "Born to Move"?

The New York Times asks: “Are we fighting thousands of years of evolutionary history and the best interests of our bodies when we sit all day?"

Why I Dance

You’d think I’d have answered the question by now. I mean, I’ve written a book called Why We Dance. You’d think that “we” includes me. It does and it doesn’t.

Dancing With the Standing Rock Sioux

Why dance when you are protesting the construction of an oil pipeline?

How is the Creative Process an Act of Faith?

Sometimes, in the process of making art, an obstacle is the path, and creativity is an act of faith.

The Ever Unfolding Present: Dance, Music & Living in the Now

Every singular moment is a tightly textured tapestry of trajectories that began long ago and will continue long into the future. So how do we decide to move?

Obey the Flower: Lessons Learned From Drawing a Rose

How a practice of drawing roses helped me appreciate the transformative power of beauty.

What a Body Knows—and What I Can Not

The title of this blog—and the book that inspired it—is What a Body Knows. The sentence seems straight forward enough, but is it? What can I know about what my body knows?

Hamilton: Making History

The beauty of "Hamilton," in its casting and musical styles, is that it manifests—and makes real—the inclusive potential that was there in the early moments of the United States.

"Way of the Bushmen": Dance, Love, and God in Africa

What does the oldest culture of the world have to teach us about dance, spirituality, God, and love?

The Power of Movement

Three scientific studies appeared this week, trumpeting the “power of movement” in combating death, depression, and disease. Is knowing this information enough?

The Sexual Ethics of Star Wars

Why must erotic love compromise a person's ability to use the Force for good?

Exercising Creativity: Four Essential Skills

It was a simple idea--an Additive Advent Calendar--that proved to be veritable creativity skill-building workout. What does it take to create?

Exercise, Movement, and The Brain

Studies of bodily movement and human health generally fall into two categories that reinforce one another: exercise studies and sitting studies. What emerges in the crossfire is a sense that bodily movement is the determining ingredient of health.

Recent Science Supporting "Why We Dance"

Today I begin a new series of posts dedicated to sharing recently published scientific experiments that support the philosophy of bodily becoming I develop in my book "Why We Dance."

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