Corporalita

July 19, 2013 — ambidexterity, anatomy, art, body, corporalita, health, leonardo da vinci

Leonardo, the maestro, was guided by core principals. Cultivation of grace ambidexterity, fitness, and poise were central to Da Vincian thought. He viewed healing as “restoration of discordant elements” in a person. His copious notes on personal responsibility for our own health and well being were left for history. Many think of the Mona Lisa smile as his signature work, but probably the best known of all his art work is the anatomical range of motion dude in a circle and square known as Vitruvian Man.  His study of anatomy was accompanied by observation of his own body in relation to his wellness and fitness routine. His self portraits are studies in facial anatomy as well as in painting technique.

He advised people to dine, not eat. One of his many specialities was preparing vast feasts and party catering for wealthy Florentines.  He collected knowledge about food and nutrition, recording recipes.  He was known about town as having “more than infinite grace in every action”.  His cultivation of effortless poise and ambidexterity in his own body made him famous in a rock star way.  Florentines would come out on the street for the thrill of seeing Leonardo walking. His notebooks reflect a focus on balance, posture, and centering.

His favorite metaphor was the human body.  It is also my own.  If you consider any entity it will have a head, a heart, a circulatory system, consumption, and processing of waste.  It will have dynamic balance and movement.  It will present itself as open or closed, happy or sad.  It will have chronic maladies and moods, a backbone, and sharp or weak senses. Often the right hand will not know what the left hand is doing.  Next time you need to analyze an institution or business use this metaphor to create a picture in your mind.  Ponder one of the maestro’s most famous observations, “every part is disposed to unite with the whole, that it may thereby escape from its own incompleteness.”  At this moment, gentle reader, can you see how this applies to you?

Vitruvian Man