My interest in mums and babies has grown from my studies of Infant Movement Development. It was when I was studying for a three year diploma at the Institute for Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy that I realised how much babies know and how little I had known about babies when I had mine, and more importantly that this information is still not mainstream. I remember thinking Wow I wished I had known all this when I was preparing to have a baby and if I had what an enriching experience it would have been. I have been influenced by the work of Daniel Stern M.D. his videotaping of interactions between mums and babies showed “how socially competent babies are in the first few months of life and how equally impressive were the complex intuitive behaviours of the mothers”
My key area of interest is in babies first year of life, and the emerging relationship between mother and baby. The first year because this is when non-verbal behaviour is the primary means of communication. Movement is your baby’s first language, the mother and baby relationship emerges through this language of movement. A baby’s brain develops through movement and its environment. From conception a baby’s brain is wired by its environment, and born wired to relate and connect with others.
Effective interactions between mother and baby ensure and lead to acquisition of important emotional and cognitive skills that prepare a baby for relating and communication throughout life. In cultivating your relating and communication with your baby you will also become more attuned and effective in other relationships in your life.
In my Understanding Baby sessions we explore the infant movement patterns and look at what your baby is doing now. We observe without judging or pushing them to achieve. In slowing down and increasing your body awareness you will be better able to regulate your own internal states, feel calmer and more relaxed, find trust in your intuition of how to best parent your baby and notice that you have a calm happy baby too.
I work one to one or with small groups in people homes. I intend to set up larger classes in 2017
for more information please contact Susanne: www.bodywisepilatesharpenden@gmail.com
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