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How We Treat Our Babies Is How We Treat Ourselves

“We hinder an infant’s development when we force her into positions into which she could not get on her own.” -Emmi Pikler
(inventor of the Pikler Triangle, mentor to Magda Gerber)

How we treat our babies is how we treat ourselves. If we force a baby into a position they are not ready for, we may be more likely to force our bodies into movements and positions they are not happy to be in. Hunching over a computer all day, for instance.

Force is a big deal! Many exercises can force our bodies into unnecessary tension. If we carry this tension with us after the exercise ends, it can affect all of our other activities.

Does this sound familiar to you? Or is it a new idea? How do you find yourself reacting to it? To the image?

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How Toddlers Sit Up So Straight

Toddlers don’t have to try hard to sit up straight, and neither should you! There’s an easier way to improve your sitting posture. Read on to find out.
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How does this toddler look different from the average adult? He may look like he’s sitting up straight, but he’s not working hard to do it. What he’s actually doing is sitting upright. The difference is that sitting upright takes less effort.
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That uprightness we see comes from keeping his senses open to the rest of what’s going on in the space, and maintaining a free and spacious relationship between his head, neck, and back. He’s got the freedom to move however he wants, wherever he wants to.⁠
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This freedom is available to grown-ups too! Learn more about sitting upright with a Move Like Your Baby movement assessment.

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Posture Runs in Families

Like mother, like son: posture runs in families.

The mother and her adult son pictured here have the same rounded shoulders, the same posterior pelvic tilt that’s pulling their upper backs backward and probably shortening their torsos in the front. Their bodies look still–like it would take effort to move themselves from this position.

Are these habits of movement wrong? No. What they are is deep. So deep that they can make a mother and son look almost identical in their standing. So ingrained that these habits can wear down your body, because it’s always working in the same way–the way you stand is the way you wash dishes, or talk on the phone, or walk around the block.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to choose how you stand? To decide whether you want to be straight or slumped, and be totally relaxed either way? This is the privilege we all have as babies. We flow from one style of posture to the next, never stuck, never stopping, choosing what feels best for us in the moment.

Move Like Your Baby offers you that freedom of choice. Book your movement assessment here.

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Is Your Baby Ready for Walking?

Babies start walking when they feel ready. When they have the muscle control, balance, and downright courage to start. Some babies start careening down the hallway at nine months. Some cruise on the furniture until they’re a year old.

Helping your baby “walk” before they are ready is very common in our society. But it’s not always fun for a baby. Which of these babies looks more at ease?  Which baby looks more coordinated?

Assisted walking can give a baby mind-body confusion: how can they be receiving so much love from their parents for something their muscles don’t want to do yet? Often their face will be smiling even as their body looks tense–look at the baby on the left, at how high and tight her shoulders are.

Walking takes brainpower, too: before they can start walking unsupported, babies must negotiate how to get from four points of contact when cruising (two hands on furniture, two feet on floor) to just one. It’s a huge milestone that you and your baby can both be so proud of!

When you wait for your baby to start walking on their own, you’re helping them:

👣increase their coordination
👣develop their mind
👣take joy in their own discoveries
👣have more confidence
👣move most comfortably
👣feel more at ease
👣trust in themselves

Is your baby a cautious cruiser or a wild walker? What’s it like for you to watch their learning process? What would it be like to step back?

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Your Tongue Affects Your Movement

Your tongue is a muscle! What you do with it affects how you move. Babies and toddlers stick out their tongues so often, and yet we grown-ups barely let ours out of our mouths!

Nancy Romita of Functional Awareness has a quick game to see how your tongue affects your movement: press your tongue into the roof of your mouth and try marching with high knees. Then allow your tongue to relax onto the floor of your mouth and notice the difference in how far your knees can come up.

Does your baby’s movement change when their tongue comes out? How about yours?

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The Importance of Head Balance

Balancing your head is the first step to moving well. A newborn’s head can be up to a third of their body weight, and yet by one month old they’re already starting to lift it! A two-year-old has almost the same size head they’ll have as an adult, on a much smaller body.

If babies can balance a big heavy head on a little body, you can balance yours too! One simple way to find your head balance is to let go of neck tension, allowing your head to move more freely. This is how you start to Move Like Your Baby.