Gravity, Our First Relationship

First there is Gravity, pushing down upon us to the center of the Earth. We are designed to push back in the tone of our cells, tissues and muscles. Gravity and Tone push and yield in the rhythms of our bodies: breath, heart beat, lymph flow, cerebral spinal fuild, and brain waves. And our reflexes with flexion and extention and contraction and expansion reflect the push and pull of the consistent interaction of tone and gravity. After birth, we have been squeezed and pressed and transformed, ending in the press of gravity, hitherto unknown to us. It is somewhat like coming out of water after a long swim. The gravity feels heavy and cloying, but as newborns we have never felt full gravity. We must work hard to push against it or we sleep and allow gravity let us "fall" asleep.

Birth, Bonding and Attachment: The Book Part I

I have been grappling with a book on sensory-motor-reflex interactions for years. As with all writing projects, the structure and emphasis is key. So after many false starts, I think I have found the right approach. The direction will center on difficult births and the connection between them and reflex issues that can result in bonding, attachment and other psychological issues. As I teach the Birth, Bonding and Attachment course and work with clients, the more I come to appreciate the foundations set by typical reflex development. Having myself been breech born and delivered by forceps (sorry, Mom), I have a first person experience with many of the subtle and not so subtle effects of traumatic birth. Look forward to snippets as the year goes on and please feel free to comment in any way.