And...breathe....

I'm such a believer in the reciprocal relationship between breathing & mood. It's one of the most important lessons we teach in The Wise Hippo, and I know other hypnobirthing programmes teach it too.

Anxiety breathing - short, shallow and gasped - makes your body tight, tense & taught, your senses keen & alert, acutely in-the-moment. But calm breathing - slow, measured & deep - leaves your body relaxed and your mind free to wander. This difference is evolutionary, it has a survival purpose - keeping us aware and cautious when we're in danger, and giving our bodies time to recover when we're safe.

Even my nearly 4 year old son has learnt that by controlling his breaths he can control his moods - which is a great lesson for him to learn for his life

But this blog is a bit of an excuse for me to post this picture, because I love it. And I know a couple of Wise Hippo's who'll love it too...