Flow // Lynn Headwaters, North Vancouver, B.C.
Let us look at animals. They move simply, naturally, harmoniously. The deer, the cat, the monkey, as much as the buffalo or the elephant. The biggest, slowest, most sluggish animal is also capable of very quick, abrupt movements... The wish that our children might move beautifully and harmoniously is in no way an unattainable or distant dream. Moving properly is an inborn ability not only in animals, but also in humans. If we give children enough space and possibilities for free movement, they will move as beautifully and gracefully as animals: nimbly, simply, confidently and naturally. // Dr. Emmi Pikler
Is it possible that the flow of a child's early movement can shape the rest of his or her life? This is but one of the questions the documentary film "The Moving Child" seeks to answer. Children learn and communicate through movement, developing the confidence to impact the world around them. Beginning in Grace's sixteenth month, and continuing over the past six months, we have been attending a mama & baby yoga-dance class called Butterfly Feet. The class is led by Lisa Sars, who has devoted herself to a lifelong study of movement. Lisa has a deep knowledge and natural skill surrounding communicating both verbally and non-verbally with children (something I know very little about), and her classes are incredibly fun with a focus on play and encouragement. Lisa emanates a gentle and infectious positivity - responding charmingly when G tries to derail her classes with a stint of peek-a-boo behind the curtains!
Grace and I are invited to a Butterfly Feet dance party next Sunday where we will engage in dynamic movement while being filmed (possibly footage that will be used in the final iteration of The Moving Child). I'm really looking forward to dancing with Lisa and Grace, and to meeting the filmmakers!
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