Continue the hip rotations and start turning around your axis. Take it slowly at first so that your head doesn’t start spinning. Now imagine that you are a chamomile flower. Your body is the flower’s centre, and your hips trace its petals with circular movements. Each movement starts from the centre of your stomach; your hip draws a circle and comes back to its starting point. Place your hands on your kidney area. Breathe freely, feel relaxed and happy… Don’t forget to smile!

Chamomile petals exercise

,

After each hip movement your body rotates slightly so that when you complete the eighth circular hip movement your whole body will have rotated fully around its axis and come back to the starting point. That’s one chamomile flower drawn. Carry on drawing as many as you feel like.

***

The figure of eight is a sign of life and infinity. You can surround your energy field with these symbols, making various movements. Draw figures of eight with your hips at different heights making sure your knees are involved in the movement. Draw vertical, horizontal and diagonal figures of eight in the air with your arms and hands.

Let’s begin with a horizontal figure of eight. Trace it before you with your left hand as shown on the photographs.

It’s not just your arm alone which draws the horizontal figures of eight; your whole body is part of the movement and follows your arm.

Try drawing the figure of eight with your other arm, then with both arms together, and one after the other. You can add gentle hip spirals to accompany your arm movements. Run wild with your imagination!

Go into squatting position and begin to slowly rise with each arm movement. This is a good exercise for your legs.

Vertical figure of eight. Now draw a vertical figure of eight with your body following the movement of your arm.

Change arms.

Draw figures of eight with both arms at the same time and then figures of eight in opposite directions – one arm draws a figure of eight going down while the other draws a figure of eight going up.

Then try joining horizontal and vertical figures of eight together; one arm draws a horizontal figure of eight while the other draws a vertical figure of eight. Do the same on the other side.

This technique harmonizes both cerebral hemispheres. Hands and arms act as the main instruments for the brain’s development and these movements develop both hemispheres.

This is a dance and dance always stands for freedom of movement. Close your eyes. Listen to the music and move in time with the rhythm. Don’t forget about the fluidity and smoothness of each movement. Your baby will help you feel how you should move.

***

One day I found myself with a group of pregnant women at an ethnic dance class. First I sat and observed for a long time how each woman was moving and birthing her dance; it would come to her body and light the spark of life in it. I didn’t think I would dance that evening until the drums started playing and my body raised itself off the floor. My baby girl was calling me to dance.

Mexican healers say that the drum is the voice of Mother Earth – an ancient instrument that has come to us from the depths of time which conveys the heartbeat of our planet and the heartbeat of a baby in its mother’s womb. That must be why my baby girl liked the drum rhythms so much.

I was standing among everyone and moving as I had never moved before. I had done ballroom dancing, gone to ballet at Todes dance school, done pantomime but this was nothing like any of those dances. It was the baby who had given me this dance as a gift – it had burst out of my body as a geyser shoots out of Earth’s bowels. I went into a trance. Everything around me started vibrating and became a unified web of shimmering energy. My arms were moving spontaneously of their own accord lifting Earth’s energy upwards and flinging it onto my body, my lower centres, stomach, chest, shoulders. My body was being nurtured by earthly maternal energy. This practice had been given to me, a future mother, by my baby and the Mother of all mothers – Earth.