What if we put down the books, and opened up our babies?

Bold question. But lifestyles embodying this principle have been happening for centuries. And still occur across the world in varying cultures. Parents that hold their babies, mold their babies, respond to their babies. And they don’t know any other way of life.

We’re living in a time where authority is seen outside of ourselves. The resources feel outside of our accessibility. The answer feels far from us. But what if it’s within us? And around us?

In my chiropractic practice, we’ve focused heavily on resourcing mamas and newborns with tools to navigate the first few months of life. It often looks like encouragement with breastfeeding, with digestion, with movement, breathing and sleeping. But as we’re traversing the depths to which restriction is present, we’re seeing the results of “opening” babies, mothers, even families.

What does being “open” mean? Well, we can start by recognizing what it’s not — restriction, tightness, interference, incoherence — applied to all planes of our world (physically, chemically and emotionally). Where to begin? Okay, what are things that open you up? Things that bring you from your head to your heart? Ways you make your body come alive?

It takes a mindset shift. And a bit of internal articulating. From “take your baby here, there, then have them go through this procedure and everything will be just fine.” To “what are some things around me I can access to increase our family’s vitality and inclination to wholeness?”

One of the practical ways we encourage families to find their openness is letting their babies’ bodies elongate. This is the opposite of when grandma told you to scrunch them in tight and keep their head from falling. Posture and hold them with an open diaphragm, an open airway. Keep the eyes up and on the horizon.

Ditch the containers — yes, all of them. The wraps, the infant chairs, the doorway bouncer. Let your babies move. Encourage tummy time. Explore the grass. Dig their hands in the sand. Dip their toes in the ocean. Let their skin feel some sun. Light your candles at night. Mitigate the bluetooth and wifi exposure. Take note of the things that make us human, what experiences in our life can enhance those?

We’re encouraged to open a book for answers, but what if we found answers by opening our babies? What would that look like? What would that feel like? The reality is, open babies = open humans. This world could use some more of that.

Molly Stiens DC is the founder of Living Adjusted. Learn more at livingadjusted.com