Foster Care India & The Necessity of Touch

Babies need loving touch for healthy development

It's a fact: children need to experience touch not only to learn how to show their feelings appropriately but also to promote their healthy development. More often than not, families provide our first experiences of physical contact; we learn how to love and be loved by familial displays of affection, often involving touch. Studies have shown that babies have depressed levels of hormones when living in situations where little physical contact is given such as an orphanage. The hormone oxytocin is released in the body of a person experiencing safe and friendly touch, which has influence on healthy emotional development including caring, communication and stress regulation. Children who have not had enough physical attention are at higher risk for behavioral, emotional, and social problems later in life.

Ian's infectious smile outshines even lovely Udaipur

When traveling in India last April
I was fortunate to have crossed paths with a child well-fare visionary named Ian Anand Forber-Pratt. Adopted as a baby from Calcutta by American parents, was educated mostly in Saint Louis and attended Washington University's Brown School of Social work. A couple of years ago he returned to India with a masters degree in social work to live full-time and fulfill his dream of developing a foster care system for orphaned children. This is a completely new concept in a country where the orphanage model has always been followed.

The caste system, a form of social stratification that governs which jobs a person may perform and who they may associate with, still exists in India. This further complicates how an orphaned child is able to operate in society as, without family they have no caste. Foster Care India hopes to modify how these societal tethers affect orphaned children by providing the opportunity for them to function in a family environment and gain skills to eventually integrate into society. With a home where these kids can experience regular, friendly, familial touch they will be on the path toward being happy, healthy individuals.

Learn more about this revolutionary new organization

I have a lot of amazing people in my life and Ian is one of them. His tireless work and honest passion towards this cause is a great inspiration to me. I'm so very glad that he's out there making the world a better place. It's working.

In the spirit of British Columbia's newest stat holiday, Happy Family Day!

Dana

Viral Positivity

One of my teachers once said, "If there is something that you really want, first you must give it away." This Buddhist way of thinking doesn't really apply to material things, as I was trying to explain to my 11 year old daughter the other night as we discussed the 'Christmas Gimmes'.

At her age it is hard to see beyond the electronics and clothing. As a privileged middle-class Canadian, what else is there to want? I could see her brain grappling with "If I want an iPad, how do I go about getting one to give away when I can't even get one to keep?"

A client recently asked me what I want for Christmas. At first nothing note-worthy came to mind, but upon a moment's thought what I really want was clear; I want more people to experience joy and happiness in their lives. Is this a tall order? Not if we believe in our abilities to share positivity.

I feel very fortunate to work in a field where my daily spiritual practice can naturally co-exist with my professional practice. My clients come to me with the common goal of feeling better and I aid them via physical therapy and by providing a positive healing environment of acceptance and support. I take great care to bring my best self to the treatment room in order to further their wellness. I try to infuse as many interactions with positivity as I can, influencing the world one kind act at a time.

Ten simple ways I plan to spread the love:

1. Use a brightly colored umbrella to brighten everyone's day and to increase your visibility. It's dark and gloomy enough outside.
2. Look people in the eye and smile.
3. Honestly compliment a stranger on something they are doing, saying, or wearing.
4. Open the door for others. (As a woman I've noticed that this often confuses men's hard-wired tendencies to act with chivalry and it's something to share a giggle with a stranger about in the doorway of the bank.)
5. When faced with negative sentiments, resist the urge to return them and respond with a positive spin instead. Even if your positivity doesn't change the situation at least it is not perpetuating more anger and it may even have a diffusing effect.
6. Offer my seat on public transit to anyone who looks like they want to get off their feet, not just the elderly.
7. When I buy something from a grocery store for lunch, grab an extra to share with someone asking for charity outside the store. I feel better doing this than giving money.
8. Avoid gossiping and consider whether my words cause harm to others or myself before speaking.
9. Tell loved ones that they are loved and why they are loved.
10. Share what I am grateful for. Be specific and the gratitude will have much more impact.

This all goes nicely with the holiday spirit not to mention all the liking and sharing going on in the social media world. Try doing it in person to really spread the love!

See you in the clinic,
Dana



 Sources:

• Hand Image: http://vladdolezal.com/blog/2010/hardwire-yourself-for-positivity/

• Umbrellas Image: http://nyc_dog_blog.downtownpet.com/2007/10/umbrella-wars-bigger-umbrella-bigger.html