This was our first visit to Novi Grad today. We had no idea what to expect and found a lovely town with interesting shops, fountains and, of course in Bosnia, places to sit and enjoy a coffee while watching the world go by.

We worked with another two groups, the third and fourth out of eight, and were struck again by the strength and dignity of our Bosnian friends.  They were very interested in the effects stress has on the body and asked lots of good questions about physical symptoms in both stress and recovery.  Its so important to help people understand that what they feel is a natural response to stress before sharing techniques to help change how they feel emotionally, and often physically.  We were both very moved that people expressed appreciation that we ‘got them’, that we understood the effects on their body, their reactions and how they feel.

Tomorrow we are back in Sarajevo for a second session with groups one and two.  We’re looking forward to finding out if they have been practicing the breathing, and what effects they may have noticed.  I hope they don’t mind that I didn’t try putting fish, onion or pepper on my toe. I’m sure it was excellent advice. Maybe next time.

‘Til tomorrow, Caroline and Sam