Feeling excited or nervous? It’s not just love or infatuation that gives you butterflies in your stomach.
Your body releases adrenaline and cortisol when it recognises you might be in danger. These hormones increase your heart rate and move your blood flow to prioritise your heart and leg muscles. The drop in blood flow to your abdomen is what causes the feeling of winged insects fluttering in your stomach.
Calm your body and mind by creating your own fluttering butterfly. Cut out your favourite supplied sheet of patterned craft paper in each issue of Mindful Puzzles, or use your own square piece of origami paper, and follow the instructions below.
1 Fold a square piece of paper in half horizontally. Unfold. Fold the square in half vertically. Unfold.
2 Fold the left and right sides to meet the central vertical crease.
3 Fold the top and bottom edges inward to meet in the central horizontal crease. Unfold
4 Fold along the dotted line. Unfold.
5 Align the bottom edge with the horizontal crease in the middle of the model. At the same time, open the flaps that you created by making a crease in the previous step, pulling them apart and down until the top of the model meets the centre crease. Now the bottom half of the model should look like a boat.
6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the top half of the model.
7 Fold along the dotted line to bring the corners of the bottom boat shape together.
8 Fold the top boat shape backwards along the dotted line to create a triangle shape.
9 Fold the left and right corners of the upper layer along the dotted line.
10 Fold in half along the dotted line
11 Fold the top of the wing along the dotted line
12 Repeat the fold in step 11 on the other side to create a triangular crease.
13 Open the butterfly and push the triangle you have just created through to create a mountain fold. Turn over.
When you’re done take a cute snap and tag us in your photos. We’d love to see all of your beautiful creations! @mindfulpuzzlesau
