Embrace
I think its fair to say that when we encounter challenges or obstacles in life, there is often a sense of reluctance. That feeling when you have to completely commit, dedicate time, invest energy, face uncertainty and tackle your fears head on. For me these moments in life can be either tackled from a mindset of ‘enduring’ or ‘embracing’.
When I feel like I’m enduring something it really doesn’t feel very satisfying or fun. It’s a mindset that makes me seem very stuck in the situation. Endure makes me feel like I have to tolerate and withstand it, no matter how much I don’t want to be there. It’s a pretty shitty feeling that doesn’t leave me with a sense of empowerment or positivity. It makes what has to be experienced a burden and something I would rather avoid all together.
If you flip the coin and look at the same situation but instead embrace it with open arms, you now come from a place of willingness, curiosity and honesty. There’s no denying that the adversity doesn’t still exist it’s just you no longer feel like you’re suffering the way that you did when you “endured” it. Its so amazing how a word can completely reframe your state of mind and the way you think about something!
In my eyes there really is no greater challenge for a woman’s body, physically, mentally and spiritually than that of childbirth. It’s called labour for a good reason and you are indeed working hard.
Labour is not something that just happens to you. If you’re caught in this mentality you become a victim to every sensation happening in your body. This gets us into a fear – tension - pain cycle. When a woman feels the sensation in her body, she tenses up and that sensation is automatically felt as pain so she becomes more afraid, her body tenses up more and more as the intensity increases and increases until she reaches a complete crisis of confidence.
So how do we find the motivation to embrace the experience of birth rather than simply endure it? The good news, and what our culture has largely forgotten, is that labour and birth are not illnesses but instead are healthy life processes. The sensations and surges we experience is exactly what our bodies are made to do, we just have to restore our trust.
Hypnobirthing is such a powerful combination of knowledge, tools, support and preparation that can equip you to come from a place where you can truly embrace your labour and birth. Using these four cornerstones we release fears, practice deep relaxation, understand the delicate interplay of hormones and grasp how important our supports and environment are.
When a woman is connected to her body and mind because she has practiced and prepared, she understands the energy she is feeling during childbirth is a powerful dynamic force that she is creating from deep within herself, so that she can birth her baby. No one is enforcing the intense sensations on her it is the
innate wisdom of her own body, her own self creating a powerhouse of energy to bring her baby into the world.
When we believe we are capable and are equipped with the right tools, we can embrace birth rather than endure and fight against it. I’m not here to tell you that this just comes easy; if it did we wouldn’t see the huge increase in medical intervention that we see today. Birth requires practice just as you would if you were to learn a new language, the more you immerse yourself and the more time you dedicate to practicing the language the more fluent you become.
My hope is that all women will start to see their pregnancies and labour as an opportunity to embrace and embody the transformative transition to motherhood. Perhaps even feeling excited for the day their labour begins!
I believe your birthing experience, with whatever twists and turns it may take on the day (intervention or no intervention) is one that you will want to remember forever, it is not enough to just hope you will have a positive birthing experience. With using hypnobithing you will have a positive birth. It’s an investment in your body, your baby, your family and your future.
I’m here; together lets embrace your birth.
