…and how hypnobirthing can help!
Do you remember when you were a baby? (Nothing like jumping straight in there with a big topic!)
Life was so simple. You were born into this world with no pre-conceived ideas about who you are or who you should be. No one to live up to or let down. You could walk around with no clothes on and be totally oblivious to the butt nakedness. Screech and scream when you felt like it and not feel everyone’s eyes boring into you
As you got older you picked up negative beliefs about yourself. About your capabilities. You learned as a woman or a birthing person that you were to big or too thin. Too tall or too small. Too “stupid” or too smart.
From an early age you began to absorb messages about birth. It may have started with the Sex Education at school, with societies view of birth depicted as the norm. Maybe your Mum told you how utterly bone crunching painful she found her labour. Perhaps you saw your favourite character in the soap oprah, that your whole family sat down to watch each evening, endure a gruesome labour. These messages were repeated to you again and again and you absorbed them, again and again.
These ideas became your beliefs.
Have you ever watched a reality TV programme about birth? One such programme depicts birth in such a way that women are painted as almost as victims of birth. Powerless, enduring birth rather than owning it. These are the people (along with many, many, many others) who experience their beliefs as their realities.
Hypnobirthing is a powerful tool, enabling you to change these beliefs so utterly that some women even report excitement about their up and coming births. Not the obvious excitement that comes with having a baby but excited about experiencing birth!
Fancy that!
After almost a lifetime of all that negative thinking about birth…you can totally do a 360 on it. This new mindset is not just for birth but the same principle can be applied to any area you need help in. A new outlook or mindset will dramatically change the reality you create.
Ok. So let’s look at some of the core principles that The Calm Birth School uses to help you change your beliefs about birth.
1. Top of the list has to be Affirmations…Man oh man I love Affirmations. Whoever you are, whatever sex, age, religion, you can use affirmations to help you ACTUALLY re-wire your brain. If said with meaning, conviction and “all the feels” affirmations get you thinking differently. An added bonus is that they are uplifting and are a great way to start your morning (or end your day).
2. Next up… Hypnosis Tracks. Easiest way to intro these into your life is to stick one on when you go to bed, enjoy some deep, slow breathing and allow yourself to drift off. Yes, you can even fall asleep. Whilst you relax the conscious mind shifts out of the way, giving you access to the sub-conscious which will absorb the new positive messages you need to replace those outdated, unwanted beliefs. Bonus- it can help you sleep!
3. Knowledge– the amount of times I have heard someone say either personally or in an email, that they felt so much better or more empowered once they knew how the body worked during labour, is unbelievable!
4. Techniques– we need to know we have some tools in our metaphorical labour bag that are going to support us when we need it. Breathing properly makes a hell of a difference, if you know what you are doing and why. Relaxation techniques help to take us out of the anxiety, should it set in and stay in the moment. Added benefit is that they feel real good!
Hypnobirthing uses these and many more ways to change how you feel about giving birth.
If you have already started your Hypnobirthing journey, I know I won’t need to convince you!
If you haven’t then why not take find a local Hypnobirthing Taster by contacting an instructor in your area here or sign up for the first 3 videos of TCBS on-line course here and see for yourself.
