Letting Go

“Birth takes place in the midst of a profound ‘Letting Go.’”
--Janice Clairfield

Letting go in birth requires a tremendous amount of trust. Trust in your body, trust in your birth attendants, trust in your partner, trust in a divine force. This deep level of trust creates a sense of safety that will allow you surrender to the process. The more aware you are of your body and of your birthing choices, the better able you are to “let go” and let the natural process of childbirth unfold.

We live in a world where our minds dominate nearly all that we do. In the practice of yoga, the goal is to get the mind out of the way, and connect with our higher purpose. The way to do this is by focusing on the breath and staying deeply aware of how our body is receiving each pose. This is also true for childbirth. Connecting with our breath and trusting our body’s wisdom will help us manage the pain and remain present in the moment.

Labor is simply a series of contractions that ease open the mouth of your womb and push your baby out. Labor is not a time to engage the mind. Timing contractions and watching a clock or fetal monitor will interfere with the natural unfolding of childbirth. Once the mind takes over, we become preoccupied with doing it right, with what could happen in the near future rather than what is happening in the present. This is when fear settles in. Letting the mind go by focusing on the breath or vocal toning will empower you to listen to your body’s wisdom. “When you allow yourself to become immersed in labor, it is neither boring nor interesting. The very nature of labor dissolves ordinary boundaries of time and space. You and labor become one. Timing your labor requires remaining conscious-of-self rather than being-in-labor. Once your uterus knows it’s not being timed and watched, its performance anxiety will be relieved.” Pamela England, Birthing From Within

While in labor, let go of watching a clock, if you must time your contractions, let someone else do that job for you. Just ride the waves of each rush, one at a time, trusting that all is unfolding as it should. Practice “Letting Go” as you sit in meditation or hold a yoga pose. The more you consciously let your mind go during this time, the easier it will be for you when labor starts.

“In the end these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How fully did you love?
How deeply did you learn to let go?”
-The Buddha

Affirmation for Letting Go

I surrender to every rush and trust my body.

Embodying Peace During Pregnancy

"One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." -Albert Schweitzer

The last week's classes have focused on cultivating peace. September 21st was International Peace Day (got to http://www.peaceoneday.org/) for more information.

Just by coming to yoga class you are cultivating peace in your heart. The act of yoga and meditation is creating peace in your body and mind on a deep cellular level. When we feel peaceful, we can consciously extend that feeling to our baby growing within, our families, our community, our country and the world.

Choosing to be consciously pregnant, to connect with your child on an emotional and spiritual level you are creating a nurturing and peaceful environment for your child to develop. Every thought, emotion and action you take simultaneously affects the consciousness of your baby. By aligning your thoughts with your highest good, with the divine, you are also raising the consciousness of your unborn baby.

“In yoga tradition it is said that through spiritual elevation and conscious pregnancy women can produce children that are saints, peace-makers, and sages…and thereby the whole world is touched in ways it sorely needs.” (Janine Parvati) So…never underestimate the power of your child to change the world!

If we open ourselves to the grace flowing within during pregnancy, it can be a time of great spiritual transformation. Creating life within is such a divine blessing, when we tap into the overflowing source of spiritual wisdom and unity with all of life, it can be a catalyst for change, personal growth and peace in a woman’s life.

Steps to Peace

Ask yourself how you can create more peace in your life. Maybe it’s to be more forgiving, less reactionary, heal past wounds, etc. Create in intention for yourself and your baby to cultivate more of these peaceful qualities in your life.

Next reflect where peace is needed most in the world. What do you feel most affected by when you watch the news or read the paper? The war…the environmental destruction…poverty…Aids? As you cultivate peace in your heart, send this energy to the cause that you feel strongly about.

Lastly, reflect on how becoming a mother teaches us peace. You are about to embark on a lifetime of selfless service to another human being. As we love and care for this life we’ve just created, our hearts open to a whole new level of love and service. Our job as women on this planet is to extend this unconditional love and heartfelt service to all of humanity.

"What a child learns in the womb cannot be learned on Earth."
-Yogi Bhajan

Honoring Trust

Today's class theme was about Trust.

Hatha – Sanskrit word meaning Ha=(Effort/Sun) Tha=(Surrender/Moon)
Yoga- Sanskrit word meaning to yoke
Hatha Yoga is “yoking” or “Uniting Effort with Surrender”

Each class I teach has a mental, physical and spiritual component to it that ties into yoga and birth. Here is information from the theme of today's class:

Allowing your body to let go and birth naturally requires a tremendous amount of trust. Trust in your body, trust in your birth attendants, trust in your partner, trust in a divine force. The more aware you are of your body and of your birthing choices, the better able you are to “let go” and let the natural process of childbirth unfold.

We live in a world where our minds dominate nearly all that we do. In the practice of yoga, the goal is to get the mind out of the way, and connect with our higher purpose. The way to do this is by focusing on the breath and staying deeply aware of how our body is receiving each pose. This is also true for childbirth. Connecting with our breath and trusting our body’s wisdom will help us manage the pain and remain present in the moment.

Questioning the path you take is very natural, it’s part of the deep soul searching that leads you to your truth. If you listen to your heart and align your birthing choices with what feels right for you, you are able to release fears and feel confident that your birth experience will be a positive one. This confidence must first be grounded in trust. The trust and confidence that you feel leads to a sense of security. Trust is very liberating, it leads to surrender. When you are able to surrender in labor, your body will naturally guide you along the way to the next level. Consciously trusting the choices you have made and preparations you have undertaken will free you up so that you can experience childbirth as a beautiful right of passage for yourself and baby.
Trust also means accepting the unknown element of childbirth and realizing that whatever the outcome, natural birth or not, it's all divine.

Check to make sure that you feel trust in all of these areas:

¨ Trust in yourself, that you have adequately prepared your mind, body and soul for birth.
¨ Trust in your birth partner and birth attendants. You feel confident that they also honor and support the natural process of birth. Also, trust in their ability to intervene when appropriate.
¨ Trust in your body’s natural wisdom.
¨ Trust your internal power.
¨ Trust in a Divine Force flowing through you and baby.

Once you are able to embrace trust on every level you will have the confidence and courage to let your mind go and allow the natural process of birth to unfold.

Affirmation

I surrender to each rush and trust my body’s wisdom.

I let go.