If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know that I am completely pro-hypnosis for birth. I'm going to toot this horn again. Hypnosis is such an effective comfort measure that anyone can use. I encourage this in my doula practice now, by talking with families about developing their own matras for birth. Hypnosis is a simple concept, and many of us experience it daily-- it's like those times that you drive home, and you forget how you ended up there. This same thing can happen in the birth process when we practice relaxation so often that it comes easily to us when we need it the most. I often use hypnosis in my everyday life to help me alleviate stressors. How do I do this?
I close my eyes (if I am not driving), and take some deep breaths in through my nose and down into my belly, letting it balloon full of air. Then I give an audible, open-mouth exhale. I take time to focus on my breathing. Then I visualize my special place. In my special place, I am a little girl, it is a bright and sunny day, and I am swinging in my backyard, the breeze is blowing my hair, the air is crip and refreshing, and clean pure air fills up my lungs. I envision myself swinging and swinging and swinging. With each swinging movement, I soften one more group of muscles in my body-- from the top of my head, down to my toes, until the tension is gone, and I am feeling better.
This is easy for me now. Because I am practiced at it.
You can enjoy this too. If you practice.
If you are looking into different childbirth preparation courses, I would highly recommend looking into one that places a lot of emphasis on relaxation and hypnosis techniques, such as Hypnobirthing or Hypnobabies. If you haven't yet seen a hypnobirth, you can watch one here.
In January, I am taking the Hypnobirthing Doula Training, and I can't wait to take the Hypnobabies doula training. I would love to support more families who choose to use this for their birth journey. It is such a beautiful thing.
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