Introducting DoTERRA Essential Oils for Health

I always discover something great at the annual HypnoBirthing conference.  This year it was essential oils.  Did you know?

• Oregano oil (*CPTG) can kill warts? My Markus had 14 warts (yes you read that right) 14 planter warts on the sole of his right foot.  We treated with Oregano oil everyday and now they are all gone.  No painful burning or freezing required!

• Lavender oil (*CPTG) make the best treatment for scraps, cuts and burns of all kinds including sunburns.

• Melaleuca oil (*CPTG) can kill athletes foot and “pinkeye” along with ear infections and many other infections.

• Breathe oil (*CPTG) can soothe a child’s cough almost immediately. This is what one mom told me in an email after a class. “Thanks again for the amazing Essential oils class last night! My daughter was coughing so bad when I got home that she couldn’t sleep…I put “breathe” oil into the diffuser and in 5 mins she was sleeping and I didn’t hear another cough. This is too crazy!”

• Lemon oil (*CPTG) makes the best household cleaner and with coupled with Grapefruit oil (*CPTG) and Cinnamon oil (*CPTG) can aid in weight control.

Note: *CPTG stands for Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade. I cannot speak for any other oil brands out there. Most have additives and are not as concentrated or powerful and are not safe for ingestion (when necessary) as DoTERRA’s CPTG oils are.

Much more to learn!  I truly believe that having these oils in your home would bless your life.  They simply help keep us and our families healthier.  And I would love to teach how they can do that.

The Pyjama Class Series!  
Enjoy learning about essential oils in the comfort of your home – even in your pyjamas!  So many of you have mentioned that you wish to attend an essential oils class but you aren’t able to leave the house in the evening because of childcare issues.  So I decided to launch a set of online evening classes for the month of June.  I’ll be using a great program called GoToMeetings to do this.  If you wish to participate in the online classes you’ll need click on the link provided below the class at the appropriate time.  You’ll be directly to a window in your internet browser where you will be able to view the meeting.  Not at your computer? Click the link to join this meeting from your iPhone®, iPad® or Android® device via the GoToMeeting app.  It works awesome. 

Essential Skin Care class : Sunday June 16, 8:30pm Central Standard Time

Join us Essential Skin Care presentation while we learn how doTERRA Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils ( nature’s pure essential oil extracts) and the latest advances in skin care scientific development can help keep your skin feeling and looking young, healthy and gorgeous.  This skin care line includes cutting edge technologies which complement the essential oils in targeting the visible signs of both cellular and mechanical aging.   Please join my class, 2013-06-16 at 8:00 PM CST by clicking on this link.   https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/155764709

 

Medicine Cabinet Make-Over: Monday June 17, 8pm Central Standard Time

Learn how to replace your over-the-counter medicines with nature’s medicine cabinet. Essential oils offer a safer, often more effective and cheaper healthcare option.  This class will go over the basics of essential oils and look at the 10 oils that really make a difference in your medicine cabinet.  Please join my class, 2013-06-17 at 8:00 PM CST by clicking on this link.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/172201269

 

Essential Oils for Mood Management:  Thursday June 20, 8pm Central Standard Time

Class Details : How to use essential oils to help decrease anxiety and other mood management tips.  Yes it’s possible to change the way you feel because of something that you smell.  Smells are processed in the brain very quickly and with pure therapeutic essential oils the molecules are small enough to bypass the blood-brain barrier and reach down at the cellular level to bring healing.  Explore the science behind how essential oils stimulate and create changes in brain function which in turns affect your mood and how you feel.    Please join my class, 2013-06-20 at 8:00 PM CST by clicking on this link.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/178545077

 

Keeping Babies and Kids Healthy: Monday June 24, 8pm Central Standard Time

Class Details : Learn how to use essential oils to deal with some of the common issues that little ones experiences such diaper rash, eczema, coughs, flus, fevers, burns, asthma, allergies, bug bites, ear infections, owies, warts, tummy troubles, reflux and teething.  Super practical information for helping your little one!  Please join my class, 2013-06-24 at 8:00 PM CST. by clicking on this link. https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/676745029

Planning a Blessing Way or Mother Blessing: Ideas for Beads

I am seriously in love with Blessing Ways.  EVERY mother deserves the ritual and right of passage that a Mother Blessing or Blessing Way provides.  If you are totally new to this idea and need a bit of an introduction, please first read this article about what is a blessing way.

Blessing ways often include a ritual or activity to symbolize the love and support that we are offering to the mom to be.  One of the most common ways to do this is with beads.  Each guest is invited to bring a bead along with their blessing.  During the blessing way, these beads are strung together into a beautiful necklace or bracelet for the mom to be.  During labour, this will then serve as a reminder of all the love, support, and blessings that the woman has received for her pregnancy, birth, baby, and life-long journey of motherhood.

A couple years ago, I was organizing a blessing way for a good friend.  She loved the idea of beads but isn’t really into jewellery.  She thought that a bracelet or necklace just didn’t really fit for her.  She asked if we could do something different with the beads.. maybe a suncatcher?  I said “sweetie this is your day, we will do whatever you want!”  So we asked each guest to bring a piece of glass or glass bead – I bought some wire and we made a suncatcher.  The suncatch was hanging at the hospital and is hanging to this day in her daughter’s bedroom.  Here is a photo of the finished suncatcher.

Since then many woman I work with, have come up with interesting ideas for ways to use the beads.  Below are some of the creations we have made at blessing ways so far.

At April’s mother blessing, we created a dream catcher.  April got the supplies for a local craft store, watched a youtube video and create the central part of the dream catcher.  At the mother blessing, each guest used her supplies and the bead they brought to add one of the dangling tails pictured below.  This now hangs above her son’s crib.

For Paula, she really wanted something that she could hold on to during labour.  We came up with the idea of a fidget.  Fidgets are often given to children who need to physically manipulate something to help them calm down.   It works for adults too!  So the beads were combined in a row with extra room on the string or rope.  This means that the beads are free to move up and down and so you can fidget with them in your hand.  Paula used the fidget in labour, both for it’s calming effect and also to remember all the women in her life who were cheering her on in spirit during her labour and birth.

At Jody’s blessing way, she decided to make a mobile for her little one.  Everyone worked together to create this for her and her baby.  This mobile now hangs in her son’s room.

And of course sometimes the simple idea of creating a necklace is beautiful too.  At Megan’s blessing way, everyone seems to be on the same wavelength as most of the guest brought her a blue bead.  Some people feel compelled to bring a few beads, hence the repetition that was made possible in the pattern, which for ascetic reasons is quite nice.

Here is another great idea, ask all your guest to bring beads of a certain colour and then everyone makes a bracelet and you can ask your guests to wear it when you are in labour as a way to send you love, prayers and support!  In this photo we all made red bracelets.

If you are planning a blessing way, I hope this blog post will serve as a springboard to help you find the symbol that fits for you.  If you have any other ideas – please share them in a comment below.

And ps.  if you are curious why symbols are important, check out the blog posts listed below.

Marie

If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also enjoy these two articles,

Whetting Your Symbolic Appetite (Part 1)

This is the first in a series of articles exploring symbols as they pertain to pregnancy and birth.  If you’re not already a symbolism junkie, get ready to be a convert!  Read on to discover how easily you can use the power of form as you deepen your hypnobirthing practice.

As the adage goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  Symbols, including letters and numbers, are the currency of the subconscious mind.  Whereas logical, linear thought is the domain of the conscious mind, non-rational, instantaneous, global thinking fills the subconscious, and archetypal symbols can connect with the collective unconscious.  Keep Reading

Growing Your Symbolic Appetite : The Circle (Part 2)

This is the second in a series of articles exploring symbols as they pertain to pregnancy and birth.  Further to last issue’s introduction to symbolism, this time around we’re looking at the Circle, a form well-attuned to birth, indeed. Universally, the circle represents completeness, infinity, wholeness, focus, and unity. As Hermes said, “God is a circle whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.” In nature, we find circles in the celestial bodies, in the cycles of women and the seasons, in cells and seeds, in tree rings, and as ripples in water.  Keep Reading

Reeve’s Birth Story

Marie’s Note : I am deeply grateful to Jill for sharing this HypnoBirthing story.  It’s often difficult to find positive birth stories if you are in a situation where there is a medical reason for an induction.  I hope everyone who faces such a situation is able to read stories like this one.  And trust that no matter how your birth unfolds the HypnoBirthing skills of calming yourself and staying connected to your partner and your baby will serve you well.

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At 34 weeks and 3 days, I was diagnosed with a condition called Cholestasis.  Cholestasis is a condition in which the normal flow of bile in the gallbladder is affected by the high amounts of pregnancy hormones.  Although Cholestasis is not dangerous for the mother, it can be very dangerous for the unborn baby.  The decision was made to induce me as soon as I was 36 weeks.  Well, the day came and went.  Labour and Birth was completely full, and couldn’t induce me that day.  This went on for 3 more agonizing days of waiting by the phone.

Finally, after what seemed like a billion trips to the hospital for non-stress tests, ultrasounds and blood work, they brought me in for induction at 8:00 pm on Saturday night. They decided to use synthetic Oxytocin as the induction method, and started the IV drip at 10:00 pm.  I went into the night feeling very unsure whether or not I would be able to use my Hypnobirthing to get through the labour without other pain relief options.  I had heard numerous horror stories in the days leading up to that night about labours induced with synthetic Oxytocin, stories of very hard and intense labors. I was even more concerned since I was being induced 4 weeks early, and I knew that my body was not naturally ready to give birth on its own.  However, I went into it with an open mind and decided to give it my best shot, but be open to whatever happened.

We were assigned an awesome nurse, who had read the Hypnobirthing book and was very interested in using the strategies that we discussed with her.  It was so nice to have someone that made me feel that I could call the shots, and she would just follow my lead.   My surges started fairly quickly, but were very mild.  We watched an episode of Walking Dead on the laptop and just tried to relax while we waited for the labour to really get going.  At 12:00, I was 3 cm dilated and the doctor decided to break my water.  After that, my surges really picked up in intensity and frequency.  Right away I began using my Surge Breathing and put on some calming music.  In between the surges, I found it very easy to stay in my relaxed state, and really relied on the Surge Breathing to help me through each surge.  After another 30 minutes or so, I felt the need to get out of bed and move a bit.  I sat on the birth ball and rocked back and forth, which was totally what my body was telling me to do and was by far the most comfortable position.  I was able to carry on a conversation with the nurse and my husband in between surges, and continued to use Surge breathing when I felt a surge coming on.  After 45 minutes of this, the nurse asked if I wanted to get in the tub.  I decided to give it a try as I was starting to feel chilled, and had read so many birth stories in which the women just loved being in the tub.  As soon as I got into the tub my surges really intensified.  My husband poured water over my back and that really helped, but I was definitely not as comfortable as I had been on the ball.  After being in the tub for about 10 minutes, the thought ran through my head that I couldn’t continue.  I started to shake and second guess myself.

I recognized these as signs that I was in Transition, but dismissed the thought because I thought it was too quick for me to already be transitioning.  My husband asked if I wanted to get out of the tub, and I said that I didn’t know.  I felt unable to make any decisions at that point.  Finally, the nurse suggested that if I didn’t get out of the tub, that the baby would probably be born there. This is when I realized how far along I really was.  I felt so grateful to the nurse for not saying something sooner, and for letting me take the lead.  I got to the bed and immediately had the overwhelming urge to push.  My body totally took over.  The baby came fast, and the nurse delivered him after about 10 pushes.  My husband announced to me that it was a boy, which was completely surprising considering my husband’s family history.  In 4 generations of babies from the men on his Mom’s side there are 23 children, and only 1, up until now, had been a boy.  Our beautiful baby boy, Reeve Patrick, was born at 2:23 am on Sunday morning after only 4.5 hours of labour (4 was my “magic number” when we had to pick one during Hypnobirthing class).  Because he came so fast, his lungs still had fluid in them and he had to be taken fairly quickly to the NICU for some help.  He recovered very quickly, and is happy and healthy.

I felt so happy that I had been able to have a natural birth even though I had been required to have an induction of labour.  I think that it is important that other women know that it IS possible to use your Hypnobirthing practices even if you have to have a synthetic induction of labour. Trust your body, use the parts of Hypnobirthing that speak to you, and make it your own.  Don’t let doctors scare you into taking an epidural early on because they say that induced labours are more intense.  Approach every stage of the labour as it comes, and be open to whatever path it might take.  Plans are great, but often need to change.  Be flexible and trust yourself.

Written by Jill W.  April 2013

If you enjoyed reading this story, you might also like these stories.

I guess for me – it really all started back in 2000 when I read the book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.  Although I’d been both religious and spiritual all my life, up until that point I had never really given much thought to the process of crossing from this world into the next.  The book opened my eyes to the idea that there was steps to this process of dying.   Much later, I came back to this idea of birth and death being gateways and I became curious about what exactly is the process for a new soul to come to Earth.  The subject fascinates me and over the past 5 years I done as much reading as I can about how exactly a new spirit arrives in their human form.   Keep Reading

 

Sakoda’s Birth Story

It was New Years eve and I just had that feeling that my body was getting ready for delivery so we decided to rent a hotel room in Regina as we are from Weyburn and my Doctor has advised me that this delivery was going to be fairly fast and I just didn’t want my husband worring about the highways.  I was really tired so I went to bed early to make sure I was all rested up.  Then at 3:18am on Jan 1 I had my first surge and the surges were about 6 min apart.  Keep Reading

Yoga Poses and Exercises to Help Ease Pain from Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction

Pubic Symphysis Dysfuction (PSD), sometimes referred to as Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) occurs when the two halves of the pelvis become misaligned.  This happens in pregnancy because the hormones of pregnancy loosen the joint called the pubis symphysis which is normally supported by a dense network of tough tissues called ligaments.  Ligaments are not naturally flexible.  However the hormone relaxin which your body releases in significant amounts during pregnancy softens all tissues including ligaments.  This overall, is a good thing and allows your baby to more easily slip through the bones of the pelvis during birth.  That being said, for some women, all that relaxin along with the hormone progesterone can cause a great deal of instability in the joint resulting in pain and inflammation.  The pain is most common in the front of the pelvis, but sometimes also occurs in the back of the pelvis on either side of the sacrum (that flat part of the lower back).

Many of the exercises and yoga postures typically done in prenatal yoga or in prenatal exercise classes actually aggravate the pain.  But there is hope.  The yoga sequence below will not only help you feel better physically, but also help to restore your faith in your body and it’s ability to do this crazy and amazing thing called pregnancy.

The movements below can not realign the joint or tighten the loosened ligaments.  However they help all the same.  They help because they stabilize the pelvis by strengthening the muscles that support it.  Many of the postures below strengthen the public floor and the core muscles in particular.

For the greatest benefit, print out this blog post and do this yoga sequence daily.  If you don’t have enough time to do the entire sequence, simply move through the starred postures.  And as any yoga teacher will tell you, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.  If anything feels wrong – stop – and re-adjust.  If it still doesn’t feel right, skip it and move onto the next pose.

  1. Tadasana : Mountain or Standing Pose

- engage pelvic floor muscles and gluts (this means pull them in, up and together).  Hold for one complete breath.  Repeat 5 times.

2. Partner Partial Downward Dog Stretch

- use the weight of the other person to help you stretch your shoulder, down your back and through the hamstrings.  Hold each others’ wrists and lend back.  You can do this on your own by putting your finger tips in the sink, hanging on and leaning back.  You can even do this stretch just using a wall – but a kitchen sink is better and having a partner is better still.

3. Parsvottonasana – Intense Side Stretch

The worse your experience of SPD – the gentler you go in this pose, by keeping your feet no more that hip distance wide apart.  It’s also really really important that you keep your hips and shoulders level with the floor in this pose.

  4. Ardha Utkatasana – Chair Pose

- stand and lower hips and keep knees hip width apart.  Draw the navel slightly in to engage the transverse abdominal muscles and keep your low back in neutral – not flexed or rounded.  Arm can extend up by your ears or out in front of you.

5. Ardha Utkatasana – Chair Pose at Wall with Pelvic Tilts

- Start by standing against a wall with feet about a foot or two feet away from the wall.  Slowly lower your body into chair pose leaning back against the wall.  The lower you drop your hips the most intense this posture will become.  Make sure you are barefooted to that you are stable into this posture.  Then add in the pelvic tilts.  To do this, simply exhale and push the small of your back into the wall, inhale and release the lower back (it will left off the wall) and then repeat.  Pelvic tilts are a great way to maintain core and abdominal strength during pregnancy.  To increase intensity – raise your arms above your head as you do this posture.

   6. Seated Inner Thigh Strengthening Exercise

- Sit down on a chair and place one fist between your knees.  Squeeze your thighs together, hold for 5 breaths and then slowly release on an exhale.  Repeat with both fists between your knees.  If you own a foam yoga block, place it between your knees instead.

7. Urdhva Mukha Dandasana  : Staff or Rod Pose

- This pose may not look like much, but it actually takes a lot of core strength to sit up straight.  Place a block or rolled up blanket under your hips to raise them up a bit and help you sit up straight.  While in this posture, pull in your naval (giving baby a little hug in the process) and pull up your pelvic floor.  Hold for 5 breaths and release.  Relax and curl your back and then repeat.

8.  Seated Forward Fold

Typically in prenatal yoga, forward folds or bends are done with the legs apart to accommodate the belly and baby.  With SPD spreading the legs apart came mean TROUBLE – which you have probably already discovered.  To create a bit more space, sit on a yoga block or a rolled up blanket to lift your hips off the ground.  Wrap a belt around the balls on your feet and gently bend forward.  Keep extending out though the heels and keep the feet flexed. Press the sit bones down into the block, draw the
sacrum in and lift the whole spine to the crown of the head as you bend.  This is a wonderful release for the hamstring muscles.

   9.  Bharadvajasana  – Seated Twist

Sit with a folded blanket or yoga block under one hip, bend knees and let the feet go to the opposite side.  Inhale and focus on extending up through the crown of your head, exhale and twist your upper body in the direction of the block and away from your feet.  With every inhale, get taller and with each exhalation twist more deeply.   Hold for 5 breathes and then repeat on the other side.  Alternatively you can do this stretch seated in a chair or on an exercise ball.   As a side note – this twist is safe in pregnancy because you are twisting towards an open space and it allows for greater space and length in the front of the body.  It’s also a lovely release for the shoulder blade area, which generally becomes tight as the weight of the baby tends to hunch the whole body forward.

   10.  Marjaryasana – Cat Stretch

Get down onto your hands and knees and level your back so that it is roughly flat. Breathe in and then as you breathe out, squeeze in your pelvic floor muscles and pull your belly button in and up.  This is curl your back up towards the ceiling.  Hold this contraction for between five and 10 seconds, breathing through it. Relax your muscles slowly at the end of hold and return to neutral position.  For most pregnant women, arching or swaying the back will be too much for the low back and cause discomfort, so returning to neutral position between the curls is generally best.  Alternatively this same stretch can be done seated on a chair or on an exercise ball.

You can also do the cat stretch seated on a chair or exercise ball.  This is a great stretch to do at work as it is pretty discreet and will really help your back feel better.    This takes the weight of your baby off your pelvis and holds it in a stable position.

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11.  Chakravakasana – Adapted SunBird Pose

Get down onto your hands and knees, draw the naval slightly in as if you are giving baby a hug to help to stabilize the core of the body.  Lift one knee off the ground slightly and stretch the opposite arm out in front of you.  Hold for 5 breaths and repeat on the other side.  This position is more challenging that some of the others listed.  Please back off if it doesn’t feel right.

   12. Bridge Pose – Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

To begin, lie on your back (don’t worry – we are going to stay there)  with your knees bent and your feet hip distance apart on the floor under your knees.  Exhale and press the small of your back into the floor.  Notice how your tailbone lifts off the ground as you do this.  Keeping the knees straight in front of you, hip distance part, lift the tailbone off the floor.  Continue to rise, one vertebra at a time until you are resting on your feet and shoulder blades.  Remain there for two breathes, and then slowly lower with control as if you are setting each vertebra from the shoulder to the tailbone down one at a time.  You will be need to use your abdominal muscles to do this, much is why it’s such a great pose to stabilizing and activating the core muscles.

13. Virasana – Hero Pose and Parvatasana in Virasana – Hero Pose  with Interlocked Fingers

Seat with folded blankets, a bolster or foam blocks between your feet.  If you experience discomfort in your knees, adding extra height will generally make the knees happy.  Knees should be hip width apart.  Sit nice and tall, stretching up through the crown of the head and bring the shoulder blades in together to open the chest.  On an inhalation, interlock the fingers and lift the arms over
the head keeping the elbows in line with the ears. Release the arms, change the interlock of the fingers and repeat.

  14. Adho Mukha Virasana – Child’s Pose or Down Facing Hero Pose

For this posture it’s best to have lots of cushions, bolsters and blankets.  It might seem like a lot of trouble, but trust me, it’s definitely worth it.  This is one of the most restorative poses out there, and the release for the low back is just awesome! Start by sitting on the heels with the knees slightly wider than the hips. If having the knees wide aggravates the SPD pain, then keep the knees together and rest the head forward on the seat of a chair or on a pile of bolsters as shown in the photo.

   15. Savasana – Relaxation Pose

Ahhh the resting pose.  During pregnancy savasana is done in a side lying position as being flat on your back in not recommended.   Fold a blanket beneath you to provide extra cushioning.  Place a foam block or folded blankets beneath your head (if you nose lines up with the center of your chest – your alignment is good).  Finally place a folded blanket or foam block between your knees – so that the upper knee is in line horizontally with the top hip.    It is entirely possible, that there will be some days especially later in the pregnancy, when this is the only posture that you are able do.  That is just fine.  Taking time out to rest and restore your energy is one of the best things you can do for you and your baby.

Important Note : In addition to the yoga postures and exercises listed below, I also recommend you receive treatment from a physiotherapist, chiropractor and osteopath to deal with the misalignment and asymmetry of the joint.  Find someone in your area who specializes in prenatal and postnatal work.

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Essential Oils :   If you are open to other alternative therapies, there are two essentials oils are very helpful.  The first is frankincense.  Yes the one that the wise men gave to baby Jesus.  Frankincense is extremely good for inflammation.  The second is an oil blend made by DoTerra called Deep Blue which includes wintergreen, camphor,  peppermint, blue tansy, blue chamomile, helichrysum and osmanthus, all of which have analgesic properties of the oils’ chemical constituents.  These are synergistically combined to provide relief from inflammation and its associated pain.  You can simply and safely rub these two oils where it hurts and it will make a big different fast.

Other Helpful Tips for Daily Living…

• Avoid moving your legs apart when you are lying down. When you are getting in and out of the car, bed or bathtub, take extra care to keep your knees together as much as possible.  If you are lying down, pulling your knees up as far as you can stops your pelvis from moving and makes it easier to part your legs. If you are sitting, try arching your back and sticking your chest out before parting or moving your legs.
• When you get dressed in the morning – make sure you sit down to put on your pants.
• This one is probably the most important : LISTEN TO YOUR BODY – listen to any pain…  If something hurts, if possible, don’t do it. If the pain is allowed to flare up, it can take a long time to settle down again.
• Move often but focus on small movements.
• Listen for the stable clues that you are aggravating it, sometimes if you don’t pay attention during the day, you may not feel the effects of what you are doing until later in the day or after you laid down to go to sleep.
• When climbing stairs, take one step at a time. Step up onto one step with your best leg and then bring your other leg to meet it. Repeat with each step.
• Avoid swimming the breaststroke and take care with other strokes.  The best is to put water wings on your feet and tie your feet together and use only your upper body to pull you through the water, using either front crawl or back stroke.  You may look a little strange – but your body will feel better after.
• BIRTH – the best position for SPD for birthing is generally on all fours.  The classic squatting position or semi-reclined position on your back with the knees up in a squat like position, these two can really aggravate the condition.  If aggravate in birth, the SPD can persist for weeks after baby is born.  The all fours birthing position keeps the knees more together and tends to feel the best during birthing for women with SPD.

Finally I truly wish you all the best and if you have any other advice that worked for you, please let me know so I can include it.

Marie

Finally a big big thank you to Nicole from my Prenatal Yoga for volunteering to be the model of this post.  And to Daunine McLauchlin who came to yoga despite her SPD and was brave enough to listen to her body and adapt the class to her needs (which does take some confidence in a group class) and who inspired me to do this post.  Daunine is also a professional photographer which is why the photos are so nice.  Please check out her work here.

If you liked this article you might also like reading these two blog posts.

Baby Led Yoga 

This totally made me smile.  Perhaps this is what our mom and baby yoga classes could be like if I let Markus teach the class for me.  Enjoy!  Keep Reading

Are you ready for baby?

 If you are close to your due date, chances are that someone or perhaps everyone seems to be asking you this question.  But how really does anyone prepare for a new baby?

To me preparing for a new baby is much like getting ready for a trip to a foreign country.

Keep Reading

The Most Incredible Baby Bath

Hello Everyone,

Today I invite you to skip your normal meditation and watch this instead.  It’s just as good and probably better.  It truly is a fabulous opportunity to watch such a precious experience.

Watch for the moment at 4:49 when baby is sucking its thumb joyously!

Every baby deserves to be treated so lovingly.  What’s such a wonderful way to welcome a little one to earth.

What might it be like if we were all taught to bath our babies like this at the hospital?  Apart from encouraging babies to enjoy the experience and providing parents with the skills, the connection between parent and infant is the most powerful bond of all.  Think about how much healing could happen during a bath like this for both a baby and his or her parent, especially if there were complications or separations during the actual birth.

So things of note, the baby is calm when the bath begins.  This may seem like an obvious thing, but if you are currently at home with a newborn and you wish to recreate this scene it’s important to spend sometime calming your infant and calming yourself before you start.  Also close the door to your bathroom and let the shower run for a while on hot.  This will make the room nice and warm and humid for your baby.  Baby’s skin is quite sensitive, so test the temperature of the water on your inner wrist, which is a nice sensitive area on you and that will help you adjust the water to a nice warm temperature.  Also, your baby doesn’t need soap.  In fact, in most cases soap will be too drying to a baby’s skin.  Just water is prefect.

As for those worried, babies in the womb are surrounded by liquid, they naturally know how to hold their breath in water. It is quite literally instinct. You could submerge a baby and it would not take on water into its lungs, The nurse here is obviously very experienced and there was NO risk involved for this child. As a hypnotherapist and chidbirth birth educator, I am thrilled that this level of bonding and touch is being promoted this way.  Research proves this type of trusting connection to the world in our earliest days has positive impact throughout our lifetime.

I hope you loved this a much as me,

Marie

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like reading these two articles…

The Breast Crawl

The breast crawl is when a newborn baby is placed directly on the mom’s tummy and allowed to crawl on their own up to the breast and then latch on.  It’s amazing to see.  That first hour after a baby is born is a really special time.  Hormones from mom and from the placenta prepare the baby to meet the parents for the first time.  They are wide eyed, alert and quiet;  a state of consciousness in babies often referred to as Quiet Conscious.  This is an ideal state for learning.  The baby is taking it all in; hearing and remembering mom’s voice and dad’s voice too if dad has been present and interactive during the pregnancy.   It’s a special period of settling in together.  Keep Reading

Baby’s Spirit : How Does A Soul Come to Earth?

When my husband and I started our family, I thought about the idea of birth and death being gateways and I became curious about what exactly is the process for a new soul to come to Earth.  The subject fascinates me and over the past 5 years I done as much reading as I can about how exactly a new spirit arrives in their human form.   I’ve asked priests, midwives, spiritual teachers and yoga gurus and just about anyone else to will talk to me about how this process might occur, and though their answers might vary there are some common themes.   Keep Reading

Rachel’s Birth

Rachel Paige’s Birth Story

After staying a week past her predicted arrival date, Rachel decided she was ready to join the world and she wanted to get here fast….

I met with my midwife, Debbie, on Friday, August 24^th for my 41 week appointment.  I was healthy, baby was doing fine, but after a quick check, she informed me that cervix was nowhere near ready.  Debbie told me she would not be working on Saturday but I didn’t need to worry about it because it appeared that I wouldn’t be going in to labour anytime soon.  She offered to do a membrane sweep to see if we could get things going and I accepted.  She also advised me on a few natural ways to get things started.  We booked an appointment for a non-stress test on Monday and I left feeling very disappointed that we wouldn’t be meeting our baby yet.  I knew Debbie wouldn’t refer me for induction until at least 42 weeks, but that day was coming quickly and I was worried that I would have to be induced – I really wanted to go into labour naturally.  That evening I was pretty emotional and my husband did his best to reassure me that our baby would arrive before I would have to be induced.  That night, I went over the list of ideas for getting labour going that Marie had given us and tried as many as I could – acupressure, eating pineapple, evening primrose oil, and “baby dancing”.  I went to bed feeling a little more hopeful that soon we would get to meet our baby, but I had no idea how soon that would be!

I woke up at around 3:00 because I needed to pee and I was hungry.  I noticed some bloody show which was exciting – I remember thinking that hopefully my labour would start in a day or two.  When I was in the kitchen grabbing a snack, I felt tightening that was different from anything I’d had before.  I was pretty sure it was just an intense practice surge but I thought I’d better pay attention to my body just in case it was the real thing so I sat on the couch and very shortly I felt the tightening again and then again and again.  I watched the clock and saw the surges were coming regularly every 3 minutes.  I changed positions a few times and they still continued.  I went into our bedroom and woke up my husband told him that I was pretty sure I was in labour.  I crawled into bed and we timed the surges for a while longer and they continued at 3 minutes.  I was quite comfortable on my hands and knees using the breathing techniques Marie taught us.  At 5, after debating whether or not to call the midwife or go straight to the hospital since she was taking the day off, we decided to give her a quick call before going to Regina (we live an hour away).  She told us to meet her at the hospital in Fort Qu’Appelle so she could check me before we went to Regina.

We met her at 5:30 and she was shocked when she checked me and found that I was already 3 cm dilated.  She couldn’t believe so much had happened since I’d seen her the day before!  She told us to go to Regina, but not to go to the hospital for another 4 or 5 hours so that I had more freedom as I labored.  In the truck, I began listening to the Rainbow Relaxation but found that I didn’t need it – I felt better just relaxing and talking to my husband.  The most discomfort I felt during the whole process was on the drive because I couldn’t really move.  We stopped at Tim Horton’s to get breakfast and I couldn’t wait to get out and move.  When we arrived at my mom’s house, I immediately went upstairs, planning to take a bath but when I used the washroom, I noticed that I was bleeding more.  As I was in the bathroom, I suddenly thought “I can’t do this anymore” and I remember thinking that was ridiculous because I was not in pain and felt like I could do this forever.  However, I remembered women saying they often thought they couldn’t do this any longer when they were getting close.  We hadn’t been timing the surges but they seemed to be coming very quickly and I began to think we’d better get to the hospital sooner rather than later.

We abandoned our breakfast and my plans for a nice, warm bath and headed to the hospital.  When the nurse examined me she said, “Would you believe that you’re 9 cm dilated?”  I wasn’t really surprised but I think my husband was quite shocked.  They took me straight to the delivery room and by the time I got there, I was fully dilated.  I think the staff was quite surprised because I wasn’t complaining about pain or screaming with each contraction so they figured I wasn’t very far along.

In the delivery room, the nurse kept telling me to push even though I had told her that I wasn’t planning on pushing and I didn’t feel the baby descending yet.  I used birth breathing with each contraction but she kept urging me to push.  Finally, I gave in and used a combination of pushing and birth breathing.  Soon, I could feel my baby descending.  It didn’t take long before Dr. Miller announced that he could see the head and baby was coming fast.  I was moved from my side to my back because baby’s heart rate was dropping and to slow her down.  As soon as I moved on to my back, the heart rate went back up but baby was still coming fast.  Dr. Miller told me to stop pushing and to try to slow her down.  By using birth breathing I was able to slow her descent a little.  Dr. Miller was amazed – he said he’d never seen anyone be able to get through a contraction at that stage without pushing and with so much control.  Right after that, her head and left hand came out, quickly followed by the rest of her.  We were thrilled to finally meet our baby!  Dr. Miller put her on my chest and she did the breast crawl and latched on and began eating right away.  It wasn’t until a few moments had passed that Dr. Miller asked if we knew our baby’s gender (we didn’t) and he told us it was a girl.  We were so excited we hadn’t even looked!

Thanks to hypnobirthing, I got the birth experience I had hoped for.  My mantra during the last months of my pregnancy was “quick, easy, and comfortable” and that’s exactly what I got – I had no pain at any part of my birth experience.  My only regret was pushing instead of sticking to the birth breathing.  I believe that if I had breathed her down, she wouldn’t have come quite so quickly and I wouldn’t have torn so badly.

Written By Jillian A., March 2013

 

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Late vs Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord in Newborn Babies

This little one still has her cord attached and is soaking up all the benefits.   Lately some of the women with whom I work, have been advised by their doctor that their babies umbilical cord should be cut immediately after birth to prevent jaundice.  While I respect these doctors, in this particular case I do not believe that they are practicing evidence based care.  What’s evidence based care?   Evidence-based practice means using quality scientific information for making a judgment. By identifying well-conducted research and applying it to practice, health care providers can improve the quality of care to mothers and babies.  Something that everyone involved wishes for!  Keep Reading

My first labour was only 4 1/2 hours long and although I decided beforehand that I would have an epidural, there was no time and my daughter was born naturally and drug free.  My husband, Ryan, and I decided to try hypnobirthing for our second baby as we expected the second labour would be fast. I wanted to be able to birth naturally and feel like I was in control of my own labour.

My due date with my second was Aug. 1.  I went into “practice labour” on July 20th.  I started having contractions and I had a doctor’s appointment so I went to my appointment instead of the hospital.  Keep Reading

Dance and Vocals for Birthing

This wonderful image of labour movement comes from Amy Swagman – and is available for purchase on her wonderful site http://themandalajourney.com/

Lately, I’ve been chatting with pregnant woman, doulas, new moms and other HypnoBirthing instructors about how sometimes HypnoBirthing women are very quiet and still in labour, yet others move and make sounds, and how both can be expression of HypnoBirthing.  My wonderful colleague Paula Aji in Isreal wrote following reflection.  I think it’s wonderful.  I hope you do too.

May your birthing day be blessed,

Marie

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I became a childbirth educator to empower women, to help them experience change during a special time in their lives

I feel that HypnoBirthing gives women the understanding and tools to birth gently. A woman will learn to understand the effect that fear can have on her body and how that can play out dramatically in birth. She learns tools to keep herself calm, physically and emotionally relaxed through this very exciting time of pregnancy and birth.

As a doula I have the honor to attend women and their partners through labor and birth. My presence helps the woman remember that staying calm will help her, my touch is a pleasurable reminder to release tension, my verbal reminders to ‘go within to where the birth is happening’ help her to let go of any need to control the external environment. And then the hormones take over. I watch as endorphins and oxytocin flow and take over, the birthing woman gradually feels as if she has entered some kind of trance, a drug-like state in which she loses all sense of time. She finds it to be too much effort to speak sensibly, she stops caring who or what is around her because now she is focused only on being and birthing. This is when labor advances, woman is in her place of power, connecting to her body, her baby, and the birthing energy.

Every once in a while I attend a very gentle HypnoBirthing in which the woman is focused so deeply inwards from the beginning that the endorphins flow because of  her meditations. HypnoBirthing has taught us that endorphins not only flow because of the repetitive activity of the uterus; endorphins can also be summoned through meditation. The birthing woman by focusing inwards has invited the trance inducing hormones. She may be working hard to stay in that place, but like the eye of a storm, this is a safe and gentle place from which she can experience birth without suffering.

And then, every once in a while I attend a very joyous HypnoBirthing. One in which the woman has put her focus on releasing tension through joyous activity. Activities such as dance or vocals work on many levels to help create joy. Dancing and vocalizing can be a way into the trancelike state of the endorphins. Continuous spiraling of the hips, and repetitive vocals like a meditation are an invitation to endorphins and oxytocin to flow. The woman has found a focus point, releasing all tension through movement, and an internal massage with the use of her voice. Her mind is captured in the moment without the interruption of fear. She is in her place of power.

Loosening of the hips through dance is a way to work together with baby. Each movement of the pelvis gives the baby an opportunity to wiggle its way down and through. Spiraling is the movement that the baby is taking on its way into the world. We can support this by focusing on our own physical release, we will unconsciously choose the movements and positions which are most comfortable to us and consequently give baby the most amount of wiggle room. As the baby drops down and presses more on the cervix from the inside more hormones are released to help the birth process continue, prostaglandins and oxytocin make the cervix soften and open, more surges come and more endorphins release, mom and baby both working to help the birth process flow.

 Vocals work on many levels, first of all releasing tension. We can express tension and work through our fears by speaking, by singing, even by yelling. Vocal toning or the use of our own vocal sounds as a focus point can also ease discomfort. The vibration of the sound wave moves through the body and can touch places inside us like an internal massage, reaching places we cannot get to with our hands. And vocals can be a tool for HypnoBirthing, as we focus our minds on locating the accurate tone for vibrating any part of the body our attention is drawn inwards. This takes our minds off fear and inwards to where the birthing process is really taking place. It becomes a type of meditation and as such is an invitation to endorphins to flow.

If you assumed that HypnoBirthing is a quiet and non-active birth technique, please reconsider. On our birthing day, as with any day, there will be moments in which we are energized to move and to vocalize, and there will be moments when we need to be silent and still. I propose that at birth we feel best when we allow our inner knowing to lead us; whether it be through silence and stillness, or song and dance.

Because birth can be a joy, it can be the ultimate experience of channeling the divine. When we are focused on total release, we simultaneously experience that joyous energy flowing through us. This of course is the same energy that brings our baby in to the world. We channel the energy that connects between heaven and earth.

By Paula Aji

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Visualizing Birth

Just found an absolutely COOL website – especially for any of your birth/symbol/art junkies!  This is just perfect.  The site is called Visualizing Birth.  It’s a collection of art and images relating to birth.  And includes articles about birth as they relate to the images.  The subconscious mind is the most powerful part of our mind and it’s also sometimes the most misunderstood.  Keep Reading.

 

 

Labour Less: How to Shorten Your Labour

No matter what type of birth you desire whether it be home, hospital, birth center, with or without medication….it is a common goal to want to labor less.  These various steps help pregnant mothers labor more smoothly. Coincidentally, these are all things that we teach about in HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Education Classes. I have listed the points for consideration.  Keep Reading