Pregnancy

So it seems fitting to begin this pack by saying congratulations. And I think no matter what stage you are in your pregnancy it is an exciting, exhilarating and yet incredibly challenging time for most. I say this, having watched my wife and my sister and many friends go through it. And it's really important to say right at the beginning of this pack, yes, I am a man and I haven't been through the experience of pregnancy itself. But this pack isn't really about the womb this is about the mind and how we approach the journey of pregnancy, how we stay sane during that nine months, during childbirth when we go home afterwards. So along the way, I'll be giving you lots of tips and advice. For real practical advice, absolutely you wanna go and see your obstetrician, you wanna speak to your female friends. But if we're talking about the mind and how to find a place of calm and clarity, not only for yourself but also to create a very conducive, nurturing environment in which for your baby to grow and even a way of connecting a little more with perhaps your partner whoever that might be, whether it's a partner in a romantic sense, or perhaps a family member, a friend maybe even your doctor, but a way of connecting with them so that they feel part of the journey with you, then mindfulness is a great way of doing that and hopefully this pack will make a real difference. Are we gonna start the exercise in the usual way? I'll talk you through it as we go we're gonna start with a visualization exercise. And in each part of this pack there's gonna be a slightly different exercise, each one building on the next. Now the first one is focused very much on you, the second one, a little bit more on the baby and the third one, a combination of both. But starting with today's exercise and making sure you're sitting comfortably, eyes open so a nice, soft focus aware of the space around you. And when you're ready, just taking some big deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, just gently closing the eyes. as you feel yourself just sink down into the chair beneath you. Just feeling the weight of the body pressing down, contact, the feet on the floor and the hands and the arms on the lap. And just take a short moment or two, just to settle into the space around you just noticing the different sounds. And as you bring the attention back to the body now in the usual way starting at the top of the head, just gently scanning down through the body, noticing how the body feels. What feels comfortable, what feels uncomfortable not thinking about it, but just noticing it as you scan down towards the toes now. And as you scan down...