Approaching Birth

Hi, and welcome to this course on birthing. And also, congratulations on your beautiful bundle of joy. Pregnancy and childbirth are such a special and sacred time for both the birthing person and their companion. I have yet to give birth, but I am a certified and trained doula, and have witnessed how beautiful this time can be, and also how terrifying it can be as well. So in part one of this 10 day course, I'll be alongside you as you prepare your mind and body for childbirth. The focus with part one is cultivating a sense of warmth and inner sunshine in the mind and body, as a way to connect with yourself and your baby, and to also create favorable internal conditions to enhance your birthing experience. With practice, meditation and mindfulness can help you to conserve your energy for labor instead of spending it on mental chatter or resistance. For every thought or emotion that we have, there's usually a physical response in the body that occurs. So as we use the visualization technique in this course, we'll work on creating a sense of relaxation and calm in our minds so the body will follow. And if the visualization of the sunlight is a bit tricky at first, that's okay, the focus can also be on the feeling of the sunlight throughout the body on those warm and spacious qualities. So let's just begin to settle in. Getting as comfortable as you can be in this moment. You can be lying down, or sitting upright, maybe using one or two pillows to support your neck and head. And we'll begin with the eyes open, taking some nice, slow, deep breaths in and out through the nose. And on the next exhale, if it feels right to do so, just gently closing the eyes, softening the eyebrows, the forehead, relaxing and releasing, noticing those different points of contact, and just sinking down into the surface beneath you, and then settling in to the space around you, bringing any sounds in your space into the practice, and just allowing them to be there. And now bringing that focus to the body, and just getting curious on how the body feels today. So starting from the top of the head, and just beginning to gently scan down the body, noticing where you're holding on to any tension or tightness, and just noticing any emotions that may be present as well. And just taking a moment here to set an intention for your practice today, so the reason why you're here, becoming clear of that motivation, and then finding the breath, feeling that rising and falling sensation throughout the body, and just following each breath in, and each breath out. And maybe the mind and body feel a bit more restless today, and that's okay. If you like, you can try extending your exhale, so breathing in deeply into the stomach and then breathing out slowly. Breathing in to the...