1. You have already lived through multiple, challenging, moments before that have required GREAT STRENGTH.
2. You have Life force energy moving through you, and the ability to tap into and connect to this life force at anytime, with PRACTICE.
3. You are supported, always. Have FAITH and TRUST.
When I meet with first time mothers, they almost always have a fear of childbirth because its something that they have never consciously experienced before.
This is a normal reaction to the experience of the unknown.
But then I remind them, that every month of their lives since menstruation began, they have practiced the releasing and letting go of parts of themselves. Quite literally. And their body was created with the wisdom and innate ability to grow a human, birth a human, and mother a human.
It’s the same resilience, that same knowing, that can support a woman in childbirth and in the lifetime of motherhood that will follow.
And while they may not have gone through the pleasure and pain of childbirth just yet, there is a 100% chance that they have faced at least one challenge in life.
If we are here today, alive and breathing, how do we forget that we are so capable?
Why do we forget?
How do we cease to remember our brilliance?
Why are we so scared of labor? of life?
Fear is a natural reaction of the human nervous system. It’s built in to protect us. It’s just that our world happens to be bombarded by fear based thinking everyday, all day. And in regards to pregnancy, labor and motherhood, there are infinitely more dramatic movie scenes, and terrible reality shows that portray the experience as scary and even horrific.
On my journey of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood, I have expected perfection because I chose to show up 150%. But I am shown over and over again, that despite how I choose to show up in the world, the world outside of me is beyond my control. I am only really in charge of myself, my body, my breath, how I choose to respond and interact with the world around me.
And it takes practice to remember to respond with grace and kindness toward ourselves when we land in an unknown territory.
May we pause, feel our pulsing heart, reflect on where we came from, remember our inner strength, practice connecting to our inner wisdom, and trust deeply.