I know how you feel, during pregnancy friends start telling you to look into a hypnobirthing course, so you do and you begin hearing a lot about hypnobirthing techniques, but what exactly does that mean?
Let me explain...
A great way to explain it is through a lovely analogy I heard once about hypnobirthing, say you signed up to run the London Marathon, you wouldn’t just turn up on the day and expect to be able to run it. To run this properly and safely you would train for months leading up to it, you would incorporate specific techniques and you would use your time to practice, gradually building up your stamina, strength and fitness levels.
You can also look at childbirth, and hypnobirthing techniques in the same way.
A proper hypnobirthing course provides you with an array of different relaxation techniques for you to practice in the lead up to childbirth.
The more you practice these, the more ingrained they become and the quicker your rest and digest response will be triggered when you hear, or feel one of the many techniques you learn.
An example of some of these hypnobirthing techniques are:
Hypnosis Scripts
Which are designed to bypass the conscious mind, and bury themselves deep into the subconscious mind, the place where our beliefs and true feelings stem from. This is the part of our mind where our limited beliefs live, and hypnosis scripts work to re-write these and create a more confident, trusting and calmer belief around childbirth.
Breathwork and Relaxation
A mixture of breathwork and relaxation techniques are taught in a full hypnobirthing course too, these are here to help you strengthen your connection with the parasympathetic nervous system, this being our rest and digest response. Our parasympathetic nervous system is where our production of Oxytocin comes from, and we want to optimise the flow of this hormone during childbirth. The more these types of techniques are practiced, the quicker this response becomes and we will find it so much easier to land into this place of calm on the day.
Visualisation
Visualisation is a technique involved in some of the hypnobirthing scripts, using imagery and focus to keep you fully present in an audio, or script. These visualisation may involve images to help you let go and release tension or limiting beliefs, some may also involve picturing loved ones and certain scenarios. The more these are practiced the stronger this association becomes, and sometimes all it takes during labour is to hear the initial part of a script and you will feel an instant sense of calm and safety wash over you.
Why are there so many different techniques?
The reason we go through so many different hypnobirthing techniques, is becase some will resonate more with you than others, it's a completely personal preference, but the key thing is to practice these as much as you can. This is why it is suggested to start a hypnobirthing course around 20 weeks, as this gives you ample time to practice and become familiar with these techniques, strengthening new beliefs around birth, creating a growing sense of trust in your body and deepening that connection with your place of inner calm.
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