We begin this practice today as if for the first time each moment,
Each practice,
And each day is new.
As we begin,
Keeping your eyes open,
Find a spot a little ways in front of you to rest your gaze.
With your gaze resting on that spot,
Become aware of everything to the sides of you,
Switching into that peripheral vision,
And just noticing what you notice as you expand your gaze to everything to the sides.
Now with your gaze still fixed on that spot and using your peripherals,
Expand your awareness to everything above and below you so that you can take in the whole space in front of you at once,
Noticing what you notice.
Now imagine as if you can wrap your vision around to the space behind you so that you can take in the whole room at once with your gaze still resting on that spot.
Good.
Now letting that go,
Blinking your eyes,
And then if it feels right to you,
Letting them gently close down,
Letting go of the need to do anything and just be.
Go ahead and scan your body from your head all the way down to your toes,
Simply noticing what you notice.
And feel free to adjust your body in any way that would be helpful to you so that you can be so comfortable for this practice today,
Allowing your jaw to feel as if it's falling all the way to the floor.
And as you do so,
Relaxing the back of your tongue.
Good.
And as your tongue and your jaw are relaxed,
Breathing in to our calming in-breath of four and out,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Good.
In,
Three,
Four,
And out,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Good.
One more.
In,
Three,
Four,
And out,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Good.
Letting that go,
Keeping that jaw and tongue relaxed,
Allowing your breathing to continue all on its own.
No need to do anything with it,
Just allowing it to be as it is.
Replacing your awareness on your heart.
And just imagine that as you are breathing at whatever pace is right for you,
That as you inhale,
Your heart grows,
And as you exhale,
Your heart goes back to its perfect size.
And in,
Your heart grows,
And out,
Heart going all the way back.
Now imagine as if you can place your full awareness inside your heart.
And imagine that you are breathing through your heart.
Good.
And now moving your breath into your abdomen,
Creating space within your abdomen as you send your breath there.
Placing your awareness now inside that space and inhabiting your abdomen fully.
Breathing through it,
Sending your breath and all of those good feelings to baby as you nourish your baby with love.
Now allowing your breath to go wherever it needs to go,
Perhaps sending your breath to your throat if you sense that you need to be in touch with or strengthen the power of your voice,
Or sending your breath to your brain to connect with your full intelligence.
Or perhaps to your forehead to be in touch with a sense of your wisdom.
Then breathe through that part of you,
Curious and open to the sensations in your body,
Curious and open to insights,
Curious and open to possibility.
Now taking a moment to reflect on your intention for this day.
Is there something you need more of?
Perhaps even connecting to an even deeper question.
What is your intention for your pregnancy?
And now taking a moment to send a message to your baby.
Perhaps committing to doing the best you can for yourself and your baby.
Finding nourishing foods,
Creating nourishing thoughts,
Saying kind and nourishing words,
And finding ways to nourish your spirit and to have movement throughout your day.
In small and simple ways,
In small and simple acts,
One at a time,
In this moment and in this moment that add up to big things.
Taking a moment before we end today to go ahead and send yourself all of those things that you need to feel healthy,
Confident,
And calm,
Or whatever else you need.
Imagine all that you need filling you up with each inhale,
Bringing in more and more of what you need until your whole body is filled up,
Feeling strong,
Confident,
Capable,
Nourished,
And loved.
Taking everything you need from this experience into the rest of your day,
Evening,
Or night.
Imagine wrapping a beautiful bubble of safety around you and your baby.
Keeping all of those feelings,
Resources,
Everything you need right inside that beautiful safe bubble,
Knowing that that bubble will remain for as long as you need.
Perhaps each day when you wake up,
When you are in that middle space within between sleep and awake,
Relax the jaw,
Relax the tongue,
And breathe in to a count of four and out to a count of eight three times.
That will help set the mental foundation for a wonderful day.
And it only takes a couple of minutes.
I recommend leaving a note by your bed so that you remember to do it at first until you simply do it automatically,
Creating wonderful habits for the body and mind that will carry over into wonderful habits for birthing.
Wishing you well as you go about the rest of your day,
Afternoon,
Evening,
Or night.
May you be curious and open to all the gifts in each moment,
In each sensation,
And in each breath.
