It's time now to carve out your own space.
Find a place where you can sit comfortably without being disturbed for the next while.
Make sure you are warm.
Commit to not answering phones.
Let the answering machine take the call.
Let people know that you are taking this space for you.
Take support from the cushions or sofa that you are sitting on.
You do not have to do this all on your own.
Feel your body being supported.
This is time to slow down.
To notice.
To notice.
So begin by noticing what has been with you since the moment you yourself came into this world.
Your breath.
Feeling your breath as it travels in and out of your body.
Just as it is.
Without changing your breath in any way.
Notice if you feel your breath at the area of your nostrils,
Chest or belly.
Is it soft,
Light,
Fast or heavy?
Can you let your breath be as it is?
There is no best breath.
There is just each breath.
Like a gentle wind blowing a feather,
Allow your attention to be light.
If you find that your attention drifts onto other thoughts,
Guide yourself back to feeling your breath.
Take it one breath at a time.
And now settling your attention on your in-breath.
Take some time to get to know the feeling of nourishing yourself with the in-breath.
Notice how you receive the breath.
In the yogic traditions,
Breath is more than just air,
It is life force and the spirit of everything is in every breath.
This does not mean you have to change your breath.
It is enough to notice the nourishment available to you in every moment with every in-breath.
And now can you notice the space at the end of your in-breath?
It's a pause before we release into the out-breath.
It's the midpoint but it's more than that.
It's the rest between the flow,
The pause between the notes.
If we focus on only the flow we might miss the pause.
When one makes a tincture or remedy,
We let it sit in order for it to gain its potency.
The space between our breath reminds us of that potent still point beyond time and space.
Directing your attention now to the out-breath.
How does it feel to release and let go before you fill up again?
Follow the journey of your out-breath and let it teach you about letting go.
You might have already noticed that your attention can wander.
That happens for all of us.
Each moment of noticing is a moment of letting go.
We may encounter all kinds of thoughts,
Worries,
Planning,
Memories as we sit with our breath.
The practice is to meet them with kindness and to settle back into the feeling of the breath.
This reminds us that things are as they are and can be held in the stillness of the breath.
A wise master said breath is the kiss of God.
Can you feel that kiss within you?
So find your special place where you can be undisturbed for the next while.
Rest your body either in a sitting position or lying down.
This is time to notice what is happening around you and within you.
To open to your deepest wisdom.
The body carries that wisdom for you and when we take time like this to slow down,
We can truly listen to that wisdom.
Your spirit as a woman has all the knowledge and power you need to give birth to and nurture your baby.
So take time now to notice your breathing and to follow its rhythm.
As you pay attention to your breath,
See if you can lengthen the inhale and extend the exhale.
Receive and release the breath in this way,
Paying attention to how it is possible to slow down your breathing.
Put your hand about three fingers below your navel and feel how the belly expands on the in-breath and deflates on the out-breath.
This is how the body is built to breathe.
There is nothing we need to control here.
In your own time,
Feel your attention bathe each part of your body.
As you scan through your body from your toes to the top of your head,
Allow your experience to be as it is.
The mind has a tendency to hold on to good experiences and to push away or avoid the negative.
Encourage yourself to be present to your full experience.
Boredom,
Restlessness,
Pain,
Irritation,
Relaxation,
Peacefulness,
Joy.
This is the range and depth of life.
Open to it all.
We might encounter difficult or intense emotions as we slow down.
Use this time to embrace what you find,
Rather than wanting to change it or to busy yourself.
This is the journey to building inner strength.
Now,
Bringing your attention into the toes and the feet.
Noticing and feeling any sensations there.
Tingling,
Numbness,
Warmth,
Coolness.
What can you feel?
Feeling now into the ankles.
Releasing any tightness with your breath.
Bringing that awareness through the ankles and lower legs.
Not thinking about,
But rather feeling what you can feel there.
Feeling and softening into the calves,
Shins and knees.
Tension,
Softness,
Pressure.
Can you be present to what is there to be felt without judgment?
Sending the attention now into the upper legs.
With each out-breath,
Relaxing and releasing the thighs and the backs of the legs.
Bring kind attention and appreciation for how the legs carry you and your baby on a daily basis.
Feeling now the pelvic area that has been affected by the pain.
Feeling now the pelvic area that has either birthed babies or is preparing to.
In your own way honouring the history and the mystery of this region.
Moving now into feeling the abdomen.
This is often like a human satellite dish that transmits or receives feelings and messages.
Is your abdomen soft and relaxed or tight and constricted?
What have you been giving and receiving?
Can you nourish this region with your awareness and your breath?
And now noticing the ribs and the ribcage as they enclose and protect the region of your heart.
Feeling into your heart.
This is another region of the body where we store past feelings and future anticipations.
By slowing down we can take time to listen to and to learn the language of the heart.
The heart often knows a deep wisdom that we can ignore when we are running around during our days.
The heart knows how special you are.
Be still and listen.
Scanning now through the back from the base to the neck.
Feeling the support of your own spine and the surface area of your back.
Feeling the throat and the neck now.
This is another miraculous place of the body.
We use this place to express ourselves.
Gather inwards and feel the body.
Gather inwards and feel what needs and feelings are there to be communicated to those around you.
Take note of what comes up for you here.
The more we slow down the more we can know about ourselves.
Moving the attention now into the shoulders and arms.
Allow your arms to be supported by the couch or the ground beneath you or feel your arms resting on your body.
Acknowledging your arms for what they are able to do.
Their ability and their potential to carry,
Hold and cradle your baby.
Dwelling now in the region of the hands.
Feeling their warmth,
Tingling,
Touch.
And feeling the face,
Head and scalp.
This is where you might notice the stories of the mind.
Anticipations,
Expectations about what will happen,
How the birth will be,
What the baby will look like,
Whether I will be a good enough mother,
Fears,
Judgments and commentary.
Notice the stories and let them be.
Just like watching clouds pass in the sky.
Notice the tendency to get caught up in the stories of the mind and pulled away from your present experience.
Learning here to be present moment by moment.
Take time to feel your breathing as it is now.
Notice the in-breath and the out-breath.
Feel the couch or the floor beneath you as you are supported.
With each in-breath receive the miracle of life.
With each out-breath remind yourself to let go and to let God.
And now feeling the whole of your body.
Honouring yourself as whole,
Complete and miraculous.
Honouring the miracle of you,
Of your body.
And your growing baby.
Honouring yourself for having taken this time to slow down.
