Tag: mindfulness

To those who say pregnancy is beautiful: when was the last time you were pregnant, because what?!

I’m only half-kidding, because of course pregnancy is a truly wonderful and amazing experience! However, it’s high-time we acknowlege that pregnancy is also a very physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding and exhausting experience. Incorporating a daily mindfulness practice can help manage the demands and stresses of pregnancy both mentally and physically, as well as help prepare the body and mind for labor.

Understanding Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and aware of the current moment, including one’s thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, without judgment. It helps cultivate a non-reactive awareness, reduces stress, and enhances emotional well-being. Techniques like meditation and mindful breathing are commonly used to develop mindfulness.

Meditation is a practice that involves focusing the mind to achieve a state of mental clarity, emotional calmness, and heightened awareness. It typically involves techniques such as controlled breathing, visualization, or repeating a specific mantra. The goal is to quiet the mind, reduce stress, and enhance concentration.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation throughout your pregnancy can reduce stress by calming the body’s nervous system and reduce physical tension held in the body. It can also help improve your sleep quality and overall mental state. There are also many pregnancy-specific forms of mindfulness to help you build a connection with your baby and prepare yourself for labor and delivery!

If this all sounds a little too new-agey, or just downright too daunting, don’t worry! Mindfulness is called a practice because nobody has perfected it yet; and practicing mindfulness can actually be as simple as counting your breaths.

Practical Mindfulness Techniques for Expecting Moms

– Mindful Breathing

Just as it sounds, mindful breathing combines your mindfulness routine with simple breath-work. There are many different ways to practice mindful breathing; such as controlling your breathing to fit a certain breathing pattern, or visualizing your breath traveling through your body with each inhale and exhale.

Mindful breathing is an excellent opportunity to prepare the body and mind for labor – check out our recommended breathing techniques in our post The Benefits of Prenatal Yoga for Moms-to-Be or learn more at the American Pregnancy Association.

– Body Scan

The body scan technique allows you to visualize each physical part of your body, bringing awareness to any areas holding tension or discomfort, and using your breath to promote relaxation in each individual are systematically.

Steps for practicing the body scan at home:

• Find a comfortable space and assume a comfortable position (laying down or sitting comfortably) with your eyes closed
• Pay attention to your normal breathing pattern and allow it to slow and relax
• Shift your attention to your toes and notice any sensations that arise – tingling, warmth, tension, or relaxation
  • don’t worry about controlling the feelings, just acknowledge them and continue taking relaxed breaths

• Slowly “scan” upward, through your feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, hips, abdomen, chest, back, shoulders, arms, neck, and head
  • take your time and notice any areas of tension, breathing deeply in those areas and allowing the muscles to relax
• Once you’ve completed the scan, come back to your breathing and notice any differences in how you feel, both emotionally and physically
• When you’re ready to conclude your mindfulness session, gently open your eyes and take your time stretching as you go back to your day

– Mindful Walking

Mindful walking takes the principles of mindful breathing and combines it with movement. Simply take a walk – preferably outside to experience nature, but on a treadmill will also work! Focus on your breathing and how it changes as you walk; explore syncing your breathing and movement patterns and pacing.

Rather than closing your eyes during mindful walking, be very aware of what is around you, taking note of it and how it impacts your senses, and appreciating it. This could look like bringing awareness to the grass or plants around you and appreciating their fragrance, or focusing on the sound of the birds or other creatures around.

Please be aware of your surroundings while walking. Take care to avoid any trip or fall hazards, and practice safety around busy areas with exposure to vehicles. Stay alert and visible, and remember to keep to designated pathways. Always obey local traffic laws and signals.

– Guided Meditations

If you are concerned about staying present in the moment with meditation, try a guided meditation to help keep you focused! Guided meditations are recorded meditations led by instructors who will slowly take you through a meditation, usually with a specific theme or mantra to focus on. Many meditation apps or programs have courses for pregnancy designed to promote bonding with your baby! Some of our favorites:

• Canopie App
• Headspace App – Pregnancy
• Insight Timer – Free Pregnancy Meditation
• Calm App – Nurturing Pregnancy

– Affirmations and Positive Visualization

Affirmations are positive statements that can be repeated to yourself to help challenge negative thought patterns and cycles. They are most effective when written in present-tense and first-person point of view (i.e., my body is a strong and safe home for my growing baby). You can create affirmations that are personal to you and your goals, whether specific to your pregnancy or not. Affirmations should be repeated often and can even be physically written out and displayed to help influence your subconscious mind to align with the values of the affirmations you have chosen.

Positive visualization builds on affirmations by taking the desired outcome or experience (i.e., I will have a positive labor and delivery, free of complications and with my baby in perfect health) and picturing it in vivid detail. Try to engage as many of your senses as you can in visualization and imagine experiencing every detail. For example, using the affirmation above; start by imagining arriving at the hospital or birthing center, picturing every detail from the colors of the walls, to the sounds of the center (doors opening, staff greeting you), to the physical sensations you feel (the cool door handle, the soft bed you sit on). Think about how you will feel once you have achieved the desired outcome (overjoyed, proud, relieved, enamored with your new baby) and allow yourself to feel those emotions during your visualization as well!

Affirmations and the positive visualization of them are unique and personal to each person; but if you are looking for somewhere to start, here are some of our favorite affirmations for expecting mamas:

• my body is a strong and safe home for my growing baby
• I will have a positive labor and delivery, free of complications and with my baby in perfect health
• my body knows what it needs and I honor myself by listening to it
• My body is strong and capable of nurturing this baby
• My baby is healthy and safe in my womb
• I trust my instincts and my body to guide me through pregnancy, labor, and delivery
• I am surrounded by love and support
• I am calm and confident in the face of any challenges
• I embrace the changes in my body and the growth of my baby
• I am nourishing my body and my baby with healthy foods and rest

Creating a Mindful Routine

These mindfulness techniques are designed to be easy to incorporate into your every day life and routine. You can practice mindful breathing or body scans first thing in the morning before getting out of bed, or at night to help your body relax into sleep. Affirmations and positive visualizations can be repeated and explored while you go about mundane tasks like brushing your teeth or making your morning coffee.

Mindful walking is an especially great way to practice both mental and physical self care during pregnancy. If you have a busy schedule, consider spending 10-15 minutes walking during your lunch or break times at work, whether this is inside your building or outside in the surrounding areas, or even parking lot. Taking this break from your day will help you to manage stressors as well as providing both the physical and mental benefits of mindful walking!

Overcoming Challenges in Practice

If meditation or mindfulness seems out of reach, you’re not alone. Many people find it difficult to focus when first starting a mindfulness practice. Remember to give yourself grace and not expect perfection. The art of mindfulness is about slowing down and allowing yourself space to feel your emotions without judgment – that means without judgment for feeling imperfect in your practice, too!

When it feels impossible to fit mindfulness into a chaotic schedule, filled with distractions of work, your other kids or pets, and the various demands of life, be flexible with yourself and your routine. Speak your affirmations aloud to your kids or pets, and encourage your kids to repeat your affirmations along with you. Ask your partner to participate in a guided meditation or body scan with you at the end of the day before going to sleep.

However you choose to incorporate a little mindfulness into your day. remember that it is intended to be an activity of self-love and relaxation, so be gentle and kind with yourself! There are many relaxation and stress-reduction benefits to practicing mindfulness, and there is ultimately no singular “right way” of practicing; so take your time exploring different techniques to find what feels most sustainable and works best for you.

Have you practiced mindfulness before? Share your tips and experiences in the comments below? Haven’t tried it out yourself yet? That’s okay! Tell us what aspect of mindfulness practices you are most interested in or hesitant about!