Until a few years ago, I didn’t think yoga was for me. A younger me might have scoffed at the prospect of having
hypnotherapy (let alone facilitating it!), EFT, EMI, NLP… NLwhat??? I didn’t relate to these things…
I assumed they probably were NOT for me.
Just like so many women believe that a Birth Clearing Workshop is NOT for them.
So why might a birth clearing workshop NOT be right for you? Well, there’s a number of reasons, of which I list 5 for starters.
- Yeah, my birth wasn’t exactly a picnic, but that’s normal isn’t it?
You’re right, there is absolutely no correlation between childbirth and picnics – and there is no reason why the birth of your baby should be remembered as a difficult event that you just ‘got through’.
I used to work in a lot of schools, and staff rooms were often filled with talk of ‘my birth was (enter long duration here), they had to (enter intervention here) or I wasn’t allowed to (enter basic human right here!). Stories of difficult births fly around like midges on a warm summers eve and why? Because often, no matter how long ago each birth story took place, a validation and catharsis is often still sought.
Yes, birth is not a picnic, it’s intensely hard work (hence the word ‘labour’), but it’s not supposed to leave a woman with a story to tell that sends other pregnant mamas off into the same belief cycle that many have already ridden – that birth is something to be feared and endured.
It’s okay to not want to change difficult memories – yet if you know inside that something needs to shift, get your place booked now…
- It was fine, it really was, I’m fine… no I am, it was okay, I’m okay!
The birth of your baby is an important time to remember, and even if it was a difficult experience, consciously telling yourself that your birth experience was a fully positive event might be significantly important.
And sometimes there’s some stuff that wasn’t quite so nice… stuff that your lovely unconscious mind (which is always doing the best for you in its own particular way) has swept under the figurative rug so you don’t have to look at it.
It’s sometimes hard to accept you’re not fine, that it wasn’t all okay. Lifting the figurative rug can undoubtedly be a daunting task. But I invite you to just check your own experience, and if there’s a rug there with some stuff underneath that you haven’t looked at yet, consider how this Birth Clearing Workshop might be of interest and use to you…
- The world must know that I am a fully capable mother fully capable of nurturing my young.
Yes, you are! You are awesome! Look at the little person you’re body grew from a egg! Notice how you instinctively respond to their cues and needs. Hardest job in the world? There’s a strong argument ‘for’ this statement.
You have nothing to prove to the world beyond what you are already doing.
And at the same time, accepting that you would like to change the way you feel about something (in this case, the birth of your little one) or that you are affected by something does not negate any of this. Crikey, we’re no longer in the 1980’s when admitting we needed a bit of help with our emotional wellbeing was viewed as ‘a bit odd’. This is 2018, and the pendulum is well and truly swinging towards understanding the strength and self awareness in knowing yourself and what it is you would like to change.
Forget what others think, what do you think… no… what do you need? And, once again, I invite you to consider how this Birth Clearing Workshop might be of use to you…
- A Healthy Baby is All that Matters
Oh please forgive the eye rolling and strong desire to swear here.
FFS!!!!
This, ladies and gentleman, is a story. It is a story designed to help mums to feel better about their lot, especially in cases when birth has been particularly difficult. And it’s a story which many new mum’s take on as their own story ‘well, that was one of the worst things I’ve ever been through, but look, at least I have a healthy baby’.
The sentiment behind it is well meaning yet naive. Of course a healthy baby is important, of course it matters, but at the same time this statement completely negates not only any physical healing mum is undergoing, but suppresses any emotional healing which could do with healing too. And here we are back again with mum telling both herself and the world ‘It was fine, it really was, I’m fine… no I am’.
Mums matter. And let’s face it, a baby can be as healthy as you like, but if mum is struggling with coming to terms with something, is emotionally worn down, confused of distracted with recent events – as a primary carer, a mums need for balance can have a direct impact on baby too.
And this is just another reason to consider the value which can be gained from a simple, relaxing and supportive 3 hours provided by this Birth Clearing Workshop.
- I have a young baby to look after, how selfish to go swanning off to so some workshop.
It is a normal response to invest everything (both energetically and financially) into your new baby. I know I did! Self care stopped and I became boobs and chief burper, nap pillow and nappy person, soother and sleep deprived. That’s the compromise right? This is the way it is.
Of course there are compromises, of course life has changed, of course you are needed by this little person so much. So isn’t this a time to invest in small ways in yourself? An emotionally and physically depleted parent is far less than ideal. So practising self care, to remain balanced, grounded, emotionally resilient and feeling valuable (which you are) is an obvious choice.
So if you experienced a less than perfect birth, consider this Birth Clearing Workshop as a self-care gift to yourself which, ultimately, will benefit your family too.
So there you have it, 5 reasons you probably should NOT do the Birth Clearing Workshop next Saturday (17th February) at Blooming Bamboo in Seaham.
I’m a hypnotherapist now using EFT, EMI & NLP in my both life & work, and I regularly practise yoga.
What changed?
The answer is simple… I opened up to the possibility that there might be something here of benefit to me… and my instinct was right.