Birth and motherhood – the ultimate example of mind body connection

The mind body connection refers to the connection between our thoughts, emotions and physical state and acknowledges that the mind and body are not two separate entities. Physical and emotional health are tied up together in complex biochemical reaction of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, hormones and neurotransmitters. 

Birth and motherhood is an event in life where the power in mind body connection really shows up. 

To conceive, grow and birth a baby is a biological function that most women have been born with, but alongside this comes all kinds of thoughts, visions, beliefs and attitudes around birthing and mothering children. These may be positive or negative in nature and dramatically affect the way a woman emotionally perceives childbirth and motherhood and this in turn can affect the way she biologically functions in these roles! 

Here lies in the power of mind body connection. Let’s take a  quick squiz.

When a woman is scared, afraid, upset, angry, frustrated she releases stress hormones that enter the bloodstream and she operates in fight and flight mode, she is tense, worried and anxious and her body and internal organs respond in ways that express a higher heart rate, rapid and shallow breath, increase in sweating, poor digestion, shaking, locked joints, frozen muscles etc.

This can have pretty pervasive impacts on a women’s experience in birth and motherhood. A really stressed women is less likely to progress in labour and more likely to struggle in motherhood. Stress hormones are raging through her body and impede the production of hormones that naturally assist ease and calm in childbirth and mothering such as oxytocin.

This may lead to all sorts of challenges in birth such as ‘failure to progress’, a ‘cascade of intervention’ and in motherhood difficulty in breastfeeding and parenting in general may also arise. 

Birth and motherhood are much more than a physical event, they are highly emotional experiences affecting a mother and baby. And this is why I am so passionate about tapping into our innate mind body intelligence to cultivate physical and emotional wellbeing. It takes commitment and practice, but reconnecting your mind and body can bring you such peace and joy in daily life.

Here are my top tips for daily habits that develop your mind and body connection

1.     Develop a morning and evening ritual 

Incorporate a ritual in the morning and evening that is repeated every day at similar times. You might choose to take 5 deep conscious breathes in the morning followed by a hot shower and teeth and tongue scrubbing to start your day feeling energised. In the evening a warm lavender infused bath followed by a warm ‘sleepy’ tea might set you in train for a perfectly deep sleep. Whatever works for you- do it, but my tip is to keep it simple and achievable.

2.     Find time to do more yoga.

Yoga is a mind body practice that is designed to release tension in body and mind. A yoga class incorporates a sequence of postures and breathing exercises that calm the nervous system helping you to tune in inwardly to your body and how you are feeling. 

3.     Start practicing a meditation each day.

Many people say they cannot meditate because they are unable to sit still and stop the mind from thinking. Well guess what? This is exactly why you meditate. All you need to do is notice your thoughts and then anchor yourself back to a constant like your breath or perhaps a positive affirmation like ‘I am good enough’. You don’t have to meditate for hours to get the benefits of the practice, 3 minutes is enough to start with and gradually you might find yourself increasing this to 5, 10 or 20 minutes!

4.     Go outdoors.

Make sure you head outside every day to breath in fresh air and take in the goodness offered by nature. Lay in the grass and look at the sky or trees above, or enjoy a gentle walk with baby and friends.

5.     Tune in and listen to your body.

Develop a practice every day where you consciously just tune into how you are feeling. Notice how you feel when you eat and drink or even after conversations or certain events that occur throughout the day. Don’t ever judge yourself, just be compassionate and share your thoughts and feelings with someone close to you who is willing to be a listening ear. Learn from what your body is ‘saying’, and make choices next time that serve you better.

6.     Visualise your truth.

Use the power of visualisation to ‘see’ your ideal birth or mothering journey. Create a vision board that brings together images, objects, artefacts that resonate with you– make sure you focus on how it makes you feel. Pin this up somewhere in your home where you see it every day.  Every time you look at it, smile and say ‘I can do this’.

Best Wishes,

Zoe | www.bellamama.com.au

Hypnobirthing Practitioner Childbirth Educator ( HPCE)
Hypnobirthing Australia™ - Postpartum Doula - Yoga Teacher (RYT 200)

Wishing for a positive and calm birth and a peaceful transition to motherhood?