Relaxation exercise

Greetings. I thought that today I would give you a relaxation & imagery exercise that you can use during labour. Practice makes perfect! You have to get into the right frame of mind to successfully let go and deeply relax.

1. Get into a comfy position, sitting, legs up.
2. shut your eyes and try and make your whole body go floppy.
3. Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and let you jaw flop.
4. Breathe in through your nose imagining that there is a red balloon when your tummy is. As you are breathing in, fill up the balloon.
5. Slowly breathe out letting the balloon in your imagination deflate as you do. GOOD.
6. Take 2 more breaths like this.

( When you are in labour you can start this when you feel that a new contraction is starting.)

7. Now that you are relaxed I want you to imagine that you are walking across a beach. The sun is out and it feels warm on your back. The tide is low so that as you walk along the sand it leaves footprints.
As the cool water hits your feet you feel even more relaxed. Your whole body responds by relaxing each time you take a step across the sand.
8. The Air is also cool and refreshing. As you breathe in you can smell the ocean. You are relaxed, your labour is progressing and you feel on top of the world.
9. Focus your mind on a time when everything was going right for you in your life and you felt empowered. Re live that positive feeling now. EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL.
10. Continue to imagine that you are walking along the beach feeling empowered, in control of your labour. Look around you at the scenery, picture it in detail as your contraction builds.  Nowlet your body go floppy as you enjoy the beautiful scene around you.

( During the height of each contraction you should let your imagination take you somewhere else while your body relaxes and your breathing slows allowing your birthing body to take over)

11. Let go and let all tension and pressure of this contraction dull into the background of your mind.
12. As the contraction fades you feel relaxed and calm. You can get ready to finish your walk along the beach. Opening your eyes and coming back into the room when you are ready.

Once labour progresses your husband/partner can talk to you and give you imagery that is personal, intimate and funny to help keep you in a deeply relaxed state of mind and body.
There are lots of techniques for relaxation during labour out there, but one of the most successful is Marie Mongan's HypnoBirthing course.