By Allison Koch, CNM

“Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”, when teaching childbirth classes, I observed that during the “practicing relaxation” portion of class if we could get the pregnant person super relaxed, in an altered state, they were pretty suggestible. I started to slip in affirmations to increase their confidence about their birth, during their meditations.

The affirmations included power statements: “My body is strong and capable of giving birth to my baby effortlessly,” and visualizations: “I see myself relaxed and supported by my partner, able to position myself for a comfortable birth.” The students seemed to like the visualizations and found them to be a helpful rehearsal for how they wanted to be in their birth.

I eventually found some beautiful, high-quality recorded guided imagery and visualization recordings, and clients could acquire these to practice with at home, effectively training their brain to guide their body for their birth. Today, many childbirth education classes teach focus, relaxation and visualization techniques still.

When you practice the relaxation and visualization exercises over & over & over for a comfortable birth experience, you are programming yourself to be in relaxed awareness for birth. You are rehearsing for the event so it won’t be a new or  frightening experience. That’s how you accomplish childbirth without pain medication and that’s how you can accomplish the healing response in your body as well.

Guided imagery and visualization combine imagination with intention. When you also add an elevated emotion such as love, gratitude, or joy you begin to alert your body that a change is taking place, something good is happening. Your genes will start to make new proteins in response and to prepare your body for the event. Hormones will be released, starting a cascade that bathes the body in positivity.  (And if you’ve heard me talk about Hormone Madness, you know about the brain/heart connection and hormones).

Incredible potential exists in learning to do this for ourselves, our children, and our planet.  And data has also shown, working in groups multiplies the potential.

As you approach the New Year, join me in utilizing the power of the human mind and intention to redirect learned thoughts and behaviors away from sickness and negativity to a new pathway of wellness and rebirth. Enable your body to generate a healing response, sometimes very quickly. It involves changing your mindset, which in itself will change some of your behaviors because you will want to do things differently than you’ve previously done. It may mean the new mindset helps you to ultimately overcome a habit you’ve been trying to change or you may find yourself wanting to do what nourishes you instead of what depletes you. Meditation is like that! And a lovely side effect is the release of endorphins (oh those crazy hormones again!), which have great benefits for mental and physical health.

Join me on January 18 for Wisdom & Wellness Saturday at 2 pm in the Living Room on the 3rd floor of Women’s Birth & Wellness Center for an opportunity to meet the Healer Within you.  Learn some great beginning meditation scripts & techniques. What are you longing to transform in your life? New Year, new you?

Registration for Wisdom & Wellness Saturday is a $50. Refreshments and materials are included.

Please register www.quantumcrone.com.

Known as the Quantum Crone, you might know Allison Koch, Certified Nurse Midwife and Professional Arvigo therapist, from the Women’s Birth & Wellness Center. She has provided holistic care for women there since 2008, attending many births, and is now coaching women through the other seasons of wellness. She has spent her entire 40-year career in a holistic model as a midwife and intuitive wisewoman healer. Allison provides holistic women’s care with an alchemy of midwife intuitive crone wisdom. She provides individualized support, uniting and aligning Science and Spirit to create a healing response. Individual consultations on a variety of health-related and women’s issues, workshops and weekend retreats that suspend time, in sacred space, with other seekers, to commune, learn and connect with your own healing power.