Affirmations.
Specifically BIRTH affirmations are amazing.
An Affirmation is a positive statement that you want to believe. Something that motivates or inspires you, a statement you connect with. ESPECIALLY a positive statement that will help you overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts that you want to change.
It might feel over-simplified but: We believe what we think about.
It's true. It's how our brains work. Everyone has a conscious and a subconscious mind and that subconscious is pretty powerful.
It's in the subconscious mind that make it so we do things on "autopilot." You know, the regular stuff like breathe, beat our hearts, blink our eyes, but we also do things from that subconscious that we have repeated over and over and it becomes like second nature. That's why when you pick up your phone to check the time you still open it and find yourself automatically tapping the instagram icon first and you have to consciously stop and remind yourself that you just needed the time. otherwise after a few minutes scrolling you'll say "What was I gettin on here for?"
The subconscious is a major key player in our lives and again, whatever we DO or SAY frequently becomes a HABIT or BELIEF.
Another function of the subconscious mind is that with every thought or emotion you have it creates a literal physical or chemical response in your body!! When we are scared, or nervous, or if you think about that vacation you are planning; the subconscious secretes hormones that will amplify your thoughts and emotions and physical things like your heart beating faster, arteries constricting, sweating, etc. will happen in response to your thoughts and emotions.
This is fantastic news because we can train our subconscious! All we need to do is change our thoughts!
That's where Affirmations come into play.
Start with the words “I AM.” Or “I” The “i am” is considered the two most powerful words in the English language. Because the “I AM” is the way you connect your words to your subconscious and it connects to your identity.
Make it POSITIVE: Always write in the positive. You want to reaffirm over and over what you DO want. Because guess what? Negative affirmations work too. So keep it in the positive. “The exact right people are at the birth of my baby, to help, Love, and support me.” OR “My children are good, happy, and easy.”
PRESENT TENSE: This ensures that your subconscious mind goes to work on them right away. Change only happens in the present. Plus you get to feel how you would feel if it were your reality. “I am relaxed, calm, and confident during my baby’s birth.” OR “I love my beautiful new home.” It feels awesome to be in that space.
PERSONAL: You could go to Pinterest right now and have a million affirmations at your fingertips. But YOU know what it is that you are struggling with or the things you want most. So keep it personal to you. Write your affirmations for you! “My baby is the perfect size for my body.” OR “I’m grateful for my my reliable car that runs perfectly.”
BE SPECIFIC: The more specific the better. What is it you want exactly? You could say: “I am so pleased with my labor and birth.” or you could be more specific and say: “I am so proud of myself, I rocked a quick 5 hour labor that brought my beautiful baby into my arms.”
Once you have written your affirmations what do you do with them? To make them a belief you have to repeat, repeat, repeat.
The act of repeating the affirmations motivates, inspires, and programs the mind to act according to the repeated words. This process triggers the subconscious mind to work on one's behalf to make the positive statements come true. It's so cool!
Do what is going to be the easiest for you so you will make it a habit.
So go to it! Get writing your affirmations! And then get reading your affirmations! You have literally nothing but negative thoughts to lose!
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Education is KEY to setting yourself up for your best possible birth. Knowing your options and how to advocate for yourself makes a huge difference.
With the main reason people develop hemorrhoids is from pressure in the bottom, it seems unlikely many women will experience pregnancy and birth unscathed.