Jul 24, 2010 0
What Level Are You
Through my years of teaching, I have met many expectant women. I have always wondered why one woman has a more relaxed attitude about birth, and others not. Why some women are more inclined to learn hypnobirthing for example, and others go for an epidural. All is okay as it depends on the woman – her needs and perceptions about birth. So, I came of with “levels of body/mind awareness”
Level 1: These are people in general who are not in touch with their bodies or personal behavior. They respond more to external influences, advice from others, and usually fixated on cell phones, iPads, texting, etc. They look to others, gadgets, medications, or things to solve/fix their challenges, or may even blame others for them. Their “world” is an external one and are unaware of how their body’s health – at any given time or moment, reflects their personal mindset and lifestyle. Expectant women may not be “connected” with their body and baby during pregnancy, fear labor, and want to use medications through the labor process ( which is fine). Because they depend on external things to have all the answers, when it comes to childbirth it can be more challenging because the birth process is an “internal” one that she has to experience physically and emotionally. Many of these women do not believe that relaxation techniques work, and expect labor to be painful.
Level 2: These people are more aware of of themselves – personal behaviors, how their actions may influence outcomes of any given situation. They may dabble in Yoga, hypnosis, or meditation,etc. But don’t take it seriously. They are more inclined to take responsibility for their challenges. They may be proactive in seeking the information they need to solve or enhance a situation. For expectant women, they tend to be more connected with their baby during pregnancy and are usually on the fence about using medications for labor. They may believe relaxation methods work, but are not convinced.
Level 3: These are people who are more in touch with their “internal” being. Meaning they know their thoughts and feelings have a direct impact on their body and lifestyle. They are usually very involved in some kind of personal development, meditation, etc. that brings them to a better understanding and awareness of themselves and how they impact the world around them. They tend to take responsibility for challenges and may ask the question “what can I learn from this?”. Expectant women tend to be more in touch with their sexuality, “connected” with their baby during pregnancy and are in touch with their innate intution, understand how their body works, and trust their abilities. Often these women may have home births, seek midwives, use relaxation methods – hypnosis, meditation, etc. because they believe these techniques will work for them. They usually want to have an unmedicated birth experience.
Almost everyone has a cell phone! LOL!
I think there are levels of body/mind awareness and one can always shift into another level but what they are exposed to, or if and how their beliefs and attitudes change.
What do you think?
Lesly 
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