Part 1: A journey into motherhood — turning inwards in the spiritual self …
I was given by a dear yogi teacher friend (thank you Cindy!) a book called Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin, when I was pregnant with my first. At that time I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to have the baby as naturally as possible and also have a sacred and spiritual experience too. The image above is a from the book Spiritual Midwifery. This became my inspiration and the start of my investigation into natural birth and conscious birth.
🤸🏻♀️When I conceived I was really into teaching yoga at studios in Sydney, and had naturally been drawn to yin yoga and was teaching a lot about surrender and leaning into the feminine aspects of the practice of slowing down. It seemed to have resonated with me quite a lot, perhaps this was my higher self which was preparing me for the changes ahead into naturally conceiving and falling pregnant and preparing for motherhood.
🧘🏻♀️ I also pre-booked a 10 day silent meditation retreat prior to knowing I was pregnant, and this became a serendipitous timing in the first trimester as It was beneficial to keep me grounded, and allow my uncertain mind find some solace. ✌🏻
I walked out of the experience, still with uncertainty of how life would unravel, but felt more balanced and even had profound experiences which are for another story. I learnt some key techniques with which would encourage me to find inner stillness. — However, as I am writing this, I realised I have gone off the bandwagon with meditation since becoming a mother, and realise again how I really need this practice back into my life – my mind has gone into feeling off balance at times 😅
So going back to the book… 😇
I remembered being totally absorbed by this book, with free, wild and raw hippy vibes of women giving birth in the 70s. There were stories that talked of positive birth experiences, anatomical diagrams with references to the pregnant body and many ways a baby might be birthed, and lots of pictures of vaginas!
What I found in this book, whilst most of it was radical for me at the time… it was very grounding to hear these past stories for a woman to birth naturally. And that many women before me going decades and centuries ago have given birth naturally - with no interventions and had midwives which were able to handle many adverse experiences with varying births.
It gave me comfort in knowing that anything can happen, and with good care and and strong belief system that a baby can be born healthily into this world naturally.✨👶🏻
The image above of the baby coming through the birth canal through a lotus flower is a beautiful analogy. The symbology of the lotus flower in buddhist traditions, is that it thrives in nutrient-rich, muddy conditions. As the lotus blooms, the exquisite blossoms grow and unfold one by one. Buddhists consider the lotus to be a sign of life. The mud, as opposed to the flower, stands for the suffering, challenges, and difficulties we face. The flower is said by Buddhists to stand for rebirth, reincarnation, self-purification, and spirituality. ☯️
So we inevitably go through the muddy waters during this process of pregnancy and even preconception for new life to unfold. 🙏🏻🌸