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The Best Way to Calm Your Nervous System for Mother and Baby in Less than 5 Minutes

by Demelza Danquist

04/02/2020

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Demelza discusses the basics of how meditation can help Mom and Baby.

 

The Best Way to Calm Your Nervous System For Mother and Baby in Less than 5 Min

 

When you think about being calm your mind might go straight to labor, but what about the 40 plus or mins weeks the fetus is growing inside of you? Research now tells us the fetus experiences the same emotions and responses the mother does and when life happens, for instance our current world crisis, how can you mitigate the impact these life events have on you and your growing fetus?

 

Meditation

 

For me the easiest and best way to instantly calm and reset my nervous system is meditation. Meditation is not a new calming and centering technique but it has gotten more mainstream traction in the last few years, and for good reason, it works. 

 

As a childbirth educator and hypnobirthing instructor meditation is an essential cornerstone to my teachings and practices. In each hypnobirthing class I lead each couple through guided meditation teachings, self-hypnosis and training their bodies to relax fully and giving them the tools to use this technique on their own at home. 

 

Meditation can feel daunting and scary with visions of “clearing your mind”, having “no thought”, or a yogi sitting on a cushion for hours reaching “enlightenment”, flashing through your mind. Meditation does not have to be any of these things and can be far simpler to gain the many rewards and benefits it offers. 

 

What Happens During Meditation?

 

During this uncertain time in the world's history and especially for mothers facing the thought of needing to go to hospitals during a time of viral crisis, I invite you to take a deep breath, relax your body and mind, and take a moment to reset yourself. 

 

Meditation is a way to decompress, allow thought to subside for a moment, and when it returns, things always seem to feel a bit better, clearer and calmer. You feel better because within your body the brain activity and processes physically slow down. The prefrontal cortex where body sensation and fear is processed, these neural connections become weaker, meaning the reaction to fear becomes diminished. At the same time the Assessment Center, where reasoning takes place, increases in activity, meaning when something happens there is less reaction and more reasoning and response. 

 

All of this results in less anxiety over time the more you practice meditation. The image below shows the decreased brain activity leaving you calm and centered to process information from a rational nonreactive place. 




 How To Do It

 

If you have never meditated before not to worry, it’s easier than you think. Guided meditations are the best way to start with you sitting in a still place following along, this gives your mind something to “do” while your body and consciousness are able to relax and disconnect. 

 

I have guided meditations on my hypnotherapy website DemelzaDanquist.com. Here you can access and listen to the meditations as many times as you need to, I recommend meditating daily or when you feel yourself in fear or spiraling into the world narrative. 

 

If you are looking for a more personalized script I offer personalized hypnosis sessions for individuals or virtual groups. You can schedule those here.

 

Below is a short introduction to try quieting your mind right now. I invite you to do this breathing as a way to prepare yourself to sit quietly and allow your mind to relax.  

 

Meditation Preparation Breath

 

  1. Sit in a comfortable quiet place with your phone turned off. Be sure to not be distracted.  Turn on a timer for 3-5 min. 
  2. Give your body permission to relax.
  3. Close your eyes.
  4. Inhale slowly to a controlled and slow count of four expanding your belly and relaxing shoulders, neck, and the rest of your body.
  5. Exhale slowly with a controlled slow count of eight (it’s okay if you can’t achieve this right away, the more you do it the easier it gets). 
  6. While breathing, focus your attention on the feeling of air coming in through your nose, expanding your belly, and filling the body.  
  7. On the exhale, imagine any and all tension releasing and moving out of your body with the breath. See it leaving you, feel it leaving you, and hear it leaving you as the breath releases. 
  8. Repeat this process for at least 3 min or as long as you wish. 
  9. Stay in this mind space as you find your natural breathing rhythm and allow yourself to relax even further your mind, body, and sit in stillness. 

 

I invite you to try the power of meditation personally and see the effects it can have on your body and your baby in the coming weeks and months to follow. 

 

If you have any questions please visit my website www.BirthIntentional.com for hypnobirthing classes or contact me directly with questions. I am open to answer any questions you might have just fill in the contact form and send me a message to schedule. 

 

Demelza Danquist. 

Certified HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Educator, Hypnotherapist, Doula