My healing journey – Part 1 – Techniques, rituals and therapies used before getting pregnant and during pregnancy
As promised in my first article, Inspired by Maia, I am sharing with you what helped me in my healing journey because of my practices before and after the unfortunate and painful event of stillbirth in the 9th month of pregnancy, with the intent that some of these will help others in my situation.
Therefore, there are two parts of this journey, what happened before the event and what happened after, or to better express it, what kind of lifestyle I was having, what practices I was attending to and what tools and healing techniques I was accessing in order to have a balanced and a healthy life before the event and what helped me after.
Part 1: Techniques, rituals and therapies used before getting pregnant and during pregnancy
- Self-healing: Reiki and Sound healing, chanting mantras, being in constant connection with Mother Nature
I have used Reiki energy healing and sound healing during the entire pregnancy period. In the morning, I was combining both, sending energy to my womb and chanting to my baby, some of the times including sacred instruments too. I feel the part of chanting mantras from the self-healing category assisted me in having a schedule, in easing my mind and calming down before sleep. One mantra I sang more regularly before sleep was the ‘SA TA NA MA’ mantra I learned from a beautiful Kundalini teacher years ago (Maaike Aker). This mantra means – birth (SA), life (TA), death (na) MA (rebirth) – and it uses also 4 mudras, moving the fingers in different positions (thumb on each of the other fingers, pressing on the different meridians) that provide additional benefits (read article in reference).
I have tried as much as possible to keep the connection with Mother Earth, to be directly connected with Mother Earth (barefoot on the land, touching and feeling and smelling and listening to everything she provides to us as nourishment and extra-energy). Mother Earth never disappointed me, she is so handy to all, open and giving, if only more people would access her beautiful gifts…
- Yoga: Prenatal and deep restorative for women’s health
Being a yoga practitioner before being blessed with the two pregnancies (adoring Hatha and Kundalini), I have enjoyed quite a lot introducing in my weekly practices the prenatal yoga, both online and offline. I have cherished the possibility of attending some of these classes face to face during this heavy global pandemic; being surrounded by so many other pregnant ladies, at different stages of the pregnancy it felt like receiving superhero powers and fills your heart and soul with so much love, care and appreciation. The appreciation goes to the other women, but to the yoga instructors for the warm, soft and loving ways they teach these classes (Ombretta Dettori and Kasia Pokrop). Moreover, deer Ombretta offered me a very intimate and peaceful prenatal massage, that supported my body and opened me up for the birthing process.
The Deep Restorative yoga sessions for women’s health are simply amazing, magical, extraordinary at any time during a woman’s life. They are so nicely built to provide deep rest and to gently restore all the systems in your body. Moreover, being designed around women’s health, they are empowering and nurturing and lastly, incredibly appropriate for when you are growing another human being in your womb. (Thank you to the teachers Barbara Baki and Victoria (Tory) Raven Hyndman).
One other type of yoga I’ve participated to, is a more private and intimate type of yoga, but very cleansing, making a strong connection with your interior, your inner strength as a woman, removing womb-related traumas through yoni steaming and yoni yoga. I will talk more about this at a later stage, but I am certain that my womb was quite purified after this beautiful ceremonial yoga, let by the gorgeous Keri Mukti, before getting pregnant the 2nd time.
I had the fortune to attend to a lovely Yoga retreat in a soothing and close-to nature location in Romania, organized by two amazing yoga teacher Georgiana Buta and Veronica Miona. They welcomed me with love and treated me with care, I felt held and protected, whilst having the yoga positions adjusted for safety during pregnancy. I came back recharged and in harmony, mind-body-soul.
- Silent and active meditation and breathwork
Both silent and active meditation are useful practices, for me, that help to free your mind, to go inward and slow down, get grounded. During pregnancy, I feel they helped the most with that restlessness, the different anxious emotions and the unstill and nightmare heavy sleep.
Silent meditation is my favorite and I loved attending online classed in which we stayed in silence together, from times to times having different topics to start the sessions with. That was the time for gathering my thoughts, being with me, but also being held by the energy of others. On the opposite, the Active Osho mediation boosts your energy levels, makes your entire body move as it wishes, making you fly away in your own thoughts, but in the same time, surrounded by people having their own experiences (Barbara Baki was my teacher here). Both types of mediation helped me be still and say still when needed, and be active and explode with joy when needed, making the connection with my baby more tangible.
I used to attend a lot of types of breathwork sessions before the pregnancy, from which some are circular breathing and Wim Hof, which are not recommended during the pregnancy. Nevertheless, Pranayama for example, an Indian breathing technique has a lot of general benefits, that apply during pregnancy also. It aided me very much to oxygenate my brain, unclog my nostrils, balance the two brain hemispheres and to get deeper into meditation. In addition, as I prepared the 37 weeks to give birth using the hypnobirthing technique, Pranayama breathing technique helped me get accustomed to hypnobirthing. Breathing deeper than normal, was for me, a way to play with my baby, because she was very aware of those moments I was breathing differently, that she was playing back with me. If you, do it correctly, the belly fills with air, offering your baby some funny movements.
- Specialized nutrition:
Together with my husband, we followed a personalized diet recommended by a kind and skillful fertility nutritionist, based The Netherlands, Audrey Dickinson. She assessed everything that was happening in our lives, our lifestyle, where were our roots and understood our likes and dislikes. Moreover, she did some tests to understand what nutrients or vitamins we lack or have surplus of and, finally if we had any specific health issues (eg me being allergic to fruits and vegetables). With this diet, of food and vitamins, we balanced the systems in our bodies, lost weight, got better sleep and got pregnant. She supported us also during pregnancy, I would do this all over again, so grateful.
- Acupuncture and homeopathy
I personally find acupuncture to be a very useful therapy, it worked before to clean my womb to receiving a new baby and I went to acupuncture sessions a few times during the pregnancy to nurture my womb, prepare my body for birth, but also for stress relief and lower anxiety levels and fewer mood swings caused by the pregnancy. To admit, I was looking forward for the acupuncture sessions as the therapist is a very open-minded and kind soul (Maria Cocris from Maruka).
I have used homeopath treatments ever since I was a baby, for my asthma, my allergies, or my phobias, but during the pregnancy I mostly using to get rid of those terrible nightmares, specific to parts of the first and second trimester, and I was going to use it during my natural birth, where I didn’t want to take any drug or inject any anesthesia. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to use the treatment I was recommended by my lovely homeopath, maybe not this time.
To be continued with Part 2 – Techniques, rituals and therapies used to heal after the stillbirth event
Acknowledgements and thanks to:
Maaike Aker, Barbara Baki, Ombretta Dettori also in collaboration with Delight Yoga Amsterdam, Kasia Pokrop (also in collaboration with Mamamoon), Maria Cocris, Georgiana Buta, Veronica Miona, Audrey Dickinson and Victoria Tory Raven Hyndman.
Want to read more about SA TA NA MA meditation, I found this article both interesting and intriguing Can meditation be a future cure for alzheimer’s disease?
