Audio Practices
Letting Go Breathing
This is a simple breathing and relaxation meditation that teaches you how to focus on the exhalation as a way to get into the parasympathetic. Take a mini vacation and relax deeply.
Allow & Relax
This is a short and sweet meditation for being with however you are feeling right now. It is perfect when you are feeling a bit of stress, tension, or any uncomfortable emotion. It helps bring you down out of your head and stories and into your body, while validating your experience.
Shoulder Exhale
Sometimes, we don't realize that we are tensing our shoulders and neck when we are stressed. This short audio is not really a meditation, but more of a technique to get in touch with whether there is tension that can be consciously released by breathing, paying attention, and letting go. This can be done any time, anywhere, and is physically soothing.
Basic Exercise
This is from the book ‘Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve: Self-Help Exercises for Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Autism’ by Stanley Rosenberg. It is a self help technique using the movement of your eyes to relax and reset nerves in the polyvagal system. All you need to know is that it is a practice that is soothing and regulating to a tightly wired, stressed nervous system (which is all of ours in modern society). It is easy to do, only takes about a minute, and can be done in a variety of positions or settings once you are well practiced. I have found it calming and a useful tool to use as a prevention method on a daily basis. It is ideal before bed, after exercise or stretching, after a stressful experience, or before a nap or meditation.
Bodyscan, Relax, and Sleep Breath
This is a short bodyscan and relaxation meditation that is a practice for complete tension release you will want to be able to access and remember during your birth. You will be guided to completely release control of the breath, coming to a longer exhalation "sleep style" breathing, that you will use in between labor contractions.
Breathing Up & Down (for contractions)
This recording is a short training in how to breathe slowly and audibly to center and ground yourself during contractions. This breathing is best practiced throughout pregnancy. Breathing up/down or Slow breathing can be used in early labor throughout the laboring process, right up until the birth.
Curiosity Breathing
This breathing exploration is a very useful relaxation practice, as well as a shift to being the observer. Bring this sense of genuine curiosity into your writing exercises, exploring without censoring or judging yourself. Curiosity is a tone of welcoming and discovery that is invaluable in mindfulness, motherhood, and beyond. You can do this practice daily, or whenever you feel like it as a short reset meditation.