Early pregnancy can be an overwhelming time.
Maybe your pregnancy came as a complete surprise. Maybe you thought it would take time to conceive, but fell pregnant the second you stopped using contraception. Maybe it was a massive effort, and you’re feeling exhausted before you even start. Whatever journey you took to get here, discovering that you’re pregnant probably resulted in a set of overwhelming emotional waves fed by numerous mental movies featuring your biggest hopes and fears.
The first trimester is a delicate time, which might mean you feel the need to keep the news secret, potentially making the challenges harder to bear. And then there are the physical effects of early pregnancy: huge hormonal changes that can lead to exhaustion, nausea, mood swings, and all sorts of new, sometimes distressing symptoms.
It’s therefore not surprising if you’re feeling overwhelmed at this vulnerable time. I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone! This is where thinking positively can really help! An effective way to shift emotional gears is with the practice of visualisation.
Here is a wonderful visualisation to ease your overwhelm, create connection and find more support in this tender phase of pregnancy.
First Trimester Visualisation
Visualisation is powerful for relieving worry and anxiety. When you find yourself playing mental stories of how you don’t want things to pan out, turning things around by having a ‘go to’ positive visualisation can be a game changer. Regular conscious visualisation like this works to promote relaxation in the body and train the brain to reach for helpful mental movies, instead of negative ones.
Try this short visualisation when you want to create more connection between you and your baby, or for the days when fear or worry arise and you need a gentle reminder that your baby is safe and your love is powerful.
Come into a comfortable supported position either sitting or lying down.
Close your eyes, let your awareness drop down into the sensation of your lungs rising and falling with your breath.
Place your left hand on your heart, your right hand over your womb, and feel these two places in your body relax.
When you’re ready, begin to draw your breath into your heart.
Take a moment to scan your heart for any tight spots, or any places that may be curled tight with protection or doubt. Invite these pieces to soften, even if it’s only for the next 5 breaths.
Let your breath fill your belly completely as you inhale deeply. As you exhale, let the breath out slowly, allowing your out breath to become longer each breath.
Feel the air entering your body like a refreshing breeze, clearing out any tension or doubt from your heart that may have accumulated here.
As the tension softens, feel the warmth in your heart build, and from this place take a moment to acknowledge the journey. All the many, many pieces that have brought you to this moment, to this time of new life and creation in your body.
Continue to breathe into your heart, feeling the warmth here expand.
Begin to see the love in your heart come alive. See the warmth you’ve been building become animated – dancing like golden rain through your heart.
When you’re ready, invite this warmth, light and love to shower down from your heart towards your womb.
See this light raining down on your uterus, surrounding the new seed of life that is nestled safely into your uterine wall. See this tiny seed that is your baby, enveloped in the warmth and safety of your love, creating the perfect fertile ground for your baby to continue to snuggle into.
Feel this golden love permeating the cells of your baby’s body, igniting the awakening of health and love throughout its very DNA.
Internally repeat these words: –
“I am safe, my baby is safe, and everything is unfolding perfectly.”
Keeping an awareness of the love tumbling down from your heart to your baby, bring more of your attention back to your breath, back to the sensations in your physical body and back to the present moment.
When you’re ready, open your eyes.
(Click the play button below to hear Rosie guide you through this beautiful visualisation).
Notice how you’re feeling after going through this visualisation. If it works well for you, you can use it as your ‘anchor’. It’s completely natural for negative thoughts and fears to come up, so when you notice that happening, come back to this post and this audio, and use it to balance out that experience with something really positive. Over time, your body and mind will remember it.
I hope that this helps you to find more relaxation and ease in this early stage and throughout your pregnancy.
Rosie Matheson is a Senior Bliss Baby Yoga facilitator who facilitates Bliss Baby Yoga specialised teacher training courses throughout Australia, internationally, including Japan and Italy, and Online. Rosie is the co-creator / facilitator of our Bliss Baby Yoga L1 Online Yoga for Fertility Teacher Training course, and a course facilitator for our Online Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training course and Online L1 Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Course. Rosie also offers Online 1:1 Mentoring Sessions and Personalised Yoga Classes to support your yoga teaching, or in your journey to becoming a mother.
*Image used with permission from Yoga Generation.
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