“There is one way of breathing that is shameful and constricted. Then, there’s another way…a breath of love that takes you all the way to infinity.”

~Rumi

Secret #2 to having an amazing natural childbirth is through your breath. The simple act of breathing is surely the most natural, primal, and universal human experience, quite similar to birth.

When used to its’ full potential your breath can open up a whole new way of natural childbirth,  that can not only be free from fear and pain, but can actually emerge as an amazing and truly enjoyable experience!

In this article I will share how to use the power of  breath to assist you in remaining calm, flexible and relaxed during your birthing time, to effectively focus the energy of the birthing waves, to minimize discomfort, and allow you and your baby a much more comfortable and enjoyable natural childbirth.

Through Breath Lies Everything You Need to Give Your Baby a Great Natural Childbirth

“You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air.  The organ that serves for this is the lungs that lie round the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelops the heart.  Thus breathing is a natural way to the heart.  And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which air reaches the heart and, together with this inhaled air, force your mind to descend into the heart and to remain there.”

~Nicephorus the Solitary

Because we are always breathing, like most things, we tend to take it for granted, and fail to recognize the infinite store of potential that lies within the power of our own breath!

We each hold within us everything that we need to bring our babies into the world: personal power, love, strength, confidence, passion, wisdom and determination.

When you breathe with conscious awareness into your heart it activates all of these systems, as you inhale it gathers them together, and then on the exhale pours them out over your birthing time.

You must understand that when you are operating from love and strength there is simply no room for fear, they cannot share the same space at the same time.  And in the absence of fear there is no limit to what you can achieve.

Your Breath Sets the Tone for Your Natural Childbirth

Your breath sets the tone for your entire body. If your breath is relaxed your body is relaxed.

So the goal is to get your breath to be a mirror of what you are trying to achieve in both body and mind during your birth. So the goal of your body is to remain relaxed, and to be open and expansive, but at the same time your mind must be calm and strong. So then these are the things to encompass in your breath, these are the things that you should focus on incorporating into your practice.

Natural Childbirth Exercise: Mastering the Breath of Birth

As you focus your awareness on your breath take the time to notice each one of these qualities,  Go down the line and activate these things within your breathing, relaxed breaths, open breaths, expansive breaths, calm breaths, strong breaths. There is no need to change the way you breathe, or to breathe in a certain way. Your breathing already encompasses these qualities,  your job is to simply bring your awareness into your breath and to be aware of these qualities that already exist within it. Be the “watcher of your breath” so to say.

Proper Breathing for Natural Childbirth and for Life

First you must relearn how to breathe correctly:  Which is through your abdomen, as you inhale you abdomen rises, and as you exhale it sinks. We were all born breathing this perfect way,  but as life and stress compound we learn to take short shallow breaths through our chest. This way of shallow breathing really limits the potential of our breath and tends to disconnect us from the primordial connection with the one universal breath or flow. In order to embrace the power and strength of your birthing time it’s essential to reconnect with this powerful primal breath , because this is what reconnects us with the powerful breath and energy that propels birth.

Spiral Breath

Throughout your practice and birth always maintain a relaxed jaw and wide open mouth. Inhale and exhale through your mouth, this encourages the opening of your body’s sphincters. As you breathe in and out feel your breath flowing into and out of you. Now do it again, but this time there is no pause between the inhale and exhale,  just imagine it flowing into and out of you in a continuous flowing spiral. Good Job!

The Amazing Secret To Using Your Breath is to Gather, Compress, and Disperse

As you inhale imagine gathering energy or “chi” as a beautiful light… picture it flowing into you through your breath… as it flows into your body it begins to gather and activate all of your gifts:  your personal power, your love, strength, confidence, passion, wisdom, and so on… it then compresses, and as you exhale they flow through you carrying out all negative, dark or stagnant energy and dispersing it.

Focusing the Energy of the Birthing Waves and Dispersing Pain

During your birthing time you use this same Gather, Compress, and Disperse to handle the intensity of the pressure waves.

• Gather- as you inhale you gather and allow the pressure and intensity of the birthing waves to flow into you,  gathering and activating your calm inner strength, love, confidence, and personal power
• Compress- you then allow the intensity to combine with your personal power, and as it compresses the  energy is focused downward
• Disperse- as you exhale you take all of the intensity, energy, discomfort etc. and allow it to completely disperse back into the earth clearing the way for the next pressure wave to come.

Renewing Cleansing Breath

One of the most powerful qualities that lie in your breath is the amazing cleansing ability that it has. Every breath is all new. And even if with your last pressure wave you got pulled into a place of fear, that’s OK because each and every breath is a chance to start over fresh.

Every breath is a choice. With every breath you must choose relaxation. With every breath you must choose pleasure over pain, love over fear. With every breath you must choose to gather and bring forth your calm inner strength, with every breath you must choose to embrace birth, to embrace the energy, to embrace the magnificence, and to embrace the power of it.

You must allow yourself to breath openly, and freely.

Although the body is moving, the mind remains centered with the steady flow of breath creating a dynamic since of tranquility and internal strength. With this on your side birth is more enjoyable on every level! It can emerge as a painless, empowering, and amazing act of love that can give you and your baby an enjoyable natural childbirth without fear!