Spiritual Birth Workshop Kwazulunatal 2012: The Travelling Midwife

You may ask “What is a Spiritual Birth Workshop”? To start with one needs to define the term Spiritual Birth – It is a religious term for spiritual enlightenment, it is a term to describe a kind of childbirth, and also the birth of new parents. Our bodies are the physical expression of universal energy and quantum physics. The term ‘spiritual’ for as human being therefore means to be completely embodied and present in the moment, awakened in both the masculine and feminine aspects of ourselves. How does this relate to pregnancy and childbirth?

Last weekend, three and a half couples spent time with Ginny and myself finding out more about how to connect with their bodies, their babies and their whole selves. Saturday was a day of hard work as we tackled the theory of anatomy and physiology of birth. Inbetween the theory participants moved their bodies in belly dance style, learnt how to breathe through a labour contraction and learnt to accept the sensations of pain without fear. Toning and singing is a great way to learn breath control and singing one’s way through the labour became an attractive option for some of the mothers.

On Sunday we explored, through artwork, our deepest fears around birth. This brought many participants to tears as each person took their turn to share and explore the shamed and painful parts of their inner selves in an atmosphere of love and heartfelt listening. Participants engaged in deep relaxation and visualization exercises as they connected with each part of their bodies and visualized communicating with their babies.

After a lovely Sunday lunch shared in quiet companionship and respect for each other’s journey, we broached the subject of what happens after the baby arrives. This elicited enthusiastic discussion amidst pertinent question about breastfeeding, co-sleeping, frequency of feeds, colic and colostrum. At the end of this intense weekend many of us felt it hard to take our leave and return to our daily lives.

I met such wonderful people and hope to stay connected with you all on this journey called life.