While I was pregnant, I remember nervously thinking about my approaching due date. I had many concerns about giving birth, and my mental outlook of the upcoming event was based in doubt and fear. Will I really have to give birth? How will I possibly get through this?
While speaking to a 26 year old girlfriend of mine who recently gave birth to a baby girl, she was able to offer me some very important advice. As we were talking one day she said, “The most important thing is to have a positive attitude. Labor was not easy, but I made it through. It is an experience that you will have to go through too, but if you realize it is an event that will come and go, and you decide to be positive about it, you will do fine.”
My friend is a practitioner and teacher of Ananda Yoga. Hearing her words was a great relief! I can do that, I thought. I know how to have a positive attitude. Why hadn’t I thought to apply the yogic principles to this situation?
From that point on I decided to change my viewpoint and have positive expectations about giving birth. Deciding to do this not only made me feel better during the many changes I went through in pregnancy, but everyone around me enjoyed my presence more too. I’m sure my baby in the womb was also grateful that I relaxed and trusted.
Having been a practitioner of yoga for several years, I know that yoga is one of the best ways to improve and promote attitudes such as self-confidence. Yoga has helped me to practice even-mindedness and cheerfulness amongst all of life’s challenges. By practicing a positive attitude during pregnancy, I see that it helped me feel less attached and bound by the emotional ups and downs that I experienced. I was able to look at those emotions with a greater sense of calmness and detachment. After all, I didn’t want my baby to feel that I was unhappy! Holding on to positive thoughts did get me through the great task of labor and I am still deeply grateful to my friend for her wise advice.
