Tonight was a success, if only because E. ( names removed to protect the awesome) succumbed to hypnotherapy.
This evening we started Hypnosis 101, designed to give all of us Doula wannabes some tools in the form of relaxation techniques. I also feel like tonight was the night I started to get to know the girls a little better.
E., the mama bear of our group, who has truly seen it all, had confided in me on Day One that she was not a believer. She had tried, and failed in the past to use hypnotherapy with any result for herself but obviously understood it can work for others. She's the boss at an extremely high- pressure night shift job. Life or death decisions fall into her lap repeatedly. She must always be in control, and help others to maintain theirs. Taking this class when she would be sleeping, we'll give her the (big, fat) benefit of the doubt that Jennifer only got her because she's so tired.
She definitely got me.
I have to admit, now, that my own experience of hypnosis was much more different than I thought it would be. There were no pendulums swinging. I was not told to loooook deeeep into anyone's eeeyeeeeesss.....
It was simple, yet powerful. There was a brief moment, under the power of suggestion, that I was not able to move my hands apart. Later, I was absolutely flooded with a mouthful of lemon juice. Our maestro made it seem so flowy, effortless. When we broke into pairs to try it ourselves, I found my concentration was broken easily, and it would take hard work and lots of practice to make it sound like she did!
My partner was T., who quickly put me at ease and was very brave for going first. She and M., who was kind enough to try and explain to me the phenomenon that is "Twitter", make a huge commute to be here every night, and are probably still driving home as I write this, snug under my blanket. L., who sits next to me, is a canny lassie who may have come from Vulcan. She used Jennifer as her Doula when she gave birth to her son a few years ago, and is still high on the experience. It's wonderful to reflect that her birth was such a satisfying moment in her life that she's still celebrating it by becoming an agent of birth herself! A. is my kind of girl. She arrived wearing a shirt that proclaimed "Reading Is Sexy", and when asked to visualize what the fridge in her kitchen might contain she replied "Beer." As fun and interesting as this course and all it entails is, I have a feeling that all the girls are making some sort of sacrifice to spend the time learning from Tracy and Jennifer. Be it lost sleep, long drives, or time away from those who need us, we've all paid our fees knowing that what we will get out of this will be priceless. If the old saying is true, and reputation comes from the company you keep, I'm all smiles.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A Day Off?
With a break on Wednesday, I was planning on finishing the assigned reading. I was still riding the energy high of participating in the course and learning new things. At the close of class on Tuesday, Jennifer informed us that as part of our exam, she would be calling each of us (pretending to be a client) in the middle of the night to see how lucid we could be. She hinted that there would be questions asked based on the material we had learned that evening.
This did not make for the deepest sleep I've ever had.
The call did not come Tuesday night, however, and on Wednesday night I went to band practice. Thinking nothing of it, I had a few beers with my band mates. When I got home, quite late, I uncharacteristically checked my email. I can only thank my lucky starts that I did, for an unexpected assignment lay in wait for me! Tracy assigned each of us a "client" who had certain factors weighing on her pregnancy that we would be expected to research and present to the class tonight. I tell you, after caring for my three kids all day and then giving my all at practice, staying up late to do research wasn't what my body wanted to do! Resisting the siren call of my big fluffy pillow, (knowing my kids would never give me the chance the next day) I spent an hour reading and absorbing all the different causes and treatments for pre-eclampsia. There are so many contradictory findings to be pored over and dissected. I found that midwives, and doulas, had excellent methods for bringing down blood pressure, some as innovative as simply removing one's bra! (As a large -busted woman I thought this was ingenious.) The simple theory behind this act being that when the upper body relaxes, so follows the rest of the body, with blood pressure following suit. There are many other, much more obvious remedies, but that particular one struck a chord with me and happened to be my favorite, which is why I share it here now. Finally, exhausted, I was able to crawl into my bed and succumb to beautiful sleep. I was just entering that place between consciousness and dreamland when I remembered: THE PHONE! This could be the night of my call from Jennifer! Feeling absolutely UN- lucid after my two beers, I scrambled around trying to find my cell, which of course, was about to die. I spent five minutes locating my charger and had no sooner plugged it in when my baby woke up.
Frustrated, swaying in the dark with my wee'un over my heart, I couldn't help but lament that if I hadn't had the two beers, I probably would have had a much easier time of all this. I woke several times in the night, convinced I was hearing Jennifer's call. It's day two, and I'm already realizing that a lifestyle change will be part of accepting this role I've chosen to take. You know what else I've realized? That it's totally worth it.
This did not make for the deepest sleep I've ever had.
The call did not come Tuesday night, however, and on Wednesday night I went to band practice. Thinking nothing of it, I had a few beers with my band mates. When I got home, quite late, I uncharacteristically checked my email. I can only thank my lucky starts that I did, for an unexpected assignment lay in wait for me! Tracy assigned each of us a "client" who had certain factors weighing on her pregnancy that we would be expected to research and present to the class tonight. I tell you, after caring for my three kids all day and then giving my all at practice, staying up late to do research wasn't what my body wanted to do! Resisting the siren call of my big fluffy pillow, (knowing my kids would never give me the chance the next day) I spent an hour reading and absorbing all the different causes and treatments for pre-eclampsia. There are so many contradictory findings to be pored over and dissected. I found that midwives, and doulas, had excellent methods for bringing down blood pressure, some as innovative as simply removing one's bra! (As a large -busted woman I thought this was ingenious.) The simple theory behind this act being that when the upper body relaxes, so follows the rest of the body, with blood pressure following suit. There are many other, much more obvious remedies, but that particular one struck a chord with me and happened to be my favorite, which is why I share it here now. Finally, exhausted, I was able to crawl into my bed and succumb to beautiful sleep. I was just entering that place between consciousness and dreamland when I remembered: THE PHONE! This could be the night of my call from Jennifer! Feeling absolutely UN- lucid after my two beers, I scrambled around trying to find my cell, which of course, was about to die. I spent five minutes locating my charger and had no sooner plugged it in when my baby woke up.
Frustrated, swaying in the dark with my wee'un over my heart, I couldn't help but lament that if I hadn't had the two beers, I probably would have had a much easier time of all this. I woke several times in the night, convinced I was hearing Jennifer's call. It's day two, and I'm already realizing that a lifestyle change will be part of accepting this role I've chosen to take. You know what else I've realized? That it's totally worth it.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
This is just the beginning....
Today is the first day of the rest of my life!
I feel like everything that's happened in the last five years has been leading to today. It was so exciting to be in the company of such amazing, forward thinking (or should I say backward thinking?) women, all committed or making the commitment to ease the suffering of others and making the transition into motherhood as peaceful as possible. I, like most mothers, can talk about birth all day. It was hard not to spill out every visceral experience I've had during my births, to share my battle scars and triumphs in a room full of people dedicated to the cause. I enjoyed immensely listening to Jennifer and Tracy speaking about the myriad births they have attended, respectively. It really does hammer home the old adage that no two births are ever alike. It is intimidating, on the night after the first class, to envision how i might handle all the situations they described. I feel confident, though, that under the tutelage of these two very different but impressive women, I'll come through this course with the skills I'll need to guide my future clients through the biggest day (or night ) of their lives.
I have great hopes for the rest of the week, and am looking forward to Thursday's class.
An end note~
At the beginning of the class we were all asked to introduce ourselves and share a bit about what brought us there. I found myself unable to stop thinking about the last gal to contribute her name and story. She very quietly, without going into detail, admitted that her son had passed away. This woman appeared younger than myself, so I assume that her child was very young indeed when he passed. As a mother, my heart wrenched for her, as the mere thought of such an event makes my stomach turn and my blood cold. However, what moved me about her admission was that she made it there, in that room, coping with her grief by making a promise to help others endure the BIRTH of their children. Such strength in the face of staggering, crippling loss is more than inspiring. It is beyond bravery as I know it to be defined. It is miraculous, and wherever he is, that child must certainly be very, very proud of his mama.
I feel like everything that's happened in the last five years has been leading to today. It was so exciting to be in the company of such amazing, forward thinking (or should I say backward thinking?) women, all committed or making the commitment to ease the suffering of others and making the transition into motherhood as peaceful as possible. I, like most mothers, can talk about birth all day. It was hard not to spill out every visceral experience I've had during my births, to share my battle scars and triumphs in a room full of people dedicated to the cause. I enjoyed immensely listening to Jennifer and Tracy speaking about the myriad births they have attended, respectively. It really does hammer home the old adage that no two births are ever alike. It is intimidating, on the night after the first class, to envision how i might handle all the situations they described. I feel confident, though, that under the tutelage of these two very different but impressive women, I'll come through this course with the skills I'll need to guide my future clients through the biggest day (or night ) of their lives.
I have great hopes for the rest of the week, and am looking forward to Thursday's class.
An end note~
At the beginning of the class we were all asked to introduce ourselves and share a bit about what brought us there. I found myself unable to stop thinking about the last gal to contribute her name and story. She very quietly, without going into detail, admitted that her son had passed away. This woman appeared younger than myself, so I assume that her child was very young indeed when he passed. As a mother, my heart wrenched for her, as the mere thought of such an event makes my stomach turn and my blood cold. However, what moved me about her admission was that she made it there, in that room, coping with her grief by making a promise to help others endure the BIRTH of their children. Such strength in the face of staggering, crippling loss is more than inspiring. It is beyond bravery as I know it to be defined. It is miraculous, and wherever he is, that child must certainly be very, very proud of his mama.
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