Turn Stress To Peace During Pregnancy & Holidays

Hello and welcome back to Pregnancy JSJ Meditations where you experience a new form of meditation that includes a guided practice of a highly developed form of acupressure called JSJ where we practice different holds in each meditation to aid in the harmonizing of the life energy within us.

And in today's episode I will be practicing a series of self-care holds to bring about a sense of peace and calmness within my mind and body.

These holds are also great for baby and they help with reproductive functions and help balance our hormones as well.

All the holds that I practice on these episodes are geared towards pregnancy and baby.

And today I will place most of the emphasis on breath awareness,

Specifically exhaling,

As well as practicing an emotional freedom technique to help me stay present in the moment and not attach to thoughts during this meditation.

As you find yourself in your comfortable position today,

Whether you are sitting down or lying down,

I would like you to make sure that you are comfortable and that there are going to be no distractions for the next 20 minutes and you can really take this time for you and your growing baby and just simply find this moment for yourself.

So once you have found your comfortable position for your meditation today we will find our first position.

So for our first position today we are going to cross our arms and find our hands on the inside of our opposite inner thighs.

So take your right hand and place it on your left inner thigh so that your fingertips are about four inches up from the inside of your knee.

So if you were to bend your leg and where your knee makes that little crease,

About four inches up your inner thigh is where you want your right fingertips to be and then the exact same position with your left hand on your right leg.

And you don't need to worry about having exact positioning with this.

Wherever your hands can rest comfortably on the middle inside inner thigh this is where we will begin and I'm just going to start with a little intro about this flow series.

This would be a wonderful series to practice if you are if you find your hands free during all these Christmas gatherings or doings and you just need to have like a feeling of peace and calmness because there just seems to be like there's too much going on.

So that's what I found within myself this morning.

There's just too much going on.

I am getting ready for Christmas and I think being a mom if you already have kids you know preparing for the holidays can be a bit overwhelming,

Stressful,

Whatever word you like to use to describe it can be a lot.

And I think something I realized this morning is I really don't like being pregnant over Christmas.

There's so much to do and there's all these obligations and things that you feel like you have to do,

Should do,

Need to do,

Must do,

And on and on.

And it is exhausting.

The planning for me has been so hard this year.

I definitely have pregnancy brain and usually planning stuff for me comes very naturally easily.

I like planning and it has been a challenge and things keep slipping through and then I feel bad and then I have to deal with those emotions.

It just seems like a lot.

So for this practice today it is a focus on finding peace during the holiday season especially when we're pregnant.

When we really truly just need to focus on all the things we need which is rest,

Nourishment,

Hydration,

And exercise.

And it seems for me that all those things diminish a little bit or get thrown out the window completely because there's so much else going on.

Just remember through this holiday season to take time for yourself.

Take little breaks here and there.

It doesn't need to be some big thing.

It just needs to be small things.

You know take five minutes to yourself here and five minutes to yourself there if that's all you can get.

Or 20 minutes here and there if you can manage that.

Or find an afternoon that you can have to yourself to just relax and do the things that fulfill you and make you feel whole and complete.

And then for the next hold we are going to do you are going to take your right first finger,

Your right index finger,

And put it in the crease of your left elbow.

So fold your left elbow crease over your finger so your right index finger is inside that crease.

And then your left hand is gonna go up and over your left shoulder.

So safety energy lock number 11.

Pretty much every mom I know has a bit of a tight spot here so if you poke around you will probably find your safety energy lock number 11.

It's near your spine so not not closer to your shoulder but closer to your spine area.

Your fingertips are just gently resting over your top left shoulder and your right index finger is tucked away inside your elbow crease.

And now we will practice the breathing portion of this meditation.

And so whether you're experienced in meditation or not I would truly like for you to give it your best to practice this and just see how it feels for you.

Close your eyes and become aware of your breath.

You do not need to change your breath just simply become aware of it.

And now with your awareness on your breath bring your attention to your exhalation only.

What does your exhalation sound like or feel like?

And then for your next exhalation try to gently extend your exhalation to make it just a bit deeper and or longer.

You can exhale through your nose or your mouth you can breathe in through your nose or your mouth.

Whatever feels good to you in this moment this is your practice and your meditation your breath and your body.

Bring your awareness to your exhalation and try to extend it and make it a full and long yet still a gentle exhalation.

Unless you've had a really stressful day then go ahead girl and just let that out.

Bring your awareness to your neck muscles and your shoulder muscles and if you feel any tension or any holding tightness try to consciously relax those muscles as you breathe out fully and completely.

One more full exhalation.

Now we're going to switch positions and do this exact same hold on the right side of our body.

So your left index finger is tucked in the crease of your right elbow and your right fingertips are curled over your right shoulder so that your right fingertips are on the upper part of the right side of your back close to your spine and again poke around and you'll probably feel a little bit of a sore spot and just rest there.

You don't need to push with your fingers just simply rest your hands there.

Exhale fully and deeply.

We'll do a couple emotional freedom techniques here and then we're gonna move on to our next hold.

We're doing a little bit more movement today with the positions.

Usually I like to stay in a hold for longer but we're just gonna mix it up today.

So continue bringing your awareness back to your breath as you follow along.

I disentangle from trying too hard this holiday season and I reintegrate now.

I realigned in this moment with feelings of letting go,

Exhaling and relaxing.

Reintegrate now.

Realign with feelings of peace,

Calmness,

Ease and grace.

Realign now.

I disentangle from trying too hard this holiday season and I reintegrate now.

I realign with knowing that I am enough just as I am and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of wholeness,

Ease,

Grace and feelings of peace and relaxation in this moment and I realign now.

And I exhale fully and completely.

I disentangle from all the commotion around me and I reintegrate now.

I realign with this feeling of stillness,

This feeling of connection with myself and my baby right now and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of relaxation,

Calmness and peace.

Realign now.

We are going to move into our next position.

So take your right hand and place it on the left elbow crease.

So instead of having just your finger in the elbow crease,

Take your whole right hand,

Take your right fingertips and place it on the outside edge of your left elbow.

So where your left elbow creases on the outside of that point,

This is our Safety Energy Lock 19 and you're gonna push or rather just hold with your fingers in this particular spot.

And again you can poke around,

See if you find a tender spot and then your left hand is going to go on your right side of your forehead.

Your left fingertips are on the right center,

The right side of your forehead in the center and then your right hand is resting on the outside edge of your left elbow crease.

And let's bring awareness to our exhale and get settled into this position.

I disentangle from all the commotion going on around me and I reintegrate now.

I realign with relaxing in this moment,

Feelings of letting go.

I reintegrate now.

I realign with letting go of thoughts and letting go of muscle tension now.

I realign with feelings of stillness,

Peace,

Love and joy.

I realign now.

I disentangle from feelings of overwhelm and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of peace and relaxation and I reintegrate now.

I realign with going with the flow as well as letting go and simply being with my breath in this moment.

I realign now.

Exhale fully and completely.

I disentangle from feelings of stress and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of peace and relaxation.

Reintegrate now.

I disentangle from feelings of overwhelm and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of peace,

Acceptance and I realign now.

I realign with feelings of wholeness,

Ease and grace.

I realign now.

And now we are going to move into the opposite position or the same position but on the opposite side.

So take your left fingertips and put them on the outside edge of your right elbow crease.

So you're on the outside edge of your right elbow crease with your left hand and your right hand fingertips are going to go on the left forehead in the center of your left forehead.

I disentangle from feelings like there's too much going on and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of peace,

Stillness and relaxation in this moment and I realign now.

I realign with feelings of peace,

Joy,

Ease and grace and I reintegrate now.

I disentangle from feelings of stress and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of peace and relaxation reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of letting go and stillness in this moment and realign now.

I disentangle from all the pressures of this holiday season and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of connecting with my baby in this moment and I reintegrate now.

I realign with feelings of connection,

Joy,

Love and peace and I realign now.

And I would like to invite you to take these next few breaths and just simply be with your baby in this moment.

You can send your baby love,

You could talk to your baby or you could just simply send your baby any thoughts or feelings or anything that you want during this moment.

We'll take three breaths all on our own focusing on giving ourselves a nice full exhalation to help us relax,

To help us integrate this entire practice and I encourage you to do this on your own or follow along with me.

You