Hello and welcome to this Pregnancy After Loss meditation track.
My name is Lucy,
I'm here from the Ellie's Gift project and this is part of our Ellie's Rainbow support.
So this meditation track today is a short meditation track that you can listen to before your scan.
Some people will use the term scansiety.
This very much is the case for many people in terms of these scans causing very very anxious feelings and thoughts in the body and I too understand how this feels having walked this journey before,
Recognising how terribly hard it is to wait for a scan and to attend the appointment.
So this track is designed to be used before the scan and it's designed just to bring a little bit of ease,
A little bit of stability so that you can go in feeling a little bit more grounded.
So you may be listening to this track in the waiting room or maybe at home or wherever you are.
Just allow your eyes to gently close,
Planting your feet firmly on the ground and feeling the connection between your feet and the ground beneath you.
Taking in some slow deep breaths,
So breathing now with me,
Breathing slowly in and releasing the breath out.
Again breathing slowly in,
Releasing the breath out.
Breathing slowly in and releasing the breath out.
Just allowing your breath to return to its own natural steady pace,
Feeling the air,
Filling your lungs,
Moving the body.
That wonderful breath that nourishes you and nourishes your baby.
And on the next in-breath as you breathe in,
I'd like you to bring your shoulders slightly up,
So you're breathing in and bringing the shoulders slightly up towards your ears as you fill your lungs up and as you breathe out,
Just allowing those shoulders to relax and release and drop down.
You may want to do this a couple more times,
Very very very slowly,
Breathing in bringing the shoulders up and breathing out,
Bringing the shoulders back down,
Releasing that tension from your shoulders,
Releasing the tension in the upper back and maybe just noticing the hands,
So are your hands soft?
And if they're not soft and relaxed,
Then maybe just seeing if you can relax the hands a little bit,
Relaxing the hands.
And just focusing on your hands,
The sensations that you can feel,
Maybe gently wiggling the fingers ever so slowly,
Very very small movements in your hands.
And on the next in-breath,
Just gently making a fist with the hands,
So you're breathing in,
Closing the hands into loose fists and then as you breathe out,
Gently opening the hands again,
So the hands are opening like flowers and you're going to breathe in,
Close the hands down and breathe out,
Open the hands up and just continuing to do this at your own pace and rhythm,
Moving the hands with the in-breath and the out-breath.
And you may just want to do this ever so slightly,
If you're in a busy waiting room,
You might feel a little bit self-conscious doing this,
So if this is true for you,
Then maybe just moving the fingers a little bit,
Bringing the fingers in a little bit as you breathe in and opening the hands back up again as you breathe out.
But all the while just noticing the sensations that you feel in this moment now.
And then relaxing and resting the hands and taking a moment to notice the chair beneath you,
So the sensations of the chair beneath you that supports the body,
That supports the weight of your body,
Noticing the sensations of the ground beneath your feet,
And the steadiness of your own breath.
And I'd like you to repeat in your mind the following words,
I am here because I love my baby and I have the strength to face this moment now.
I am here because I love my baby and I have the strength to face this moment now.
Imagining that with every in-breath,
This in-breath fuels your body with a sense of calm ease,
And every out-breath clears away any doubts.
Breathing in and saying in your mind,
I am strong and breathing out saying in your mind,
I can do this.
I am strong,
I can do this.
And when any thoughts come into your mind,
Acknowledging them,
But just allowing them to pass like leaves floating down a stream,
You don't need to hold on to them,
Those thoughts are not in charge.
Repeating after me,
I am bigger than my fears and I trust this step forward today.
I am bigger than my fears and I trust this step forward today.
And imagining a protected bubble around your body,
Around you and your baby,
A shield of strength and love,
Unshakable and steady,
Breathing in strength and breathing out doubt.
You are strong and you can do this.
You are strong and you can do this.
Placing one hand on your tummy,
Connecting your hand to your body to your baby,
Acknowledging this wonderful precious moment here together,
This beautiful moment on your journey.
One scan closer to meeting them and to holding them,
You are strong and you can do this.
So taking this sense of stability and calm ease into the scan room with you.
And then slowly acknowledging any sounds around you now,
The hustle and bustle of life around you.
Maybe gently opening your eyes if your eyes have been closed today and just taking in the shapes and the colours,
Everything that you can see in this moment now,
In the present moment,
Focusing on what's real,
What's here,
What's here in the now.
We at the project are sending you all our love and support.
Please make use of our free meditation tracks and our free weekly sessions,
Live classes through the Ellie's Gift project.
And I'm sending you all my love,
Whoever you are,
Wherever you are in the world,
You take care.
