In the process of booking flights for a family trip coming up in a few months, I had to enter my son’s age at the time of travel, and I realized he will soon be 10 years old! My youngest baby is going to be in the double digits! This took me down memory lane… checking out photos of when he was born, I came across this gem:)
Now, I realize this is definitely not Instagram-worthy yoga. I’m pretty much 10 months pregnant, in a hospital room, in a hospital gown, next to my IV pole, and my alignment in this picture makes me cringe:) #nofilter 🙂 But when I look at this photo, I remember a feeling, and that feeling was a feeling of power in a moment when I was anxious and scared.
I was overdue, my water had broken the day before at home, I was group B strep positive and had no real contractions happening… like…at all. I had tried every possible way of trying to get this labour started without being induced. You name it, I tried it. I even had acupuncture while at the hospital to try and get things going.
I had heard horror stories of induction leading to more interventions, and I really wanted to strive for a natural birth, but there came a time when my doctor looked at me and said, “Gina, we need to take the next step, and yes, it is medically necessary.” So, although I felt anxious and scared, I tried to find the power within and channel my birth warrior moving forward.
Of all the yoga poses out there Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II) makes me feel most powerful. I feel powerful in my grounded legs, I feel powerful in my arms anchored firmly on my body, and I feel powerful-looking in a forward direction. In Warrior II, I feel centered and with purpose. Right before we began the induction, I adopted this pose, and it made me feel just a little bit better about my situation when initially I felt like I had little control.
Now I’m not going to lie, being induced was intense. Labour and Delivery is challenging, but I channeled all the inner strength I could muster, and highly relied on my team of support to get me through the experience (huge props to my amazing husband, Paul, and my Doula/Friend/Colleague/Business Partner, Corina, as well as my great team of docs at Meadows Maternity and nursing staff at Rockyview Hospital). My little guy was born a few hours later. We named him William. I’m only now realizing the significance of the meaning of his name, “Strong-willed Warrior”. I can’t believe his birth was almost 10 years ago.
Is there a posture or pose that makes you feel powerful? Or centered? Or calm? This can be so useful for labour and delivery or at other times of stress, fear, or anxiety! Channel your Birth Warrior:)
