(If you have already went through the stage of pregnancy, please feel free to skip this blog as this may not be useful to you. This blog is specially meant for people who are planning for a child.)
Before I share the 18 things I did in my pregnancy, I would like share the 2 teachings that guided me to design my pregnancy in this way.
- One of my teachers made a profound statement in a class – He said 80% of the training of the child is completed during the stages of conception and pregnancy. A child is most receptive during pregnancy and this is the stage to sow the seeds of goodness.
- I read in Bhagavatham that being in a womb is a very difficult phase for soul. This phase is considered as garbhastha naraka(staying in a womb is a kind of hell). So, during this stage, mother is advised to do certain things to reduce the suffering of soul.
So, these 2 teachings have made me plan my pregnancy with a lot of thought. After I became pregnant, I reduced my professional work and made this phase my intense sadhana period. So, I had time to do things that I wanted to do.
Below are the practices I have done in my pregnancy.
1. Psychotherapy
It is highly recommended for a pregnant woman to be happy but I have experienced that in pregnancy, there would be lot of changes in the body and hormones and these changes can make a pregnancy woman more sensitive, emotional, irritated and being happy is really difficult. So, I did my psychotherapy everyday to keep my emotions in balance and to keep myself happy. I also wanted my child to learn that Psychotherapy is a great tool for her emotional well-being.
2. Meditation
I did my meditation almost every single day of my pregnancy. I alternated between Wellness Meditation and Soul Meditation. These meditations gave me many inner experiences during pregnancy. They kept me happy and peaceful and I also wanted my child to be a meditator. If I myself don’t practice it, how can I expect my child to become a meditator? So I meditated everyday.
3. Donation
In my journey of spirituality, I learnt that donation is a very component in life to be happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful. I also learnt from Mahabharatam that Kunti devi donated various things in her pregnancy. So, I donated everyday for various causes. What I donated is a small amount but I did it everyday as I wanted to teach my child the importance of donation. In my opinion, if a person can do donation, service, character building, such person will do well in life no matter which profession he chooses.
4. Service
I also learnt in my spiritual journey that service of 3 hours per week is a must for spiritual and material progress. So, I did service everyday during my pregnancy.
5. Walking 10K steps per day and strength training
I wanted my child to be someone who takes care of her health and stays fit and healthy. Health is very precious and it takes effort to be healthy. So I walked 10K steps per day and also did strength training under the guidance of a coach during my pregnancy to stay fit. Thanks to this routine, I was healthy and energetic during my pregnancy.
6. PURANAS
Our Puranas teach lot of things. They are like crash courses in various important aspects of life and the best part is all these important teachings are taught through the medium of stories. So, I listened to the 3 most important scriptures completely – Ramayanam, Bhagavatham, Mahabharatham. They made me happy and excited.
7. DIET
I was careful about my diet and followed a healthy diet plan. Diet plays a very important role in one’s health. I am not discussing in detail on what I ate as there is no one diet that fits all and diet plan should be based on one’s age, height, weight, gender, activity level and health condition. I also wanted my child to eat healthy and that gave me the motivation to stick to my diet inspite of the temptations around me.
8. Taught TEH Level 1
I am a teacher of Energy Healing and TEH Level 1 Workshop is a beautiful course that teaches how to heal and most importantly, it teaches about Law of Karma. If one can apply Law of Karma in life, life becomes beautiful in every aspect. So, I taught TEH Level 1 workshop during my pregnancy as I wanted my child to hear about Law of Karma again and again. I took 6 classes in this phase.
9. AtTENDED COURSES
I attended 2 important courses – Inner Alchemy Yoga Level 6 and Kriyasiddhi Workshop. I wanted my child to be a person who balances spiritual and material dimensions of life. (One of my teachers said spirituality and materialism are like 2 wings of the bird). So, I did these 2 courses.
10. biographies and autobiographies of Saints
One of my teachers recommended to read these books in pregnancy. So I read lot of biographies and autobiographies of saints. I have read almost 15 such books. They gave me tremendous joy and inspiration.
11. books on Energy Healing
I am an Energy Healer and Energy Healing teacher. And I love and value Energy Healing as I have experienced many miracles in my life with this beautiful art. So, I read books on Energy Healing as I strongly desired my child to become an Energy Healer.
12. TIME IN nature
Mother nature is a great healer and I read in spiritual books that a nature place has angels and fairies. So, everyday I spent almost 1 hour in nature. I used to watch Sunrise, walked on grass, did breathing exercises under trees. This was a magical 1 hour in my day where it used to bring me tremendous joy and peace.
13. Woke up at 5 AM and slept by 10 PM
I wanted to teach my child that there is joy in waking up early and sleeping on time. So, I followed this schedule during pregnancy.
14. POOja
Shodasopachara pooja(16 step process of pooja) takes me into trance and brings me tremendous peace and joy. It is my way of connecting with God. So, I did this everyday in my pregnancy. I also chanted various prayers and stotras to be in divine energies.
15. disciplined life
I am a big fan of discipline and structure as I believe discipline simplifies life and brings joy. Indiscipline brings chaos and unnecessary emotions like stress and anger. So, I led a disciplined life in these 9 months. I had a structure and time table for my day.
16. loving time with my husband
In Alchemy Yoga for Couples Course, I learnt that a harmonious marriage is very important for healthy pregnancy. I also wanted to teach my child that marriage is a beautiful relationship in life and her father is a beautiful person. So, my husband and I did many of these 18 things together and we spent a lot of loving time with each other.
17. blessings
During pregnancy, my husband and I got to meet saints/religious leaders/spiritual leaders and we took the blessings. Being in the aura of an evolved person is a great blessing and transformative. We wanted our child to be in such auras. So we had a strong intention to meet such people and life is kind enough to make it happen.
18. AFFIRMATIONS
I created 20 affirmations for myself and I chanted these affirmations during my exercises after meditation. These are simple affirmations like I am happy, I am healthy etc. I read in a book that whatever mother thinks/feels strongly during pregnancy, baby would also think/feel the same. So, I used affirmations to think positively and feel good about myself.
These are the 18 things I did in my pregnancy.
When I look back, my pregnancy time is the most beautiful phase of my life and I cherish it. I had all the time in the world to do things that mattered to me. I am very grateful to IWC for their years of nurturing me and many teachers who touched my life with their teachings and showed me the way. I am also grateful to my husband Balachander for creating loving and care-free environment around me. Thank you Balachander for everything.
I want to end my blog with a small note to a pregnant lady – Before I became pregnant, I prepared myself for almost 10 years. I did nothing new in pregnancy. All the above things were practiced by me for years before pregnancy. In pregnancy, I just spent more time on them and practiced more diligently. I read somewhere that doing anything new in pregnancy is challenging. So, please be kind on yourself and do things in pregnancy that are comfortable to you. Every pregnancy journey is unique and beautiful in its own way. Lots of love to you and your baby on this beautiful journey.
Sarve jana sukhino bhavanthu!
Contributed by Geethanjali Balachander