Mindfulness skills are for a lifetime
If you are seeking a course on childbirth and parenting that also helps you to develop invaluable skills to ride through the contractions of life, you have come to the right place.
Having a baby is often one of the most transformative experiences in a person’s life. No matter how they go, pregnancy and birth are intense both physically and emotionally, preparing us for the journey of parenting. The practice of mindfulness has been shown in medical literature, time and time again, to have the benefit of easing many of lifes challenging transitions. Mindfulness is defined as the awareness that comes from learning to pay attention, in the present moment, on purpose and non-judgmentally. Through this invaluable practice we learn to navigate not only the birthing process, but also our day-to-day, moment-to-moment, life as parents and as humans. When our attention is focused on the present moment, we are redirected from rehashing of the past, or fantasizing about the future. People who practice mindfulness find they have a decrease in stress level, higher coping capabilities, and less emotional reactivity. With a mindfulness practice, people often find they experience more space, ease, and equanimity in their lives. This is because a mindfulness practice helps with being with whatever arises in life in the moment. So if what we notice arising is challenging, scary, or stressful, by being fully in our experience, it allows space for greater presence and ease. Mindfulness guides the ride on waves of life with less tension, less fear and more peace.
Proven Therapeutic Benefits
Perhaps, you have already been seeing the word "Mindfulness" all over the media, or have met people practicing, or yourself have a mindfulness meditation practice. Mindfulness-based programs are currently found in hospitals, clinics, and schools all over the world. Many examples of the therapeutic impact of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are found in peer-reviewed medical, mental health and educational journals.
Mindfulness Based Childbirth & Parenting (MBCP) is one of those MBIs, and was founded by midwife and mindfulness teacher Nancy Bardacke in 1998. MBCP is an evidence-based adaptation of the well-researched Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR) created by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. If you would like to read more about mindfulness, check out this New York Times article. Also, Nancy Bardacke a MBCP pioneer published an article on the benefits of a mindful pregnancy.
More information about the history of MBCP, the current research, and Nancy Bardacke can be found at www.mindfulbirthing.org. You can also check out Nancy’s award-winning book, Mindful Birthing: Training the Mind, Body, and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond,
Sasha was invaluable in deepening my journey into parenthood, Helping me gain trust in my body and realize that there is no one perfect way to birth a child”
— Vanessa Zaborsky