Temple Shiloh is the greatest gift God has ever given me.  It was just after experiencing a near death winter season that I opened up to receiving him.  I was enrolled in the Breathworker Training course in Atlanta, GA.  One of the advertisements for the course said, “It takes you deeper in your process.”  I thought, “Cool!.  I’d love to go deeper into my process!”  Watch what you wish for!

The process of my “process deepening” led me to depression, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.  I was purging my “unconscious death urges”.  By New Year’s Eve, I had had enough!  I remember sitting on my porch, drinking an entire bottle of red wine, crying and asking for forgiveness from everyone I was close to or who I had wronged in some way.

When I returned to the course the next session, I shared my emotions and kept going.  The trainees were so very supporting and loving as well as the trainers (can’t ask for better ones!)  I felt so loved and nurtured that I had strength to keep looking at my worst fears and skeletons.  The upcoming weekend we were going to do wet breathing, which means we would use a snorkel and breath underwater in a pool (cold) and a bathtub (supposed to be warm).

The tub ended up being cold due to the door being cracked and the low water level.  I really didn’t enjoy that one at all.  Much frustration came up which was perfect fuel for the real cold breathe.  The next day we all went to the hotel pool with our buddies.  At the beginning of each activity you are paired up with a buddy as well as at the beginning of the training.  My buddy was someone who brought up issues of support, trust and vulnerability for me.  So when I was the one breathing and he was supporting me, all my stuff was up in my face and I really felt it!

The goal of the cold water breathe is to bring up fear for the purpose of releasing it.  Knowing this I was better able to let go and let God.  I knew I needed the release and I knew my buddy was strong enough (emotionally more than physically) to let me do my thing.  I began to release my fears by screaming and crying.  Yes, you  can cry through a snorkel!  My body wanted to contract, all of it and stay that way.  I felt sadness, anger and intense vulnerability.  My snorkel kept clogging and that was scary.  I just stayed with it.  I kept reminding myself that I was safe and that trust and surrender were my new mantras.

Toward the last quarter of  the breathe, I asked to go to the jacuzzi tub.  There I completed my session in the arms of my sweet, trustworthy buddy.  I was, as you can imagine, exhausted afterward.  Something was new with me though.  I had more of a lightness.

Soon after that I met a man that was very open in his heart.  I knew the second I met him that there was a divine reason we had met.  It was to bring Temple into the world.  I believe it was the opening of my heart, the release of the fear and surrendering that brought him into my life.  And to the Atlanta Breathworker’s Community I am forever grateful.

Check out these links to the youtube videos of:

Leonard Orr:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT36RVkmj50

Sondra Ray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrbvB3dkfbo

 I found a couple of great websites and some powerful info that I’d like to share with you.  The first is www.babystepsonline.net, which is a company offering Intuitive Birthing classes.  Their links/resources page is great!  I plan to contact these powerful women and work with them to share rebirthing with their clients.

The second site is www.terrylarimore.com, who is an LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker) among other certifications.  Her collection of readings and writings is wonderful.  I highly recommend the article “Babies Are Conscious”, by Dr. David Chamberlain.

The last piece I wish to share with you is some information about water birthing.  I began my education about water delivery in 2006, when I first attended an LRT, Loving Relationship Training.  Not a lot ws discussed about it at that point, but I remember a seed was planted.  While training to become a Certified Breathworker/Rebirther, we talked extensively about the subject and saw footage of a live water birth and a live hospital birth.  The difference in the reactions of the baby were incredible!  In the water birth, the baby was so calm and peaceful versus the hospital delivery in which the baby was tense and anxious.   I knew then that I wanted to share this information with other medical professionals.  I also knew that I would deliver this way if I ever were pregnant (the training was in January and I conceived in February).

Today, I found a wonderful waterbirthing site for your review.  Should you want to investigate the benefits of this form of delivery or know of someone who would benefit from this information, this is a great site to go to:  http://www.waterbirth.org/

Here are some of the FAQ’s:

Why is water birth not available in more hospitals?

Waterbirth International works diligently with couples who want to use warm water during their births in a hospitals. We have been very successfully with obtaining approvals for our portable pools in many hospitals in the last ten years. Hospitals are more cooperative today than ever before as doctors and midwives begin to see the benefits of allowing women to make their own choices.

Waterbirth profoundly demonstrates that a woman is empowered by “giving birth,” not “being delivered”. Many health care providers are seeing women take charge of their birth experiences and welcome this attitude and do what they can to facilitate a gentle birth. But others are still “locked into” the medical technological model of birth and have a harder time being convinced of the efficacy and safety of waterbirth. As couples become more informed of their options, they are assuming more responsibility for their own birth experience. If you would like one of Waterbirth International’s midwife or physician consultants to work with your doctor or hospital, simply contact us. We’ll call and discuss the approaches to take and the steps that are necessary to change policy.

 What prevents baby from breathing under water?
There are four main factors that prevent the baby from inhaling water at the time of birth:

1.  Prostaglandin E2 levels from the placenta which cause a slowing down or stopping of the fetal breathing movements. When the baby is born and the Prostaglandin level is still high, the baby’s muscles for breathing simply don’t work, thus engaging the first inhibitory response.

2.  Babies are born experiencing mild hypoxia or lack of oxygen. Hypoxia causes apnea and swallowing, not breathing or gasping.

3.  Water is a hypotonic solution and lung fluids present in the fetus are hypertonic. So, even if water were to travel in past the larynx, they could not pass into the lungs based on the fact that hypertonic solutions are denser and prevent hypotonic solutions from merging or coming into their presence.

4.  The last important inhibitory factor is the Dive Reflex and revolves around the larynx. The larynx is covered all over with chemoreceptors or taste buds. The larynx has five times as many as taste buds as the whole surface of the tongue. So, when a solution hits the back of the throat, passing the larynx, the taste buds interprets what substance it is and the glottis automatically closes and the solution is then swallowed, not inhaled.

For a more complete description, please read Barbara Harper’s Waterbirth Basics

 What is the temperature of the water?
Water should be monitored at a temperature that is comfortable for the mother, usually between 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit. Water temperature should not exceed 101 degrees Fahrenheit as it could lead to an increase in the mother’s body temperature which could cause the baby’s heart rate to increase. It is a good idea to have plenty of water to drink and cold cloths for the mother’s face and neck. A cool facial mist from a spray bottle is a welcome relief for some mothers as well.

 How much does a waterbirth cost?
If you rent a portable poolfor either home or hospital birth, it usually costs about $375, which includes the rental fee, shipping both ways, and all the extras that you might need. Some insurance companies do reimburse for the expense of the pool rental. If the hospital has permanent birth pool equipment, there is not really even any need to let your insurance company know that you have had a waterbirth. Just in case they may object to the process, it is always safe to inform the insurance company that the baby was born vaginally. It really doesn’t matter if the baby was born in the bath or on the bed – it is still a vaginal birth.

  Can I have a water birth at my local hospital?
Waterbirth International diligently works with families who want to have a water birth in a hospital environment. Hospitals are more cooperative today than ever before as more and more women have made their choices heard. Many people start the process by inquiring if they can bring in a portable pool kit for labor.  There are a series of steps that need to take place in order to assist hospitals and providers in adopting protocols for water labor and birth and the use of a portable pool. Our Gentle Birth Pool Kits have been used in hundreds of facilities, including several military hospitals (no easy task!). 

Our Executive Director, Barbara Harper, is available to work with each family to assess how much is needed to get policies changed or established.  Our success rate with hospitals and providers is about 95%. Call to discuss this aspect of our work if you want to help your local hospital institute a water birth policy. We ask that you become a memberof Waterbirth International or provide a donation in order to help us with the cost of effecting these changes.

  How long is baby in the water after the birth?
Here in the US, practitioners usually bring the baby out of the water within the first ten seconds after birth. There is no physiological reason to leave the baby under the water for any length of time. There are several water birth videos that depict leaving the baby under the water for several moments after birth and the babies are just fine.

Physiologically, the placenta is supporting the baby with oxygen during this time though it can never be predicted when the placenta will begin to separate causing the flow of oxygen to baby to stop. The umbilical cord pulsating is not a guarantee that the baby is receiving enough oxygen. The safe approach is to remove the baby, without hurrying, and gently place him into his mother’s arms.

  When should I get into the water?
A woman should be encouraged to use the labor pool whenever she wants. However, if a mother chooses to get into the water in early labor, before her contractions are strong and close together, the water may relax her enough to slow or stop labor altogether.  That is why some practitioners limit the use of the pool until labor patterns are established and the cervix is dilated to at least 5 centimeters. 

There is some physiological data that supports this rule, but each and every situation must be evaluated on its own.

Some mothers find a bath in early labor useful for its calming effect and to determine if labor has actually started. If contractions are strong and regular, no matter how dilated the cervix is, a bath might be in order to help the mother to relax enough to facilitate dilation.

Therefore, it has been suggested that the bath be used in a “trial of water” for at least one hour and allow the mother to judge its effectiveness. Midwives report that some women can go from 1 cm to complete dilation within the first hour or two of immersion.  The first hour of relaxation in the pool is usually the best and can often help a woman achieve complete dilation quickly. 

I am so honored and grateful be able to make this decision for myself and my baby.  It’s exciting to think about how easy and gentle the experience can and will be.  Now, because I am aware that thought is creative and that the baby is a divine child of God, he/she may have the desire to have another kind of experience for his/her own life lessons.  I am respectful of what is meant to happen as part of the Divine plan for my life and for the baby’s life.

Over a period of twelve years, between 1962 and 1974, Leonard Orr discovered and developed the “spiritual power of the human breathing ability”.  In ’74, he perfected the training of Breathworkers, also called Rebirthers or Breathing Guides.  Today, over 10 million people have experienced the power of breathwork, without a huge amount of advertising or marketing, but through the simple art of sharing testimonials.

Leonard said about breathwork that it’s, “perhaps the most valuable gift you can give yourself for emotional and physical health.”  Rebirthing breathing is the ability to breathe energy as well as air.  It supplies us with spiritual energy and power that enables us to move and be healthy. 

Most adults think they know how to breathe although they rarely think about it.  However, almost none of them truly know until they’ve had 10 sessions with a trained Breathworker.

Breathing sessions are for anyone who ever has tension, stress or pain.  Rebirthing enables us to relax, experience peace, tranquility and freedom from pain.  We can breathe ourselves out of anger, depression, and troublesome feelings into peace, clear and pure Life energy.

The philosophy of breathwork includes the concept that thought is creative and that we are conscious from the moment of conception.  As we begin to experience life in the pre-verbal form, we collect ideas about ourselves, our parents, authority figures, our siblings and even God.  These collected thoughts are stored in our subconscious mind and form the basis for our present and future external reality.

Because we are unable to comprehend what is happening around us or ask for clarity about it, we make decisions such as, “I am unwanted”, “Men hurt me”, “Life is hard”.  We then, through the Law of Projection, do one to three things with these thoughts:

*We act them out.

*We project them onto people, places, or things.

*We overcompensate for them.

These behaviors in turn can make one’s life less than satisfactory and can manifest in difficulty with success, wealth, relationships and family harmony. 

The result of working with a Breathworker is that you uncover the unconscious thoughts that may have been sabotaging your life and are able to change your thinking to produce more desirable results.  You begin to experience more peace and balance in your life, in your health, your family and in your career.

The process begins with an initial discovery session to determine the circumstances present at your birth, the elements of your life which are not working for you now and your goals for your own change.

Subsequent sessions begin with discussion of how your life is progressing and how the suggested homework is going.  Homework is typically the request that you write one or more affirmations about 15 times daily to turn around a particular thought.  These are powerful accelerators!  After the discussion, you breathe for one hour in a connected breath pattern, through your mouth while in a comfortable position. 

The characteristics of the rebirthing breathing technique are different than any other breathing technique.  You are guided to breath into your upper chest, into your heart, like you did when you were a baby.  This naturally will liberate thoughts and feelings from your childhood and beyond.  Your trained Breathworker will gently assist you in easily moving through these as they arise.  Your pace will be guided so that your cells become completely oxygenated, releasing any stored toxins.  Breathwork will bring a greater sense of vitality to your entire body!

Following the breathing session, your Breathworker helps you to integrate your thoughts and feelings and gives any suggestions for the next session.  Weekly sessions are recommended in the beginning.  It is also suggested that 10 sessions be attended with a male Breathworker and 10 with a female Breathworker, in order to address your paternal and, respectively, your maternal patterns which may be present.

Benefits from consistent breathwork include: 

improved mental clarity and focus,

a greater sense of well-being and balance,

the reduction of stress,

a more youthful feeling and appearance,

reversal of some health conditions,

improved relationships,

and greater prosperity