Natural Birth

Yesterday I went to watch a local event on Hove seafront. It was the annual Superhero 10KM race where everyone dresses up as a recognised superhero. (See this link for more information Superhuman Effort Breaks World Record )

As I was standing there it got me wondering about whether the NLP technique of "standing in someone's shoes" to improve your success in something, would result in the runners taking on elements of the superhero they were dressed up as, and whether this would actually impact their run time.

For example, would the Hulk be slowed down and more lumbering, would Spiderman feel as though he were swinging from lampost to lampost to make him quicker and would Superman run his all time best? I actually think the Silver Surfer won and as it was torrential rain at the start, maybe there is something in it!

Anyway, why am I posting this on a birthing blog you may ask? With any activity there are people who excel at them and people who don't do so well. The NLP technique I mentioned of imagining as though you were standing in someone's shoes applies just as much to birth as it does to say public speaking. If you were to speak in public and imagine you were Barack Obama, Steve Jobs or Richard Branson then this would have a huge impact on your performance. So, if whilst in labour you take on the persona of Naolí Vinaver Lopez from the Birth Day DVD (see sidebar), or maybe of someone close to you who has told you of a great birth experience, then standing in their shoes will enable you to tap into the skills they used.

This technique involves firstly finding someone who is a role model for the particular behaviour. Then you try on their body language, how they hold themselves, how they walk, how they talk, see how it feels to be them and how just by stepping into their shoes, it has an impact on you. This exercise can be done in a mirror, physically pretending to try on a coat/shoes/whatever of the role model and becoming them as they do. This technique can be seen quite easily when you know someone who wears a uniform for their work. Perhaps you know someone who is a policeman or policewoman or a traffic warden?

So why not consider who your birthing superhero might be and try their suit on for size…?

Take care… and remember…"I have the power!!!" (He-Man was a particular favourite of mine - just wish I'd thought of shouting it out whilst in labour!)