HypnoBabies Review, Week 2

This is my review of the HypnoBabies Home Study Course from a Christian perspective. These are my personal thoughts and experiences only, not directed or encouraged by any outside person, group, or organization.

Week 1 Review

Note: HypnoBabies is written to be spiritually neutral, allowing participants to bring in any practices that they find helpful. When I read the HypnoBabies webpage about Christianity and Hypnosis, it was clear that I would be incorporating scripture and Biblical imagery in my use of the program.

HypnoBabies, Week 2

I've been struggling with writing this HypnoBabies Week 2 Review, simply because the materials this week were SO GOOD! There's not a much needed at all to make this week's lesson more Christian-friendly or comfortable. Let's just get right into it.

Materials

• Workbook Class #2
• Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations (Disc 5)
• Learning Self-Hypnosis (Disc 3)
• Deepening (Disc 2)

Workbook

The workbook this week was wonderful! The first section describes the information you will learn and reinforce in this week's tracks. I enjoy these brief descriptions of the listening materials and feel that this helps me better understand the reason behind certain words or phrases I will hear later.

Two main techniques learned this week are the Finger-Drop Technique and the Lightswitch.

The Finger-Drop Technique is a method of entering self-hypnosis. The idea is to be able to put yourself into hypnosis without needing one of the CD tracks to help you. I found this technique very easy to learn and extremely relaxing. Although the phrase you repeat internally to help yourself stay in hypnosis is supposed to be "Deeper and deeper with every breath I exhale," I alternated this with my version of John 14:27 "Peace I give you, My peace I leave with you."

Included with the Finger-Drop Technique is the Lightswitch. The visualization is of a light switch located at the base of your skull on you neck. During your regular waking hours, this switch is "On" and allows you to move around, read blogs interact with people, etc. However, when you enter hypnosis with the Finger-Drop Technique, this switch is turned "Off." Being in the off position, your muscles (and nerves, if I am understanding the concept correctly) are turned off. You are not to move or feel during this time. This is one of the first steps in creating hypno-anesthesia for childbirth. You can choose to move at any point during this time but must first turn your light switch back "On" first.

While I am really enjoying learning hypnosis with this program, I am finding the additional scientific/educational material invaluable! This week focused on health and nutrition is is just wonderful.

The nutrition section is 12 pages long and so helpful! HypnoBabies supports the pregnancy diet developed by Dr. Tom Brewer and is very focused on protein consumption. Which is not to say that it neglects fruits and vegetables. The materials clearly breakdown each type of food you should be eating, how much, and which vitamins and minerals it provides. It also lists how much protein is found in each food and provides a great checklist for your daily food intake. Interestingly, these materials recommend at least two eggs per day to strengthen the amniotic sac. I just happen to LOVE eggs and am very happy to comply!

The next section deal with toxic substances and how to avoid them during pregnancy. Included are household cleaning products, aerosol, artificial anything, medications, and certain foods. I found this information thorough and helpful. Following this are nine pages dedicated to comfort in pregnancy and prenatal exercises. Again, very good information! I need to be more proactive in doing the exercises in the book, which focus on flexibility and strengthening your muscles for your birthing time.

The final few pages are about your birthing time. They briefly walk you through early first stage, mid to late first stage, transformation (transition), and second stage of birth. Complete with diagrams! Also discussed is the time immediately following birth and certain routine procedures. I will discuss these in more detail in the next review as we begin preparing our birth preferences.

Learning Self-Hypnosis

I would like to start out by saying that I haven't found the need to edits the listening materials beyond the edits discussed in the Week 1 Review. I have begun listening to these tracks while sitting on my birth/yoga ball, as well as when I'm lying down in bed.

Learning Self-Hypnosis focuses on teaching you the Lightswitch concept. This is a very easy track to listen to and learn. I enjoy the count-in to hypnosis as it is very different from previous tracks. Rather than talking you into hypnosis, you are asked to countdown from 100 out loud with the words "deeper and deeper" between each number. It reminds me very much of counting down before egg retrieval or surgery. I'm usually in light hypnosis already before the countdown begins and have to exert a fair amount of mental energy in order to say the first few numbers. It is very easy to enter full hypnosis by 95 and enjoy the rest of the track.

Deepening

This is a wonderfully relaxing track and one I listened to the most over the past two weeks. You enter hypnosis early in the track with your Finger-Drop Technique. Once you enter hypnosis with the Finger-Drop, you take yourself to your special safe place as created in Week 1. The track then talks you through a deepening of hypnosis, taking you from a surface hypnosis into two deeper levels. It is while in these deeper levels that you are able to disconnect with your muscles (and nerves) even more, which works to create hypno-anesthesia. This track is used in Week 3, as well.

At the end of the track, the speaker states that, if this is your regular bedtime or naptime, you are given the suggestion to disregard the count-up out of hypnosis and simply fall into a deep, restful sleep. With that phrase in place, I have chosen to usually listen to this track at bedtime and enjoy a very good night's sleep.

Week 2 Impressions

I am enjoying the HypnoBabies program very much and am finding more value in it every week! The tracks are extremely relaxing and the workbook materials are very educational.

As stated above, I haven't found the need to edit the listening materials beyond the edits discussed in the Week 1 Review. While scripture continues to be a big part of my preparation for birth, I do not feel the need to find new verses to support each track or make me more comfortable.

Scriptures to Date

John 14:27

John 8:12

1 John 1:5

Matthew 3:16

Romans 10:9

Romans 15:13

Luke 1:32-33

2 Corinthians 12:9

Colossians 2:8