It is of great interest to me, that a female tennis champion like Maria Sharapova feels free to do whatever it takes on a court to achieve her goal, including making this earthy, primitive sound coined "grunting" in front of a global audience, and when I encourage a woman to make sound on her birthing bed in the privacy of her family, more often than not, there is resistance.
Time and again, I witness women that allow themselves the freedom to
express birth vocally will have shorter, easier more satisfying
experiences. One of my teachers, internationally recognized Bonnie
Bridge Cohen of BodyMind Centering elaborates. She believes that sounding supports the vitality and function of a tissue
through toning. Toning vibrates tissue and when we direct our
attention to the area of sensation, the tissue becomes more alive. In
the case of labor, sounding can allow a woman to move easier through a
contraction because it will gently awaken her to her capacity to move at
a vibrational level.
Consider that our hesitation to sound is one of self esteem. Women like Maria Sharapova our coached
intensely, daily, monumentally to believe in themselves. Such coaching
may seem out of reach for many women who are struggling with the day to
day demands of caring for their young children, careers, and running a
household. However, consider without a coach, realizing one's full
potential is extremely difficult, maybe even impossible.
You have available to you a committed, passionate experienced teacher who wants nothing more than for you to realize how gifted and strong you really are. In the circle, we practice making sound which not only helps us move through resistance, but it also supports the goal of yoga; to remember our vibrational origins. So when you allow yourself the freedom to sound on your birthing bed, consider that you chime in tune with all of creation. Then you'll have the support of an audience that far exceeds Wimbleton's!
Together,
