When you’re a surrogate mother, you will have natural anxiety about your pregnancy as well as the physical stress of carrying a child, in addition to your other daily pressures. Don’t worry. You can manage the stress with ten minutes of meditation per day. You can meditate according to many different methods to achieve very similar health benefits for both yourselves as surrogates and the children you are carrying. All forms of meditation focus on emptying your mind of stressful thoughts to reduce tension in your body and set you into a more positive state of mind.
Recommended Methods of Meditation for Surrogates
All four of these meditation practices have been proven to provide benefits to surrogate mothers. You can use them all at different times of the day or alternate which method you use on a daily basis. Whichever method you choose, practice it for a minimum of ten minutes at a time for the most effectiveness.
- Emptying oneself: Sit in a relaxed position in a quiet, dimly lit room. Make a gently humming noise. The hum will help steer your concentration away from your thoughts. If a worry or a thought occurs to you, do your best to dismiss it from your mind. The practice is meant to relax and refresh your mind.
- Filling your mind with positive thoughts: Rather than emptying your mind, fill it with a healthier mantra. As you sit, repeat a Scripture verse or a positive motto either out loud or to yourself. You will push negative thoughts out of your mind as you focus on the positive.
- Focused breathing and body awareness: As you sit, concentrate on your breathing. In, out. In, out. Feel the air enter your nose, your lungs expand, and your muscles constrict and loosen. Feel the air blow out your nostrils. Internally examine each part of your body, starting at your feet. Do you have tension? Pain? Mentally relax those muscles. When you’re finished, your body should feel less tense and your mind less anxious.
- Yoga or Tai Chi: Instead of sitting, stretch your muscles in a series of purposeful poses. The point of the practice is not to overexert yourself but to allow your muscles to become more flexible every session. Concentrating on the pose you are trying to achieve will rid your mind of worries, doubts, and concerns for the day. You can join a class to learn these forms, but then practice them on your own to achieve the most benefit without the distractions of a teacher or other students.
Meditation Benefits for Surrogates
Practicing one or a variety of the above meditation methods will help you achieve the following three benefits.
- Less anxiety: As you empty your mind of stressful feelings, you will gain a more relaxed state of mind. Breathe and decompress. Renew your perspective and feel your outlook becoming more positive.
- Less discomfort: Stopping to breathe and listen to your body gives your body a chance to relax. Release tension and certain muscle pains will subside.
- Better sleep: When your mind is free of worry and your body is relaxed, you will have an easier time falling and staying asleep.
How Meditation Benefits the Baby
Babies pick up on the stress of their environment. Playing music will often soothe or excite a baby in the womb. Likewise, they will sense your stress. When you meditate and yourself of negativity and unnecessary tension, you provide a more peaceful home for the baby to grow and develop. An unborn baby who is given a peaceful environment as they develop grows into a more well-adjusted child.
Provide a Peaceful Womb for a New Child to Grow
Are you committed to providing a nurturing, safe environment for an unborn baby? We invite you to join the many surrogates who are providing peaceful wombs for children to grow.
