Article previously published in older newsletters. Author is Amanda Sachs
Pregnancy changed my taste and views on many things. It gave me an abundance of experiences on letting go and letting God. Prior to becoming pregnant I preferred Pepsi to Coke, poultry to red meat, took Excedrin for every headache I had and could always keep myself going no matter the level of exhaustion or lack of sleep that I was experiencing. I also felt like I needed to feel in control and have a plan and schedule for everything in life. Becoming pregnant took the relationship between me and my spiritual life to a whole new level. I learned to use Reiki often, to stop and breathe, become more in touch with my body’s needs, and that even the biggest control freak can let go.
Three words that got me through my first trimester were Prayer, Reiki and Mediation. I learned Reiki I from my mother when I was 13 and I became a Reiki Master in my late teens. I became a Karuna Reiki® Master a few years later. I was raised with Reiki and intend to share it with my children. I know how important Reiki is when dealing with life changes and physical challenges.
When I first found out I was pregnant I was excited and terrified at the same time. While my husband and I decided we were going to try to get pregnant, there was a part of me that didn’t actually think it was going to happen. So here it was in my face, two pink lines. There was a level of fear that sat beside my excitement. I was someone who was never a fan of babies and still didn’t know how I felt about having my own. I spent time in prayer and meditation processing these fears and giving them to God to handle. I used Karuna Reiki® and worked with affirmations such as, “I am a strong and confident mother-to-be” to the inner mom inside me beginning to grow. I also worked with, “I am excited and blessed for the life unfolding before me” and “Let go and let God”. These affirmations brought me peace when my heart felt fearful. The fear soon subsided and I was left with joy and excitement.
I immediately began to work with sending myself and the growing baby Reiki every morning when I woke up and every evening before bed. I attribute these self-Reiki treatments to my lack of morning sickness. While I did not suffer from morning sickness I did have bouts of nausea from certain smells. I dealt with the nausea by lying down, placing one hand over my throat chakra and my other hand on my sacral (navel) charka and sent Reiki. I would feel an instant relief and continue to send for another five minutes before returning to my previous task.
During the first trimester I was met with exhaustion and hormones. I am the type of person who works best under pressure and can keep moving even though I only had three hours of sleep the night before. A month into the pregnancy I was hit with this uncontrollable urge to sleep. I felt like my life was slipping away. I began to stress that I was missing out on things and wanted to keep moving but I was constantly hit with sleepiness and found myself giving in and sleeping whenever possible. If I wasn’t sleeping I spent time in meditation. I truly believe this was universe’s way of making me slow down and become one with the pregnancy. In meditation, I was paying attention to what was going on with my body and what it wanted.
To keep myself energized when I needed to be present and awake I did Chakra Tai Chi and worked with the Reiki Power Symbol often. I literally coated myself with the Power Symbol from head to toe before walking out the door in the morning. It kept me focused and alert to what was going on around me. I felt it also gave me a spring in my step when all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed.
Hormones hit me like a raging bull. I began to use Karuna Reiki® to calm my unnecessary irritability. This replaced the rage and negativity with peace in my heart. I worked with the first four practitioner symbols to help me stay present and grounded when I felt unbalanced. Karuna Reiki® stilled my emotions and allowed me to process what I was feeling without having a huge meltdown. During my entire pregnancy I only had two emotional melt downs.
I soon felt the exhaustion and nausea lift as I transitioned in the second trimester. With my energy back I was able to return to my daily life activities. I was still sending Reiki to myself every morning and every evening. We soon found out we were having a boy and he was growing strong and healthy. From this point in the pregnancy on I was told that he was measuring large. I told everyone the Reiki was giving him an extra boost.
I started working with the last four practitioner symbols of Karuna Reiki®. I meditated on them and I used my intuition to become fully connected to my experience being pregnant. I truly felt like I was completely present in life for the first time in long time. When I began to worry about future finances, going into labor, or something wrong happening, I worked with Karuna Reiki®, released the thoughts and brought myself back to the present.
I returned to my Reiki practice once my exhaustion lifted and at this point I was beginning to feel the baby move. During Reiki sessions with clients I felt the most fluttering. When the session started the fluttering was very noticeable. The fluttering subsided once I was halfway through the session and then returned again toward the end. I was not used to this extra sensation during a Reiki session and it took some getting used to. There was a part of me that wanted to jump up and yell, “The baby is moving!” As the baby grew the more noticeable the movements became. The baby was receiving a Reiki session while I was giving one!
During my second trimester I was hit with three sinus infections. My old self would have popped two Excedrin Migraine pills and kept moving but Excedrin was not on the list of what I could take being pregnant. I used Reiki, Neti Pot, and Tylenol to help deal with the pain that comes with sinus infections and received faster relief than when I used to take Excedrin. I was amazed and couldn’t believe I’ve never tried it before.
My third trimester arrived with more exhaustion and body aches. Never in my life had I weighed so much or felt so big. My mind kept worrying about my body image. Karuna Reiki® came to my rescue once again and worked on releasing the feelings of insecurity, fear and disgust. Up until my third trimester I only had a few stretch marks along my sides but none across my stomach. I attribute this to the Reiki I was giving myself everyday. I did receive some marks across my stomach towards the very end but I got so big no amount of coco butter or Reiki could have prevented it.
When my back and shoulders began to ache and I used Reiki and the Power Symbol to spot treat and ease my pain. Acid reflux became a problem towards the end as well and I would send Reiki by placing my hand on my throat charka and the other on my solar plexus area. This created a pocket of energy around the pain and provided relief.
Exhaustion returned late into the third trimester and I gave in this time and didn’t resist like I did in the first trimester. I slept, meditated and gave the growing baby Reiki. Again I felt completely present in the moment and connected with my body.
I saw my due date come and pass with no signs of the baby wanting to budge. I tried sending Reiki, being positive, drinking teas, walking, and other crazy old wives tale methods to get the baby to budge and he didn’t. This taught me a lot of patience. When you are in a place of waiting you can become irritable, fearful, worrisome and negative. The trick to being in a pleasant place of waiting is knowing that universe works in its own time for a reason.
I went into labor on New Year’s Day. My plan was to try and have the birth as natural as possible. In preparation for the big event I had been sending myself Reiki to this moment since the day I found out my due date. I created a place in my Reiki Crystal Grid and I sent Reiki to provide me emotional and physical support.
Once my contractions got closer together and stronger I started to have second thoughts. I tried visualizations, getting in touch with the Reiki I had sent myself and my mother supported me by giving me Reiki as well. By the time we made it to the hospital I knew if I wanted to have a pleasant birth experience I would need pain relief. As the nurse who was in charge of taking care of me prepped me for my epidural she said, “No one gets a trophy for doing in naturally, Hon.” This statement brought me relief and I let go of the guilt I had for giving in. I knew no matter what I would have a healthy baby.
I was in labor for 22 hours and the baby did not want to drop. Here I was physically ready, dilated and pain free but the baby did not want to budge. The control freak inside of me wanted to scream but Reiki calmed it down. The doctors decided it would be best to deliver via a cesarean and with all the Reiki support around me, I felt at peace with the decision. My son Connor was delivered at 9:25am on 01/02/2010 and my pregnancy was over.
Reiki played a huge roll in my recovery from the cesarean. My Reiki Master Mom was here to help my recovery. After my pain meds wore off the second day I had one ibuprofen and nothing afterwards. I was up and moving slow the second day, walking the hallways of the hospital that evening.
I also believe that Reiki helped me bond with my baby and create a relaxing environment for breast feeding. We didn’t have any latching problems from the moment we put him to the breast. I had minimal to zero pain the first week of nursing and my supply came in by the third day post partum.
People ask me if I miss being pregnant. My answer is no. While I would do it again, possibly. Because of Reiki and meditation I feel that I was fully present in the whole pregnancy. I am now fully present in the moment of being a mother.
Using Self Reiki techniques both, Karuna and Usui, throughout my pregnancy, I had no morning sickness, swelling, or complications. I was blessed with healthy weight gain, a healthy baby with a happy disposition and a pregnancy I can look back on and smile about.
Amanda Sachs, Usui and Karuna Reiki Master, teacher, web designer, and mother.