What are affirmations and why are they so powerful?

AffirmationsAffirmation cardsEmpowermentBirthPostpartum

Sep 21

Affirmations are amazing tools that can counteract the negative messages that we all carry within us, such as believing that our bodies are unreliable, that our intuitive knowing is less valid than science and technology, that we aren’t worthy of happiness and success etc.

If you have an inner critical voice, ask yourself where it comes from, whose voice it really is and how it came to be there. By facing your demons, your inner strength grows and your pregnancy and early days of motherhood can become more enjoyable. This is also how you create the foundation for giving birth on your own terms and becoming a confident parent.

Make affirmations a part of your daily self-care ritual

We really want to encourage you to set aside at least a few minutes for yourself each day during pregnancy to prepare your body and soul for the huge task of birthing your baby and caring for it. Your body has created a new life and makes sure that your baby grows and receives nourishment every day. This time will never come again and YOU deserve feeling like a goddess when you’re pregnant!

To create a moment of relaxation for yourself you might, for example, light a candle and have a cup of herbal tea, providing you with warmth, nutrition and calm. Then perhaps lie down with your eyes closed or sit comfortably and rest your hands over your belly. Send a loving message to your baby, telling it that it is loved and that you long to meet it.

Write your own affirmations or read Braïdo Organics Sacred Birth affirmations and take a moment to reflect on your feelings. Writing down your thoughts in a notebook can provide you with great relief and can be very healing. Let all your feelings and thoughts arise without censoring them.

Then run yourself a bath or have a warm shower and rub an essential body oil into your skin, making sure you massage your belly, neck and other parts of your body that need some extra love. If you have a partner, a friend or a family member around you can also ask them to prepare you a foot bath and a foot massage. See instructions for a foot bath/massage down below.

End the practice by reading a book, listening to a meditation or playing some relaxing music. Try to avoid looking at your phone late at night, and preferably for two hours before going to sleep, as the blue light affects your hormones and the quality of your sleep (which we also suspect could disrupt the finely tuned start of labour). Your body and mind will thank you for this oxytoxin-boosting evening ritual.

Maria Bengtsson Lenn and Kristina Tuner, founders of Braïdo Organics, have written 30 poetic affirmations with unique illustrations, created by the artist Josephine Klerks, to guide you through an empowering pregnancy, birth and postpartum period.

What’s different with Braïdo Organics affirmation cards?

Our affirmations are unique and help the expectant mother to go deeper than many generic versions. We have distilled our 20+ years of experience of birth and motherhood into beautiful poetry that conveys the wisdom and intuitive knowing of birth. The cards reflect birth as a profoundly spiritual experience and motherhood as a sacred process.

——

Instructions for the person who is to give you the foot bath:

Fill a small tub with warm water. Take any type of essential oil and drop into the water. You can also add some Epsom salt and sprinkle dried rose petals or lavender flowers in the water. Make a cup of herbal tea and make sure you're both comfortable. Put some essential body- and massage oil in your hand and start massaging one foot while the other rests in the warm bath. This moment can be a good opportunity to practice conscious presence, touch and relaxed breathing together.

We offer exquisite organic herbal teas and oils that have been developed especially for pregnant women and new mothers. Take a look at our complete offering in our webshop.

——

Relax and enjoy yourself, you amazing goddess!