Exclusive to the Wanderlust community, you can now redeem a 10% saving off the HUG signature course and visualisations hosted by Zita West using code: HUG10
I often talk to my clients about how your emotional well-being can affect your physical well-being; how achieving a strong mind-body connection can have a positive and powerful influence on your chances at conception.
I advise all my clients to create their own Positive Mind Plan, to help them achieve this connection, feel more relaxed and regain the control that they feel to have lost. But where do you start with your own positive mind plan? It’s important to remember that only you and you alone know how you are feeling and no two positive mind plans are the same. However, they all start with the same questions……
- What is your current situation and what are you trying to achieve? (in addition to the baby)
- What is the reality of your situation and how is that affecting how you think, feel and behave?
- What obstacles exist that could stop you from making positive changes in your life?
For most of us, these are the personal and intimate questions that we are most afraid of approaching: we are constantly terrified to admit that we are scared and understand why. But the whole idea of a positive mind plan is to safely explore how you feel, find new techniques with which to overcome your fears and use them to maintain that positive mind-body connection that helps you feel in control of your situation and in turn, increases your chances of conception.
Here are some proven techniques and methods that you could consider when creating your own Positive Mind Plan:
Action Plan
A clear plan of action is key! Make sure it includes lots of things that make you happy as well as the logistics of any fertility investigations or treatments that you may be involved with.
Positive Affirmations
These are carefully worded, personal, positive statement that you repeat and must be in the present tense. Start by listing all your negative thoughts about pregnancy, like “The doctor says I only have a 5% chance of getting pregnant”, and then turn them into positive ones, “I am one of the 5%”. Make these statements your new mantras: write them down, say them out loud in the morning and before bed and keep them close to your heart at all times.
Visualisation Techniques
Why not listen to a guided visualisations ? Maybe you could take up yoga? Whatever you choose, try and practice a visualisation or stress-reduction technique for around 20 minutes each day. I recently launched a new platform called HUG Health, HUG stands for Heart, Uterus, Gut. It offers a transformational set of coaching tools and techniques that you can use to improve your health and fertility, overcome challenges and stress, and change fixed mindsets.
Keep a Journal
It is often so hard to put feelings into words, but a journal can be a perfect way to just allow thoughts to flow freely in a totally uninhibited way. You may never read it back again, but at least your emotions are on paper rather than bottled up in your mind.
Do Something You Enjoy
Allow yourself to be happy! Catch up with friends over a coffee, listen to your favourite song, indulge in simple, daily pleasures that give you pure enjoyment.
Exercise
Doing some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Whether it’s walking, running or something totally different, exercise releases the endorphins needed to maintain a positive state of mind.
Therapies
Some of the therapies that we commonly recommend include art therapy, hypnotherapy and counselling – feel free to explore just one or all of them and find what works for you.
Zita West is one of the world’s leading fertility and pregnancy specialists, renowned for her ‘whole-body’ approach and her promotion of the powerful role of the mind-body connection. A midwife of 40 years, mother of two, grandmother of two, Zita’s life is surrounded by women and babies. In the past 20 years, Zita has trained as an acupuncturist, established a world-renowned fertility clinic in London, developed a range of supplements to support fertility and pregnancy, written nine books and recently launched a new range of baby and child vitamins in partnership with Leo Bamford. Now, Zita is introducing her new baby – HUG. A transformational set of coaching tools, techniques and guided visualisations, delivered through an easy to access online course.