Hypnobirthing breathing exercises

elviebird

I'm reading Hypnobirthing the Mongan Method and am trying to practice the breathing exercises at the end.  I won't be taking classes.

Anyone else have trouble with these?  I'm ok with the sleep breathing but I'm having problems with the slow breathing. When I try to breathe that slow it feels like I'm suffocating and I can't get enough oxygen.  By the time I've finished exhaling and go to take my next breath, I feel like I just want to gasp it in which kind of defeats the whole breathing slow thing.

Hopefully my lung capacity will increase with more practice but I can see this just causing more stress rather than relaxation during labor.

Anyone else not really follow the breathing exercises but still had hypnobirthing work for them?

august8080

I was never able to do the breathing to the count she suggested--I think I got to 6 or 7 at best, not 10. No big deal at all! Just do what you can. HB worked beautifully for me.

KatieMarie27

Baby is still cooking, but the breathing exercise where you are supposed to count to 20 does not work for me.  I can get to 10 and that is it.  My instructor said that is fine, the point of the exercise is to get you to slow your breathing not necessarily to get to 20.

fryrat

When you do breathing exercises, just try to breathe out for more counts than you are breathing in. Usually, the recommendation is double, like in for 4, out for 8, but really any count will do. I will admit, it is really difficult, if you are not used to it.

 

One trick I learned a long time back was to "smell the roses, blow out the candles" meaning to breathe in through your nose, but then out through your mouth, with a small opening. You can adjust your mouth to keep you from letting all your air out at once, which is usually the cause of the suffocating feeling. Your breathing muscles will learn to adjust the exhaling pressure, and you will eventually be able to breathe through your nose for those long counts. 

LindseyJW

this is the reason why i don't advocate trying to learn HypnoBirthing on your own. there is just not enough information in the book to properly and adequately learn the techniques.

please do not use your mouth for any of the breathing techniques in HypnoBirthing. using your mouth causes you to use muscles that you need to be completely relaxed. tension in the jaw is tied to tension in the vagina. for this reason, all HypnoBirthing breathing techniques are done through the nose only. 

HypnoBirthing works because of the breathing! please don't discount it! 

Sleep/Calm Breathing 

the sleep breathing (which we now call "calm" breathing) is intended to be used between surges or any time you need to slow your body (e.g., if you experience any spasm like notions during the birthing phase).

to properly do sleep breathing, breath in to the count of 4 and out to the count of 8. have someone else count the numbers for you as you practice until you get the hang of the technique and no longer need to actually count. this should be a slow count and you should be sending your breath to the back of your throat and then down into your belly. your belly should rise and fall with each breath, not your chest. to see if you are doing it right, place your hands side by side, one on the top of your belly, the other at the bottom of your rib cage, pinky to pointer finger. as you breath in, the bottom hand should rise and then fall as you exhale.

as you do this breathing exercise, you will notice that your heart rate slows and your body begins to feel heavy. you will notice your body sinking deeper and deeper and becoming heavier and heavier, almost as though every bone, every ounce of blood, every cell is sinking down.

Slow/Surge Breathing

this technique is also done through the nose only. the count is 1-20 and back down to 1. the count is rapid, though, not a slow count like in sleep breathing. again, have someone practice with you until you get the hang of it. it can be overwhelming to try the breathing while also counting - it takes the focus away from breathing. in my class, i teach the count to about 9 seconds. with practice, you can comfortably extend this to up to 15 seconds. you will inhale and exhale to the same count and same pace, unlike in sleep breathing where you exhale for longer than you inhale.

the breath comes in through the nose and is directed to the back of the throat. visualize that there is a balloon in your belly and the breath is filling up the balloon. during labor, you will fill this balloon with your breath, corresponding with the natural rise of the uterus during surge (there is a poster shown in class of the rise of the uterus during a surge - it moves up with each surge, then settles back to normal position after the surge has ended). as you exhale, your belly will still rise with the balloon and rise more as you breathe in again. you will likely use 2-3 surge breaths for each surge during labor. 

i'm happy to help you through the other techniques too. i really don't support learning HypnoBirthing on your own, as you are seeing now the techniques are not adequately presented in the book. i would hate for someone to say that HypnoBirthing didn't work when really the techniques weren't properly learned! feel free to KIT on the board, or you can email me at Lindsey AT SunflowersHealingandWellness DOT com. 

caralck

Glad to hear I'm not the only one having a hard time breathing in and out that long.  I am taking the classes starting later this month.  Then again, I also suck at doing spirometry testing because I can never forcefully breathe out for the full 6 seconds.  It must mean something when a pulmonologist tells me "wow, you really suck at this" after failing 5 attempts in a row.

sschwege

KatieMarie27:

Baby is still cooking, but the breathing exercise where you are supposed to count to 20 does not work for me.  I can get to 10 and that is it.  My instructor said that is fine, the point of the exercise is to get you to slow your breathing not necessarily to get to 20.

Exactly, I could never do this either.  If it stresses you out don't count at all, just make sure you are breathing slowly. 

KatieMarie27

LindseyJW:

please do not use your mouth for any of the breathing techniques in HypnoBirthing. using your mouth causes you to use muscles that you need to be completely relaxed. tension in the jaw is tied to tension in the vagina. for this reason, all HypnoBirthing breathing techniques are done through the nose only. 

I guess my instructor teaches the breathing techniques kind of different.  For the Surge Breathing, she said you should inhale through the nose, but you can exhale through the mouth.  She did tell us to keep relaxed and making sure your support person reminds you to relax your face.

LindseyJW

KatieMarie27:

LindseyJW:

please do not use your mouth for any of the breathing techniques in HypnoBirthing. using your mouth causes you to use muscles that you need to be completely relaxed. tension in the jaw is tied to tension in the vagina. for this reason, all HypnoBirthing breathing techniques are done through the nose only. 

I guess my instructor teaches the breathing techniques kind of different.  For the Surge Breathing, she said you should inhale through the nose, but you can exhale through the mouth.  She did tell us to keep relaxed and making sure your support person reminds you to relax your face.

that is contrary to how the Institute trains practitioners. in order to exhale through your mouth as slowly as you would your nose without any additional work, you would need to purse your lips, which adds tension to the mouth and jaw, encouraging tension in the vagina. if you have a cold or are otherwise stuffed up and cannot breath sufficiently through your nose, then it is advisable to breathe through your mouth, but that's really the only time it is is recommended. 

WildcatPrincess

It takes a lot of practice. I did as suggested in the book and did it a few times when I woke in the morning and I do it throughout the relaxations when I do them at night. Like someone else said, the numbers don't matter as much as breathing as slowly as you can  It really helped me a lot during labor last time. I did mostly breathe through my nose in order to focus on keeping my jaw and mouth relaxed.

elviebird

Thanks for the advice everyone!  I've got 3 more months so I'll just keep practicing.

Kpercyman

I am attempting to practice the breathing exercises but tend to fall asleep while doing them.  I guess I get too relaxed.  Maybe this will happen during labor. LOL!  Good luck to both of us.  I will post my HB birth once I pop in the next couple of weeks.