I am writing this as I hear the sweet babbling voice of my 8 month old with her father. When I was called into motherhood I was grateful to be surrounded and supported in love. I wish the same for all mothers-to-be. To nurture and honour this beautiful period of your life. To connect with your true power as your body houses, grows and protects your little one. To intentionally connect with aspects of prenatal bonding. It is from a heart centered place that I have created a new offering to support you, the mothers-to-be, in your journey.
Music therapy for mother-to-be in Halifax
I, as all expectant mothers, naturally experienced the highs and lows in my pregnancy journey. From deep gratitude for the baby that was coming into our lives, to irritability over the challenging symptoms, to the miraculous and uncomfortable changes occurring in my body.
Music, breath and sound has always been an important part of my own mental health. I naturally gravitated to implementing some of these practices into my pregnancy journey. Also in sharing, as we mothers-to-be do within our circles of community, it became apparent that others were seeking this kind of support in their pregnancy journey. In addition, it was apparent that music therapy for maternal health was not readily accessible in Nova Scotia or Canada.
Music therapy is beneficial to the prenatal journey as a support for your health and wellness. Some of these areas include:
- Honouring your identity and journey into motherhood
- Regulation of one’s nervous system for stress reduction
- Intentional connection and bonding with baby in the womb
The experiences I found meaningful included: breath work, chanting/ toning, relaxation and imagery, singing, playing instruments, improvisation, songwriting and creating a baby honouring/ delivery playlist.
Therapeutic benefits of mindfulness practice in prenatal care
“Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens.”
– The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley
During our lifetime we encounter many moments where we need to lean into practices for resilient and reflective living. To expand on this idea, we may consider the metaphor of us as a tree grounded and connected into Mother Earth. We navigate the weather systems of life – wind, rain, sleet, hail, sun – and bend, but we do not break.
Prenatal Music Therapy and Mindfulness for Maternal Health leans into the virtues of Divine Love, Loving Kindness, Wisdom and Resilience. These states of being are accessible within each of us. At times, you may be challenged to acknowledge, process, and access these virtues. It’s through the practice of returning to our heart’s intelligence that we more readily can practice these virtues.
Support a healthy, easeful pregnancy and delivery
Through the dynamic changes occurring at a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level I want you to know that you are not alone. There have been, and are currently many mothers who have experienced where you are at this moment. Let’s lean into the Wisdom of community to support and care for each other.
Currently I am facilitating individual mobile, in person sessions in the K’jipuktuk/ Halifax, NS area as well as online sessions for folks across Turtle Island/ Canada. You do not need to identify as a musician for this program. Sessions are 45 minutes or 1 hour in length. The amount of sessions are not prescriptive as each individual’s journey is unique. As I am also a Registered Counselling Therapist sessions can be covered under your health insurance.
I would be honoured to hold space for your story and journey into motherhood in Prenatal Music Therapy and Mindfulness for Maternal Health. Please connect with me for a complimentary consultation to learn more, or ask any questions about the program/ pricing.
Love + Light,
Mackenzie