The Start: Time Spiral

week 1 + 2.

Dearest Birthworker…

You have devoted yourself to the call.

This is a massive step. I wonder if you realized when you signed up for this that you would be on a road to getting to know your own self much better, finding out what YOU need in this work and life and how YOU need to be doula’d/midwived in order to thrive.

For the next 6 months we will be moving through so much deep work, around your own sense of wellbeing and healing as well as what consciously supporting people through pregnancy, birth and postpartum can look like.

It is impossible to be an anchored source of support when we are flailing. Sometimes, grounding and connecting is strong medicine that is needed in order to do the work.

And so here we are.

BODY

Embarking in Union.

It is important, when working with women especially as they open, open, open in all ways to move through the concept of a Time Spiral- if you are much more of a linear person then timeLINE is good too. But, being women and cyclical beings, spirals often work really well in allowing us to open to the cyclical/ patterned nature of our human existence.

The spiral mimics the laws of nature, the way in which we contract and expand, moving into ourselves and out, how our womb pushes down from above and up from the bottom, how we our menstrual cycle demands that we sink into our body and then shine back out, bleeding to ovulation and back again…in…out…in…out.

Through doing this, you are connecting to their stories, to that which floats in front of their eyes when they are going into a huge journey like birth and motherhood.

Following the initial consult that determines that they are inviting you into their birth space, this timeline spiral can become a very good beginning point to understanding your client on a deeper level than the surface conversations that can sometimes happen when you are strangers.

You will likely only have a handful of meets at most with your client before they birth and so getting deep and honest pretty fast can be very helpful.

By sitting face to face with the pregnant person and asking these questions in the comfort of their own home, you are encouraging a trusting dynamic between the two of you.

Whilst you can do this with their partner present, this one activity can be very special when done alone, just the two of you.

From here, you know what you are working with.

You and I need to do the same. You and I need to go deep, be in trust and bring the beauty of who you are, even if you perceive them as flaws, into full view. You are a masterpiece and we want to see it all.

The timeline allows me, as your mentor (doula-ing you through new terrain) to get to know you on a richer level so that we know where we are moving and what history you are bringing with you to the table (we all do)…this unpacking allows us to move out of reaction mode and into true, holy response. The realm of the Healthy Mother.

Lets’s start at Ancestry.

MIND

HOMEWORK.

Write or type these headings on either different pages or leaving lots of room beneath:

Maternal Grandmother

Maternal Grandfather

Paternal Grandmother

Paternal Grandfather

Mother

Father

Siblings

Under each name begin to write out everything that comes to you freely about these people. This should not require research and if it does, then you shouldn't be writing it. I want to understand what you actually know about them right now, without further seeking of knowledge. Consider how you feel you free-write best: typing on a computer, into your phone notes, or on paper.

Some prompts for what to write about:

What are the most prominent memories that you have about them?

What scenes stick out?

What has been your general opinion or view of them?

Who were/are they as people? What do you know about them? Character traits/stories of them/what they brought to your life.

How did they make you happy? Or did they not?

Next- draw a large spiral, as. big as you can make it: it’s sometimes good to stick two pieces of paper together or get a large piece of card.

The Centre of this spiral is the beginning of your life. Write BIRTH in that spot. then begin to work outwards along the spiral, jotting on the line anything that comes to mind as you move towards the end point

eg. traumatic birth , breastfed, mellow baby, first memory, toddlerhood , grade school, teen, pre puberty, teen years, loss of virginity, first love, college, trips, pregnancies, marriages, birth experiences, dark nights of the soul… add all and any peak experiences as well as troublesome times and anything that you remember about them.

If you want to write quite a bit about these events but don’t want to make a busy spiral, you can also colour coordinate each word and have the write up about each coloured word as a key, at the bottom of the page or on the back.

SOUL

A meditation to find your soul light.

Your truest essence.

Please do this before making your time spiral.

Light a candle, find a soft, warm, quiet place to either sit cross legged with a straight spine or lay flat. Make sure you will be undisturbed for the next 15 minutes.

A crystal to bring you to this amplified space of self recognition is Clear Quartz.

You may come back to this meditation whenever you feel that you are losing touch with who you are.

BIRTHWORK

JOURNALLING

The concept of journaling is overwhelming to many; to others it is a daily devotion. Neither is right. It just is what it is.

But there is no denying that when we are unpacking, exposing and bringing healing in, writing is a time-old method of integrating as well as documenting aha-moments, progress, challenges and triumphs. Being able self-resource comfort and understanding for what is coming up for yourself can become a very helpful thing in birthwork; a trusted source to listen to us when we most need it is not always available, though quite ideal if one is.

At birth itself, there may be pockets of time when pulling out a journal or notepad and writing down the course of events can make us feel much safer and stabler; having to mentally save everything in your head makes for difficult sorting through when we are dealing with exhaustion and possibly shock or trauma induced emotions after birth, not to mention how the elation of witnessing raw, wild birth can deter us from really containing the details that the Mama might want to know later.

So there are many reasons to journal.

Let’s begin now.

You will need a journal and pen.

What did the relaying of maternal and paternal ancestry as well as the Time Spiral bring up for you?

How did the Soul Light present to you? Did you feel a connection to your own essence and Inner Mama or not?

Send your ancestral commentary and your timeline spiral to me sometime before 5 days prior to our next call; you can decide whether you would like to share your personal journal findings with me or not. That is totally optional and not expected.

See you soon,

Sian xoxo