The Dao of Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be a very fulfilling and sometimes overwhelming time. It gives you an opportunity understand and support the natural creative cycle. Each stage relates to an elemental phase of the Dao. Simple practices can harmonize the natural energies that are working through you and your child at that time. No matter what symptoms you may be feeling, or stressors you may have in your life, it allows you a touch stone to return to your path and support the path of your developing baby.

Mothers instinctively feel the womb to be a connection to another world. According to Daoist thinking, the child is a “shaman” bridging heaven and earth.  It is conceived into the watery “world” of the womb. Pregnancy is a creative cycle with the same phases as life outside the womb. Each month a new type of elemental energy is entering into your child and making him or her who she will become. This phase can be supported with specific foods, activities and treatments. Birth marks the death of the child’s “womb spirit” and entrance into the outside world.

In our modern culture we tend to think of a child’s characteristics as pretty much set after conception. The genes of the mother and father have combined into a new life. It has its own preset destiny of brown hair, brown eyes, tall, short, sweet tempered or hotheaded. We avoid things like alcohol, soft cheeses and hot tubs. The ancient Daoists went much deeper. They observed the seasons and the weather. They understood and documented the natural cycles, including the “elements.” They believed it is important to support these natural phases during pregnancy and minimize anything that might disturb them.

Working with the Dao of Pregnancy supports fetal development and the mother’s health. Through years of working with pregnant woman I have become intimately familiar with each phase and the Elements and actions to balance them. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine offers wonderful options in the office. But my time with patients is short. There is more that can be done at home to harmonize the energies for optimal health in pregnancy and for the health of the child once it is born.

We help you have the happiest and healthiest pregnancy, birth, and baby. Take this precious time to connect with yourself, your baby and the nature cycles you are both experiencing. Make an appointment for acupuncture to support your pregnancy today.

Lindsey Lawson MS EAMP is an Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist and Clinic Director at Glow Natural Health and Seattle Fertility Acupuncturist. She is passionate about healthy, happy living, food and is a regular blogger.  For an appointment call Glow at 206 568 7545.