LEBOYER TONING FOR PREGNANCY & BIRTHING
A gentle, loving Way to Birth your Child and your Self
Singing is a powerful, transformative way of birthing. Although certain techniques are taught, these only serve as a basis for remembering your own knowing of surrendering to the process of birth through the use of sounds, for sounds support the breath and the breath is the key to letting go.
Benefits
This meditative voice, breath and movement work
- promotes the physical, emotional and mental well-being of the mother-to-be
- stimulates the overall development of the unborn child and especially the motor skills
- empowers the pregnant woman to connect with her intuition, her inner knowing of how to give birth
- allows the mother-to-be to let go and surrender to the process of birth
- gently, lovingly supports the unborn child in its descent and birth process
- allows the pregnant woman to be transported into her inner sanctuary and experience pregnancy and birthing as the mystical transformation that it is
- allows the partner to connect with the mother-to-be and the birth process very profoundly through attuning with her breath and supporting her toning
- supports conception by releasing built-up tension in the pelvis, reproductory organs and mind
Process
Learn
- specific body movements to open up the pelvis, sacrum and entire back and the abdominal breathing
- simple toning practices to release tension and repressed emotions
- scales in different modes of music that balance your emotional body and connect you with your inner Being
- visualization practices to purify the physical and subtle bodies and promote inner peace
- to let go and allow your own sounds and songs to flow out of you
Note: Although this path was originally developed for expectant mothers, it has proven to be very profound in "birthing" the Self, as it is very similar to Nada Yoga. In fact, Frédérick Leboyer and Shanti Shivani have been teaching this path in Europe since 1983 to thousands of people, who were not expecting a child.
History
Frédérick Leboyer is the "Father of Natural Childbirth" in
Europe. He is best known in the USA for his book "Birth without Violence",
although he wrote several more such as "The Art of Breathing" or "Baby
Massage". He also produced and directed two films, one called "Naissance" (Birth)
about "Birth without Violence", that was produced in 1969 and the other
entitled "Le Sacre de la Naissance" (The Sacredness of Birth) which
was released in Europe in 1983. This film/video was the product of
Leboyer's insights as a gynaecologist and head of a clinic in Paris
and as a student of Karnatic music of Southern India and a practitioner
of Hatha Yoga and Chinese martial arts. Inspired by psychoanalysis
and his encounter with India and disillusioned by the technical development
in health care, he left the medical community in 1973. Since then he
has been dedicating himself to writing, meditation and other Eastern
disciplines.
Leboyer realized while studying Karnatic singing, that singing is the
quickest way to open up the abdominal breathing. He combined this insight
with movements distilled out of his lifelong experience as a practitioner
of hatha yoga and tai chi that open up the body very fast, and voilą chanting
for pregnancy and birthing was born!
Shanti Shivani met Leboyer as his interpreter in 1983 when he was touring
in Germany with his film "Le Sacre de la Naissance". Because of Shanti's
background as a singer of Indian classical music and her extensive experience
with yoga, meditation and various movement disciplines Leboyer introduced
Shanti to his work and sent her out to teach his work in 1986 after she
had assisted him at some of his workshops as an interpreter, tambura player
and vocalist. At this point Shanti felt ready to teach Leboyer's work,
as she had integrated Leboyer's movements and way of toning into her
own pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Tara. Shanti Shivani was
invited to teach Leboyer's "Atmen und Singen" ("Breathing and Singing" in
German) in seminars and at conferences all over Europe, where she resided
until 1993. Having realized the depth of this path in her own life and
through the experiences of the people she taught, she feels very strongly
about opening up women and their partners to this gentle way of birthing.
The profound knowledge of Nada
Yoga flows into Shanti Shivani's toning
work for Pregnancy and Birthing.