Support After a Miscarriage

Hi. First, I wanna honor you in making the choice to be here and doing this course. The loss of a pregnancy is heartbreaking, and the throes of grief can be all-consuming. Whether you've experienced a miscarriage for your first time, or this has happened before, this course is intended to meet you where you are on this journey. Now, I know it may feel like it, but it's important to know that you aren't alone. Myself and many others will be alongside you in this journey, one that is often silent and isolated. Another common experience encountered with pregnancy loss are the negative thoughts that the mind can create as it tries to make sense of what has happened. We may start to experience thoughts of inadequacy, guilt, shame, even feeling betrayed by our bodies. So over the next five sessions, we're not trying to fix or correct ourselves because this implies that we're broken. But instead we'll practice cultivating compassion and companionship within ourselves. We'll be learning to be with and open ourselves up to whatever is arising in this moment and holding this sense of loss and grief as tenderly and as compassionately as we can. And before we begin the practice for today, I wanna remind you that at any time if this practice becomes uncomfortable or too much in any way, you can always pause the exercise and come back to it at another time. Sometimes when we sit to meditate, a lot can come to surface and it's totally okay if this becomes too much to handle. So for now, take a moment to find a position of comfort. You can be lying down or sitting upright. And the eyes can be open or closed. And just finding the breath within the body, riding the wave of each inhale and each exhale. Anchoring to this moment. And now taking three deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. And maybe letting out a gentle sigh as you exhale. And just feeling the body soften, press down into the surface beneath you. Now, returning the breath back to its natural rhythm and bringing the focus to the body. And just noticing how you're feeling today, in this moment. What emotion is present? And where in the body is it present? If there's many emotions, choosing the one that feels manageable to work with for this exercise. And if there's nothing there, that's okay, too. Just continuing to follow the breath. So maybe there's also a sense of tension or tightness in the body. Maybe even a sense of sadness, emptiness, or something else. Just gently noticing and feeling into where this emotion is. And seeing if you can soften the body, this area, with the breath or with soothing touch, like laying the hand gently over the heart and just holding this place in a gentle and tender way. Naturally the mind will wander, and that's okay. Just guiding it back to...