This is a nice website I have found. Or rather, it found me, by naming the Belief Bump baby series of CDs in their top ten maternity products. There is all sorts here - information and support through pregnancy, birth and beyond - just the same as Belief Bump Baby then! Take a look, I really like it. http://www.kideeko.co.uk/health-and-wellbeing/top-ten-maternity-treats-for-survival Thanks ladies.

Never too late to start

It is known that most births are clustered in September and October with another high point in March. Many people hypothesise that this is due to the Christmas and New Year and then the summer holiday. Make of that what you will, if you have a baby due in the Autumn, it's time to get working on your hypnobirthing straight away! It takes a few weeks to practice the techniques and practice is needed in order to really make the most of hypnosis for birth. What you are doing with hypnosis is training the brain to think in a certain way and setting up patterns of feelings and behaviour. If you are going to start, get The Birth CD ordered now!

Did the Duchess of Cambridge use hypnosis for birth?

Well there has been a lot written about the Duchess of Cambridge using hypnosis techniques for the birth of her son. Interestingly, these were written before the birth and nothing yet has emerged afterwards, if it ever will. I hope she did take the time to learn the techniques on The Birth CD programme, all of then can help to contribute to a positive and calm experience for the mother, a calm baby and also to aiding recovery afterwards. Certainly the duchess looked marvellous the day afterwards when she showed off her new son to the world.

More happy customers

It's Friday afteroon and I have just opened my emails to find the following: "Dear Helen, I just wanted to say thank you. I am 39 and had been trying to conceive a second child for 2.5 years, including 1 failed iui and 1 failed ivf and was at the point of throwing in the towel when I read about your ivf belief cd. Over the years I have tried everything (reflexology, acupuncture, yoga) but nothing seemed to help. I bought your cd and decided to give it one last chance and I can honestly say that it transformed my ivf experience. This time I remained calm, kept occupied with other things and stayed off the fertility forums which I found hugely stressful yet addictive. It has been a much more successful cycle resulting in 5 5-day blastocysts and I am delighted to say that I finally tested positive. I cannot recommend the ivf belief cd enough. Thank you." How lovely to have "transformed" someone's experience into something positive. I feel really humble.

All Change - and a big change!

So much to update you on. So first, the CD referred to in the last post is now recorded and I am very proud of it too. It is about to go into production and is an absolute stormer, not only for the quality but the content is knockout and will be outstandingly good value too. It's working title is "Happy Birth Day" so far. Biggest news is that I have now finished at my school in Warwickshire and also stopped giving one to one hypnotherapy sessions in Northants and Warwickshire. I am moving house to the other end of the country and embarking on another chapter of life. I will continue to produce my CDs though and the range will slowly expand. I'll keep the blog updated :0)

Work work work

I am being a "self-starter" today, as on many other days. I am busy creating another CD for publication. Originally I thought I'd just rattle it off and get myself into the studio but it's proving more complex than I thought. Much thinking time required as the languauge has to be spot on let alone deciding exactly what content to use, in what order, how to structure it AND what to leave out.

This one is all about hypnosis for childbirth. It is incredibly powerful, helpful, useful and something that most mothers would benefit from. I have GOT to get it right!

Clients make my day

I saw the most delightful client yesterday who has just come to the end of her sessions with me. It prompted me to reflect on my client base over the past few years and I realised that some of my most rewarding clients have been ladies in their seventies. Now this was not quite what I was expecting, in fact my target market isn't this demographic, but I have been so surprised with these ladies.

There have been 3 of them, and all have been wonderful, accomplished, fascinating individuals. Whilst working with them I have been privileged to learn about their lives and what they have been through. All 3 went through the war in London and Essex and this has shaped them fundamentally, life really was different in those days. And the ways in which life was different has been the reason they turned out like they did and able to do so much, so talented and able. I bet they could turn their hands to anything you suggested.

I almost feel a pang when clients like these come to the end of their time with me but they can't rely on me forever and once our work is done, a client has to learn to go it alone. Maybe slowly at first but confidence will increase and the work we have done sows the seeds for improvement that continues long after our sessions finish.

Today I salute my amazing clients and the work they have done and I feel enriched for having known them.

I suppose we have to notice all that is around us and drink in the opportunities provided. All our experiences teach us something, or show us something we may not have noticed if we don't take the time to notice and reflect. This isn't to say we should go around contemplating ourselves and navel-gazing constantly! It's about mindfulness, and really seeing and experiencing rather than drifting. If I had turned my ladies away because they didn't belong to my ideal theoretical client group, I would not have learned what I did and truly I feel better for it.

A happy and fulfilled Helen is about to press the "Submit" button! Enjoy your day, I hope it is as good as mine has been.