Puddicombe - The Headspace guide to ... a mindful pregnancy

Andy Puddicombe is a meditation and mindfulness expert. An accomplished presenter and writer, Andy is the voice of all things Headspace.

In his early twenties, midway through a university degree in Sports Science, Andy made the unexpected decision to travel to the Himalayas to study meditation instead. It was the beginning of a ten year journey which took him around the world, culminating with ordination as a Tibetan Buddhist monk in Northern India.

His transition back to lay life in 2004 was no less extraordinary. Training briefly at Moscow State Circus, he returned to London where he completed a degree in Circus Arts with the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama, whilst drawing up the early plans for what was later to become Headspace.

He has been featured widely in international press, appearing in Vogue, NYT, FT, Entrepreneur, Mens Health and Esquire, to name but a few. He also makes regular appearances on TV and online, having been featured on BBC, Dr Oz, Netflix and TED.

Andy currently lives in Venice, California, with his wife Lucinda and son Harley.

www.hodder.co.uk

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice orprescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment forphysical or medical problems without the advice of a physician,either directly or indirectly. In the event you use any of theinformation in this book for yourself, the author and the publisherassume no responsibility for your actions.

First published in Great Britain in 2015

By Hodder & Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright Andy Puddicombe 2015

The right of Andy Puddicombe to be identified as the Author of theWork has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by anymeans without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor beotherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than thatin which it is published and without a similar condition beingimposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 444 72225 3

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

338 Euston Road

London NW1 3BH

www.hodder.co.uk

TO OUR SON, HARLEY

AND TO HIS MOTHER, MY WIFE, LUCINDA FOR BRINGING HIM INTO THIS WORLD.

Contents

Headspace started back in 2010, with the simple aim of improving the health and happiness of the world. By demystifying meditation and offering practical and authentic mindfulness techniques, weve been able to help people find a little more peace of mind. At the time of writing, there are somewhere around 3 million people getting some daily headspace. We are also in partnership with a number of scientific research studies, working with some of the most respected universities and hospitals in the world, to help further the understanding of meditation and mindfulness, as well as researching the effects on everything from anxiety to depression, chronic pain to insomnia and empathy to compassion fatigue.

My own personal story is that at the age of twenty-two, I decided my mind was simply too full, so I quit my sports science degree and set off to the Himalayas to become a Buddhist monk. The next ten years took me around the world on a remarkable and fortuitous journey, giving me the opportunity to study with some of the greatest meditation masters, obtaining insight and knowledge passed down over thousands of years. I may not be a monk any more, but Ive been teaching meditation ever since. My personal passion mirrors the broader mission of Headspace: to get as many people to meditate, as often as possible.

Sharing in these benefits is easy. Obviously, I will teach you all you need to know through the exercises at the back of this book, but for a more immersive experience, you may also like to check out our Take 10 programme, free of charge, by downloading our mobile app or exploring our website at www.headspace.com. The starter kit of guided meditations audio downloads which give you the freedom to meditate wherever you are serves as a companion to A Mindful Pregnancy ; as you become more proficient, and if you wish, there are meditations you can sign up for that cover every area of life.

I am most thankful that, finally, there is a book the only guide youll need for your journey that addresses what all the other books do not: the importance of taking care of your mind, before, during and after pregnancy. As an obstetrician, I have used this approach and helped steer my patients through many storybook births.

Dr Shamsah Amersi , physician in obstetrics and gynaecology.

So, youre a man, said the woman seated beside me, writing a book about pregnancy?

My wife, Lucinda, had warned me this could happen.

Thats right, I said, trying to ignore this ladys frown of incredulity.

Im sorry, she persisted, but I just dont see how any man can possibly relate to, let alone write about, what its like to go through pregnancy and childbirth.

So, somewhere high above America on a transatlantic flight, I took my life in my hands and started to explain to this mother of two why I felt motivated to write such a book and how it was not simply because Id recently become a father for the first time. No, if that was the sole reason, the woman to my right would have been entirely justified in her stance. In fact, her point still remains valid, at least in part: a man cannot begin to understand what is a uniquely female experience, and nor do I pretend to. No man will ever know the miracle of life growing inside the womb; or fathom the pain (and lets be frank here) of pushing something the size of a melon out of something, well, considerably smaller; comprehend the self-sacrifice of becoming a breastfeeding machine at one, three, five and seven oclock in the morning and beyond; or grasp the unrelenting hormonal roller coaster of motherhood.

And as if all this wasnt enough to stop me embarking on this project, theres also the small matter of me having spent a good bit of time living as a monk in a Buddhist monastery hardly the best place to learn about pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood, let alone conception! But heres what I asked my fellow passenger to take a minute to consider:

This book is not about the womb, it is about the mind.

Its about the human condition.

My field of expertise is meditation and mindfulness, not obstetrics. My passion is understanding how we can learn to step out of the endless inner chatter that so dominates our life, often leaving us feeling overwhelmed or out of control. What better time to discover a place of calm and contentment than during pregnancy? What greater gift to give your future child than peace of mind both yours and theirs?

Its like I explained to my captive audience of one on the flight: this book is going to teach people how to keep their heads and stay sane while travelling one of lifes most remarkable (yet tremendously challenging) journeys.

Because, lets face it, pregnancy can be a hugely stressful and scary time, regardless of the obvious excitement. So if I can help you better understand the way your mind works with its thoughts, emotions, self-narrative and habitual patterns then you will have the opportunity to release the weight of insecurity, anxiety, doubt, nerves, fear and irritability; not to mention the fact that you can use mindfulness to manage pelvic and back pain during the trimesters, or the pain of childbirth itself. Yes, science is, as youll discover in a later chapter, finally understanding the pain-relieving effects of mindfulness.