I'm feeling enlightened and must share. I'm excited about "connective tissue!" So I bought this birth training kit; it's…

I'm feeling enlightened and must share. I'm excited about "connective tissue!" So I bought this birth training kit; it's really got some good information! And it's talking about "failure to progress"... Perhaps not dilating fully, which is super common. One aspect of this dilemma has to do with connective tissue which is the white web-like tissue you see in the muscle of raw chicken. It holds everything together in your body and allows you to stand upright instead of slumping like a rag doll. Well, connective tissue's tension or relaxation can be mentally controlled. In fact, it reacts like a blanket so that relaxing one area can relax others too. Tense your neck and shoulder muscles so that you cannot move your head by pressing on your temple. Now relax your muscles but still determine that your head will stay stationary while you press on your temple. The reason your head still doesn't move is connective tissue, which can react separately from muscle. The cervix is made up of about 50% connective tissue. It too can be mentally relaxed, and in the throes of pain, it sometimes must be intentionally and continually relaxed. The kit goes on to describe many ways this can be accomplished, but just that basic concept alone tells me there is more to this relaxation thing than I first imagined!