A variation of a massage or touch technique that might be encouraging for a laboring mother is the use of an object as a focus point. For example, the mother might choose to hold a stone in her hand to remind her that Christ is her rock and her strength. She can squeeze the stone in her hand, press it on spots of her body that could use a deeper pressure.The ways you can use the object in labor will depend on the object you choose. There is no right or wrong object to choose, it is simply something that is meaningful to the mother and will serve as an encouragement to her in labor.A common teaching in childbirth classes is that you should relax to the point that you "float" over the contractions like on water. Other teachers say you should relax so you feel as if you "melt" into the bed. I'd like to offer a different analogy for your physical relaxation: be air.The air surrounds you. It is always there, but has some properties that make it difficult to grasp. In physical relaxation for labor, you want to mimic these properties.Air is loose, so loose it fact that rays of light easily penetrate it. Walls, doors, flowers, even curtains are dense and therefore stop the light. But molecules of air are so lose the light goes right through it. Be loose like the air, let the light shine through you. Being reminded to let the light shine through you can encourage deeper relaxation and serve as an encouragement to stay focused on