Don’t get me wrong, I am very fortunate to be in my 9th month of pregnancy with a healthy baby boy, but pregnancy has been rough on me. I give all the mothers out there lots of credit for sacrificing their bodies and lives. I think my friend Christina put it best when she said, “being pregnant is no joke!”
One late night of pregnancy insomnia I was surfing on the internet, and I stumbled across Hau’oli Henna. I have always loved henna tattoos, but this site caught my eye because they offered Baby Bump art or Pregnancy Henna! That night I quickly contacted the site to book an appointment to get my belly decorated.
The next week I was able to get an appointment with Kiyomi from Hau’oli Henna at her home. The session was about an hour and a half and Kiyomi transformed my baby bump into a piece of art work. She also made me a matching hand piece! The belly decoration was a mandala or Sanskrit Maṇḍala, which translates loosely to circle. It is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe.
I told Kiyomi I had been having a tough pregnancy and she choose to make me a lotus flower mandala, which symbolized rising above my challenges like how a lotus flower rises above the mud to bloom. I didn’t tell her this, but the lotus flower was one of my favor symbols, and I had even had it airbrushed on one of my surf boards a couple years ago. Kiyomi does not stencil her art, but does everything freehand. She told me she likes to read the energy of each person when creating her design and no mandala she makes is ever the same.
For me this belly bump art was not just a fun pregnancy thing, but more like spiritual beautification. As I struggled and complained my way through the months of pregnancy I have to admit I did feel myself slipping and starting to unravel a little. Being an extremely strong and independent person this was something that I had never experienced before. This has been one of the most challenging experiences in my life. Much like getting a makeover or a new outfit, decorating my belly made me feel new again and lifted my spirits.
I have to tell you Kiyomi’s henna is breathtaking art and something really special. She is such a talented and wonderful woman. I really want to thank Kiyomi for lifting my spirits during the end of my pregnancy and making me smile when I looked down at my belly bump. I know I have so much to be grateful in my life and this was one of those moments in my life that reminded me of how lucky I really am and how far I have come.
For more information on Kiyomi and her henna check out her website at Hau’oli Henna online.
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