Sacred Body: Saving Ourselves

“Suppose… the body is a God in its own right, a teacher, a mentor, a certified guide? Then what? …. Are we strong enough to refute the party line and listen deep, listen true to the body as a powerful and holy being?”?

-Clarissa Pinkola Estes (Women Who Run with the Wolves)

Our bodies are a sacred gift that, when cared for, are a vital part of our ability to live life to the fullest and be our truest selves. The body has great intelligence and is capable of profound healing and amazing feats as well as the little things that give us so much pleasure. It will also tell us when something is wrong.?

Developing this relationship with our bodies is a skill that takes practice and support to develop because we are generally taught to do the opposite. The?conscious connection between our minds and bodies has, in many cases, been weakened or even severed. We may walk around numb to the signals and signs as well as our emotions and feelings. We often feel guilty when we give priority and take the time to listen to our intuition.?

But there is a big difference between thoughtful listening and responding and being selfish.?

I find that one of the greatest challenges for us as women is valuing ourselves enough to focus our attention upon our own needs to an effective level.

Our bodies love to be loved and we are each the only person who can ultimately give that love. These practices and habits can form the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.

??spiritual practice ??time in nature ??dance ??movement ??fitness ??proper breathing ??nourishing foods ??plenty of water (dehydration is epidemic in this country-that’s another article) ??cultivation of a positive mindset

This is extremely powerful medicine. It can help us find our strength and balance in these times.

Reclaiming Ancient Feminine Wisdom

Opening blocked feminine energy is a divine pathway…

Cultivating often under-valued yin practices to find our balance when yang (logical, mental, driven, production) is so heavily over-promoted in our modern cultures.

??softening energy

??inviting in playfulness and pleasure

??allowing rest as a powerful, sacred practice

??moving your body from a place of freedom and nourishment

??dancing for personal pleasure and self-expression (yes, you are enough)

??cultivating your inner sanctuary

??inhabiting the body as a safe place of wisdom to be honored (somatic healing)

Divine/Wild Feminine Healing

Honoring our cycles in life is a reflection of the wisdom of nature’s cycles. But if we don’t own this responsibility to tune into these cycles and have a loving, empowered relationship with our bodies, no one else will.

For example, in our culture, postpartum is generally considered to be the first 6-8 weeks after giving birth. In some traditional cultures, the mother and baby are secluded, sheltered, protected, and nurtured for the first 40 days postpartum. This is to ensure that the mother’s womb and belly heal properly and that her full health and vigor is restored before she takes on the full-time job of childrearing.?

What a humane and logical way to prepare mothers for one of the most challenging things they will ever undertake.

But in the modern world, without the family, community, and “village” structures in place, the health of families and often the mother is “falling through the cracks” of public health. It is alarming to me to see how many mothers have never received any support or education about postnatal recovery; a great number being women with grown children. Many issues will not go away without proper care.

I’m witnessing how women beyond the socially acceptable period of 6-8 weeks, are often ashamed that they couldn’t “get it together and recover” during this short period. Sometimes they just give up or beat themselves up, adding to their sense of being burdened.?

The true definition of postpartum is simply “following childbirth or the birth of young.” How can we accept that the term "postpartum" is now automatically synonymous with "depression" in our culture??

I’ve heard many stories of women, both mothers and not mothers, of many generations from young women to seniors whose health concerns are disregarded, such as:

??core weakness/dysfunction & inability to reclaim the core

??incontinence

??constipation

??anxiety

??depression

??feeling disconnected from your body and yourself

??diastasis recti (split in the belly muscles)

??chronic low back, hip pain, or pelvic floor pain

??pain during intercourse

??numbness around cesarean scar incision

??birth trauma

??medical/surgical trauma (ex. post abdominal and breast augmentation/explants-this is another article)

??sexual abuse-trauma

Without proper education and support, women may not know what solution to pursue, or if a solution exists at all. These issues are often brushed aside, never to be addressed as the demands of parenting or life in general, take hold. They may last a lifetime, causing further pain and complications.

Finding your voice in the face of being disregarded and owning the fact that you need help or to take action can be the biggest stumbling block. This is exactly why proper holistic, trauma-informed somatic recovery support, education, and services are so important and necessary for women and mothers at any stage.

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