Embodied Initiations

Insights and observations on the sacred nature of fertility, pregnancy, birth, loss and motherhood

Community Dawn Leonard Community Dawn Leonard

There & Back Again

There are many images, archetypes and metaphors for birth. Many of which are the symbols of an initiation or a rite of passage. Archetypes are expressions of universal human experiences, like "maiden, mother and crone." They are a simple image or word that is shorthand for an experience that is in many ways beyond words. Like drawing a picture of feelings.

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Birth, Community Dawn Leonard Birth, Community Dawn Leonard

What does your heart have to say about that?

Do you trust your body? Do you know how to "listen to your body?" Have you ever felt betrayed by your body? If you are pregnant - or trying to get pregnant - or recovering from pregnancy - where is there a disconnect from your mind and your body? Do you need help making that connection?

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Community, Fertility Dawn Leonard Community, Fertility Dawn Leonard

Why you don’t need ceremonial plant medicine

I know of a Feminine, earth-based spiritual practice that is accessible in our daily lives, moment by moment. It does not require special equipment or tools or setting.

This medicine is anti-capitalist, deeply Feminine, ecological and community-oriented. It is the deepest level of self care you can practice.

Your menstrual cycle is your medicine. You are the medicine!

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Dawn Leonard Dawn Leonard

Holding the Bones

There is a somatic practice that I have learned called Holding the Bones. This is an intimate practice where I hold your pelvis while attending to the difficult emotions that have been stored there. Holding the Bones is a subtle, gentle birth trauma repair practice.

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Birth, Prenatal, Yoga Dawn Leonard Birth, Prenatal, Yoga Dawn Leonard

Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

There are many benefits to practicing yoga in general. And these benefits are even more specific to practicing prenatal yoga. Some of the benefits are quantifiable through research studies. And since yoga is an ancient science, there are probably many more benefits to our lives that the yogis noted than our modern medicine can quantify.

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Birth, Prenatal Dawn Leonard Birth, Prenatal Dawn Leonard

Looking for an affirming way to prepare for birth?

I present to you a set of 5 birth mantras, each accompanied by a description of how to use it or some more information about its meaning, and a 2-3 minute audio birth affirmation. The mantra is short and simple. You can say it over and over and over. The affirmation takes you deeper into the possibilities behind the mantra.

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Motherhood, Community, Prenatal, Postpartum Dawn Leonard Motherhood, Community, Prenatal, Postpartum Dawn Leonard

An Invitation…

I have learned that creating and nurturing community is part of my life purpose. I know that this community will be centered around nurturing the Divine Feminine within us individually and collectively. Esoterically, that means the rising of self-knowledge within the initiatory cycles built into a woman-identifying person’s life. Practically, that means sharing about menstrual cycle awareness; creating a space for the emergence of peri-menopausal experience and all of the phases of womanhood; sitting together in circle; dancing together; and supporting each other with the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of parenting, cycling with awareness, and living life.

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