Sharing my insights and observations on the sacred nature of birth, fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and healing.
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.
I'm super excited to share a thing with you that I've been creating these last few days!
You probably know that I love watercolor painting, so that's what got this train going. A friend of mine handed me a stack of birth affirmations painted in brush lettering script with some flowery things nearby. And I thought, I can make those. And better! With better affirmations!
So I started painting words. And then I started painting tiny little watercolor vulvas with gold and intense pink. You may have seen those on Instagram.
But I also thought, these need to be in multiple forms, accessible through many mediums. And some part of them needs to be free for everyone.
So then I RECORDED birth affirmations. The kind of thing you listen to while you're just dropping off to sleep (ie. in a very suggestible, liminal space, a little bit like hypnosis).
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.
Then, if you find that any part of the mantra or affirmation is triggering, you can start to seek support so that it begins to feel true to you. If there is a part that simply doesn’t feel in alignment with you, adjust it to work for you.
It is possible that there are ideas, or parts that you feel like you WISH felt true, but you're not quite there yet. Or its possible that something triggers fear or anxiety in you. While that's uncomfortable, its great to know these things ahead of time. You get to get curious about those triggers and work through your reactions.
How? Meditate, journal, talk to your best (supportive) friend. Get support (yes, I can help you with this). Keep listening to the affirmations and you might hear just one phrase that shifts your whole perspective on all of it!
Remember, you birth the way you live, so allow the affirmations to seep into your daily life and for them to become part of you.
Dear Friends,
Oh how I’ve missed you! I’ve felt lonely, overwhelmed, angry, exhausted, and more than once, rage. I’m sure you have too. But I still dream and vision and plan. Being the Sagittarian that I am, I use all of it as fuel for learning, particularly about myself (astrology has been a big part of that learning).
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.
Most of you know that I was working is this milieu as Sacred Rhythms before the pandemic. But this vision has two fundamental differences: 1 - I’m not interested in hustling a solopreneaur-ship enterprise, and 2 - I don’t care to be the sole leader.
I am not an authority on life. I am learning to live my life, but we all have so much wisdom to share with each other. And this is the key tenant of menstrual cycle awareness: your own experience is the guide post to your wisdom. I am interested in cultivating a community that respects and nurtures each individual‘s gifts which are shared in respect and reciprocity. We learn to ask and receive when we need help; we learn to offer support that is in response to our gifts, energy, and the satisfaction of helping another.
(Don’t know what menstrual cycle awareness is? That’s ok, there will be opportunities to learn together the life-changing power of loving and living though your inherent Feminine powers, ie. cyclical wisdom.)
This my require learning a new way of relating, or a new way of receiving. It could put you outside of your comfort zone. And that may allow you to reflect on what within you is uncomfortable. I don’t want to deter you; I hope to inspire you to experience something new, radical and healthful.
Again, I want to emphasize that a primary purpose of this community is to create tangible, physical support in each other’s daily lives. We have certainly experienced a shift toward a slower pace of life on the outer world, but if you’re a parent, you know that the home life did not slow down and that the absence of outer-world activities may have intensified the experience of home and therefore a need for a different kind of community. I personally haven’t felt that technology kept me connected in a satisfying way.
Here are some examples of possible community support: hosting a potluck dinner (or brunch); visiting with a postpartum mom, folding her laundry and cleaning her kitchen; allowing someone to watch your child for a few hours so you can get a nap; preparing a meal for someone to nourish her while she bleeds and rests… I know you have more ideas, needs and gifts!
Aspects of this community would include informality and responsiveness. The structure of our community would be intentionally loose. I envision offering full moon/new moon gatherings but they would actually not be the main form of community. The primary web of inter-connectivity would be your own daily question: is this a day to give, receive or withdraw? This we learn the answer through our practice of menstrual cycle awareness (or moon cycling if your bleed is not present). If you have not been initiated into your blood wisdom, this will also be a container for you to learn and practice it.
If this kind of community feels right for you… if you need support… if you long for IRL connection… if you’re not sure but it sounds interesting… if you have ideas to share… gifts to share…
If you want in, visit my landing page to sign up for this specific group.
P.S. I’m starting with this formal line of communication to gather interest, but it won’t always be through this channel. We will decide as a collective the best way to move forward.
P.P.S. If you would like more to reflect upon or a deeper explanation of what is possible, these are two resources that will set you up to thrive:
2 Podcasts by Kimberly Ann Johnson with Stepthen Jenkinson
1- EP 135: Spirit Work, Conspiracies, Elderhood and Grief with Stephen Jenkinson, Part One
2- EP 136: Spirit Work, Conspiracies, Elderhood and Grief with Stephen Jenkinson, Part Two
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