Hello friends of Sacred Rhythms. I know it has been a long time since I’ve written, primarily because I am pregnant and I’m focusing on my pregnancy….It has been made clear to me that this time in my life is for education and maturation so that I may confidently offer the service of my life's work: to serve as a healer and catalyst for women and families to embrace the power of the Feminine in their own lives.

I love doing ceremony! Which is funny because a few years ago, I kind of hated the rote following of the leader aspects of ritual and ceremony. But then I was introduced to ceremonies and rituals that actually had meaning for me, and after developing a habit of performing rituals, I came to love the intent and purposeful actions.

I had the joy and privilege of attending a birth this week. This was the mother's second birth, which was a first for me. Working with a woman who has already birthed makes my work easier since she already has a good idea of what she wants and doesn't want, and she was so confident and relaxed after baby arrived.

How we live our lives, signals how we will birth. How we view our bodies in our daily lives informs how we view our ability to birth. Do you like your body? Do you trust your body? Does your body work for you? Or do you have animosity, anxiety or disdain for your body? Can you see how that will affect your birth?

I've been on an intense spiritual journey this year and I've been blessed with a tribe of women and a family who have supported and guided me through an amazing time of awakening and growth. Its a journey that I would bless upon all humans in their own way, though I know not all are interested.

As you may have noticed, I talk a lot about empowerment in my discussion of fertility, pregnancy and childbirth. Recent conversations and articles have been pushing me to deeply examine what "empowered birth" really means, and how it affects women.

When women can birth freely, without fear and in the way that they choose, birth can be peaceful, providing the framework for peace and joy in the family and in the larger world. It really is that important and that far-reaching. It doesn't matter how she chooses to birth. What does matter is that SHE is the one who has made the educated decision.

There is a yogic principle regarding effort and surrender (the yogic terms are Tapas and Ishvara Pranidhana, and the words "effort" and "surrender" are two simple translations) that I believe applies directly to birth as well as to our larger life journeys.