How’s your body feeling?

Wherever you are in the world the supermoon is shining bright on you at night. Full moons illuminate our darkness both tangibly and metaphorically.

There is a whole lot of darkness currently being illuminated on our planet, whatever your political orientation. So many intense patterns, thoughts, emotions coming to the surface triggered by the elections here in the US.

The full moon is a great time to truly see what has been hiding in the darkness and to set the intention to let go of those things that aren’t serving you.

Identify them, write them down, throw them in the trash (or rip or burn them) and as the moon wanes, feel them energetically wash away from your life.

My concern today, my tender tribe of mamas and birthworkers, is your bodies. How are they feeling?

I personally have been struggling with an overwhelming sense of violation, a creeping feeling of unease, a brimming anger that the female body continues to be treated so disrespectfully, and intense grief that so many people were able to make light or overlook this when they cast their votes. Different people hold different things as sacred.

I hold the female body as sacred, as the portal through which new life comes into this world.

A feeling of safety in the body is one of the cornerstones of Ecstatic Birth prep, so I am wondering…

How is your body feeling?

…separate and distinct from how your mind is processing.

All this darkness coming to light is not necessarily a bad thing. It can feel deeply contractive, much like the contractions in childbirth. It can feel tense, overwhelming, scary, but it is not inherently a bad thing. Like the physical contractions of labor, this is simply part of the process.

What is coming to light now is not new, but has always been there. What is coming to light now, we can see more clearly than ever before and that inherently empowers us in going higher.

There is much work to do, but we can not do it in fear. That is contrary to the process.

A fearful body in childbirth resists the flow of labor, tenses and clamps down on blood flow and energy flow. The body has to work much harder for the same results and that causes the intensity of the experience to rise. That then kicks up more fear, more resistance, and we downward spiral from there..

If your body is feeling deeply triggered by the current climate you are not alone. The unfortunate fact is that most of us have experienced or internalized the feeling of violation in our bodies at some point in our lives. These events, this election, are triggers… rather than the cause of any intensity you are experiencing.

I’d like you– especially if you are expecting– to put your thoughts down for now and tend to your animal body. Pamper it, soothe it, wrap it. Care for it as you would for your newborn, with love, tenderness and enormous respect.

The goal is to have our bodies to feel safe enough to feeeeeeel. Only then can you begin to identify and express what is coming up for you, rather than suppressing it.

My friend and teacher Saida Desilets shared a powerful body practice on on FB Live to transform stress into vitality and inspiration.  

I have been doing this practice daily and have found it deeply supportive in putting me back into my body and my creative center when I am downward spiraling.

Dance is also very powerful… or journaling… set the intention to find whatever it is that feels divine in its expression to your body and soul.

While many are feeling called to action, I want to be the one to remind you– tend to your body, tend to your wounds, allow them to surface and begin to heal. Reach out for support if you need it. We are stronger together.

This is a recipe for any intensity you feel whether it is societal or deeply personal. Intensity throws you into fear which then kicks up the intensity. When you feel nervous, angry, anxious, stressed, your first and only task is to bring your body back into the sensation of safety.

Only from that grounded centered place, can you activate most effectively and support others.

Only from that grounded centered place, can your body allow your birth to flow with ease and pleasure.