A Body Meditation for Wise Women
These past two weeks have been really intense energetically. The protesting in the USA has been felt all around the world. This is a really important time for black people, who have been oppressed for hundreds of years, to be able to express their voice. It is also important for all of us to self-reflect and challenge our own thinking and biases. There are some great resources around that I will include at the end of the email. It’s not the job of BIPOC people to educate us, we have to do the work ourselves.
In this time, many people are feeling very ungrounded. There is so much change going on. In Australia we had bushfires, then CoVid and now social upheaval. So many structures and systems are crumbling or being dismantled. These are old systems and structures that stifle change and preserve patriarchal control. It’s important to stay grounded, in our bodies so we can navigate this turbulence. There are many ways you can do this.
Sometimes I find walking in bare feet on the earth really helpful, sometimes just laying on the grass can be really helpful. One of the most helpful practices I use is this pelvic bowl meditation for women. I made this up on the spur of the moment in a coaching session and I’ve continued to use it again and again because it has been so helpful to so many of my clients.
Our pelvic bowel connects the top and bottom parts of our body. It contains all of our reproductive organs. For women, our womb, cervix and ovaries are particularly strong energy centres and if we can tune into them they become a great source of wisdom. I also find the more we connect with them we build these strong neural networks in our brain and it increases our sense of agency in the world. Now is the time we can work on growing our personal agency. The world needs its wise women right now.
The best way to do this practice is lying down. So set yourself up on your bed or maybe build a nest of pillows. You might want to light a candle or burn some incense. Create a space that provides you whatever you need to feel safe and comfortable, where you can practice in silence without interruption.
Resources that you might find helpful
There is a really great book by Layla Saad called Me and White Supremacy. I personally have found this very helpful to explore my own biases. The second book I can recommend is Growing up Aboriginal in Australia by Anita Heiss. The third resource I encourage you to explore is the work of Rachel Cargle, she is an African American academic, writer and whose work explores the intersection of race and womanhood. She has many great resources on her website and youtube. Finally the Victorian Women’s Trust has some great anti-racism resources for you to explore. These are primarily Australian references on their website but they also recommend some USA based resources to explore.