Over the years of being in service to expectant mothers at every stage of pregnancy (which now includes myself!), it has consistently been my mission to empower students, clients and members to be the experts of their own experiences in body, mind and spirit through strength training workouts that are rooted in my education and experience in the field of dance/movement therapy.  

Dance/movement therapy is defined as the psychotherapeutic use of movement in a process that integrates a person’s emotional, cognitive, social, and physical well being.  It incorporates dance and movement in a whole-person approach to mental health counseling.  

Eight years ago, I left the path of becoming a board certified dance/movement therapist and licensed professional counselor to blaze a new trail as a fitness coach and entrepreneur.  I really had no idea what would be in store for me or the challenges that lay ahead, yet I knew for sure that I was going to apply my skills as a “whole-person” therapist in my role of personal trainer.  The vision of bridging the worlds of psycho-therapeutic movement and functional fitness was so clear when I started my business, BodyWise Wellness, LLC, but it took years to sharpen my focus (and my skills) to serve womxn on the path of motherhood and launch BodyWiseMama.

Across all that space and time, I’ve had the honor and privilege of witnessing the transformation of pregnancy in personal training/health coaching clients, prenatal strength training students and BodyWiseMama members – each with a unique journey of TTC, pregnancy and new motherhood.  What a beautifully and righteously diverse community.   I embrace, respect and honor the differences in each individual’s unique perspectives and experiences.  Still, there seems to be a thread of common “womb work” that has the power to connect us all on the path of motherhood.  

On a physical level, the womb is the uterus – a phenomenally strong, resilient and shape-shifting organ.  It sustains your bladder and colon, in addition to all your abdominal organs above: stomach, liver, spleen, small intestines, gallbladder and pancreas.  The womb holds the potential and power of new life.  On a more spiritual plane, it is the energetic home of sexuality, creativity and pleasure.  For me, personally, the womb now feels like a sacred well to which I’ve come to tap a powerful source of pure love, joy, passion and life force energy.  It’s also the place of potential whole-person transformation from which I’ve come to teach and coach – the place for doing what I call “womb warrior work.”

This work may look like uncovering and healing wounds from our childhood and envisioning a different, new or improved reality for our unborn child.  Pregnancy seems to invite us to reflect on and reevaluate how we were mothered and/or a complicated relationship with our mother.  It can come in the form of untangling oneself from a web of restrictive, limiting or paralyzing perfectionism.  In a lot of cases, the mamas-to-be (including me here) with whom I work are in the process of grieving/coping with their loss(es) while growing ever more pregnant, which unfortunately and commonly includes a history of miscarriage(s).  Trauma of all kinds to the physical and energetic womb (which I’m correlating with the second chakra) occurs and manifests in myriad ways.  And, these days, for many of us, the journey of TTC may have also been wrought with infertility leading to dashed hopes, deep frustrations and major interruptions to “going with the flow.”  

These are by no means exhaustive examples of womb work that we feel called to do during pregnancy.  And this kind of healing work might not resonate or relate to your personal experience.  I’m scratching the surface of what I’ve observed and experienced anecdotally with the awareness and appreciation of the inherent privilege of pursuing this body/mind/spirit healing work.  

If any of the above rings true for you, though, please be my guest and drop into this womb warrior workout for all mamas and all fitness levels – a fusion of structured strength training and flowing movement that will balance the energy of the second chakra.  The intention of almost every workout in the Member Studio at BodyWiseMama is to empower and sustain your momentum for change and transformation as well as embody abundance, freedom of expression, pleasure, and creativity.  Ready to get moving?  Just press play below: