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.
At almost 30 weeks pregnant, what has become an embodied and undeniable realization for me is this: the womb is truly a birthplace of well being, healing and empowerment for the whole person during pregnancy.
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:
I’d also love to share with you this collection of womb wisdom and gentle healing practices from a few of my favorite and most trusted sources:
The Physical + Energetic Womb
“The uterus is our direct connection to the Great Mother, drawing in the raw potential to manifest and tend our creations.” -Tami Lynn Kent
“When svadisthana [sacral chakra] energy is in balance—not too intense and not too laid-back—you can access feelings of abundance, joy, and pleasure, and clear the way for creative energy to flow freely. However, when svadisthana is blocked, by emotional trauma or chronic stress, for example, you are unable to connect with your passions. You also tend to try to control everything, and your life might lack zest. Physically, the body can manifest these shackled emotions as unexplained lower-back pain, tight hips, sexual-organ dysfunction, and reproductive challenges.”
Source: https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/yoga-poses-ignite-your-second-chakra-to-spark-creativity
In the second (sacral) chakra, “we encounter the watery realm of emotions and sexuality. Where we have worked for grounding and stability in the first chakra, we now cultivate feeling and movement… . If we think of the body as a [physical] vessel for the soul and spirit, then the element of earth in the chakra one provides support and containment for the fluid essence of chakra two, much like a cup holds water. Without appropriate containment, water flows out and the cup runs dry. With excessive containment, however, water cannot flow at all and becomes stagnant and dull. Ideally, we want to have a cup that is capable of filling, holding, and emptying.”
Source: Anodea Judith, Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self
Womb Wisdom + Power
“The womb is a sacred place, whether we carry children there or cultivate our best creative work. Forming a relationship with the womb and realigning with this place of mothering are essential to activating the creative potential in all that we do.”
Source: Tami Lynn Kent, Mothering from your Center
“…our menstruation is our power, all this emotion gets built up within the womb, and then we get a time in the month to release it. It should be introduced as our power, our moon cycle, and our connection to mother earth.”
Source: https://bloodandmilk.com/sacral-healing-the-importance-womb-healing/
“Pregnancy is a miraculous process. It is a time when a woman should make every effort to tune into her body and the baby with the support of her surroundings. A woman’s knowledge of pregnancy and giving birth is instinctual, and should be very empowering. The important point is to see yourself as a channel for a new spirit and to surrender yourself to all that the experience has to teach you.”
Source: https://www.drnorthrup.com/transforming-power-of-pregnancy/
Womb Healing + Wellness
A mantra and meditation for a mother during pregnancy:
Mantra: My womb easily holds a full-term pregnancy. Growing my beloved new baby with perfect health and vitality. When my baby is fully developed and eager to greet us, my baby will enter the world alert and healthy. We will work together during labor and delivery easily, with no complications or difficulties.
Meditation: Sit comfortably, breathing fully and deeply.
- Bring your awareness through your body starting at your feet, working your way up to the top of your head relaxing each part of your body and then return to center – your attention on your womb.
- Breathe in and out, easily and calmly. As you do this envision your baby growing perfectly, healthily. You may call your new baby by its name if you wish and talk to it about the loving home that you are preparing.
- When you feel that you are fully relaxed, visualize your pregnancy rolling forward before you easily and see that your belly is growing, growing, growing.
- See your baby growing within you held in the loving embrace of your womb, perfectly and sweetly nourished by your body and loved by your heart. You can include your partner in this vision.
- Towards the end of your pregnancy, you may begin to visualize your labor and delivery starting with the moment of recognition.
Source: Nancy Elias, Shamanic Healing + Vibrational Attunement Practitioner
A nurturing self-care yoga practice for expectant mothers
Source: Maryam Karim