Clarity

Art by Susan Seddon Boulet

Clarity

“What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open.” Muriel Rukeyser

“I dedicate my spirit to eradicating patriarchal holds on women’s sovereignty.” M. Chabinsky

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This essay is in response to Beth Kempton’s Summer Essay Festival. This week’s word is clarity, i.e. what am I really clear about.

Sovereignty means complete independence, authority and power. In this patriarchal world women do not have sovereignty, and I contend that sovereignty will not be ours until there is a balance of masculine and feminine in every aspect of our lives. In order for peace and self-realization to be the ground of our civilization, for the Earth to be saved from destruction, the wound of abuse that women have experienced throughout the ages must be understood and healed.

I link my body to the collective body, therefore I practice and teach a sacred form of yoga, accentuating the qualities of the feminine. The Divine Feminine is experienced directly through the body. Intuition, receptivity, connectedness, imagination, compassion, intimacy and nature are but a few ways She is present in our lives and these are also some of the foundational aspects of yoga.

I began teaching yoga in 2000. A patriarchal version of this ancient practice is the most common one, but gradually women have become the face of yoga and we are making it our own. Instead of a competitive, (even with ourselves), judgmental, (“Not yet my dear, try harder,” spoken by Iyengar), and striving, (ever more difficult poses), I teach that we have everything inside of us to do whatever it is we need to do, that the wisdom in already within and therefore postures should unfold from the inside rather than be imposed from the outside.

This awareness came to me as I specialized in prenatal and postnatal yoga for ten years. I watched as pregnant women listened to their bodies, as the queen of themselves. Each pose blossomed through their bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, through every cell of their bodies as every cell was busy creating life in the dark of their wombs. She is present in the dark, imminent in each cell of the mother’s and baby’s bodies, ready to grow, provide sustenance, and emerge fully formed into the world. This is the Divine Feminine as she exists in the world. This is the most powerful force on Earth. It is an awesome power and only rests in women’s bodies. It is sovereignty in action and should be respected for the reigning power that is naturally is. My personal yoga practice evolved into a Divine Feminine practice of honoring my body, reflecting upon its messages and trusting it to know how to birth a baby with grace and ease as well as healing itself, metabolizing nutrients, maintaining homeostasis and all the other processes our bodies perform every day.

Through the wisdom of the body women are coming to understand and trust the power that resides within them. We understand our sacred purpose in this world and we don’t shy away from it. I no longer hesitate before speaking my mind. I have let go of waiting to see what others say or worry about what they will think. As we are brave and forthright in insisting that our births incorporate no unnecessary/unnatural means or assistance, we continue on after our children arrive to live our lives honoring our inherent wisdom. This is sovereignty and this is my calling. About this I am absolutely clear.