Women need other women.
Well, we need a lot of things. But the solidarity and comfort from being around other supportive women is truly part of being human. Historically, men often were more nomadic, and women stayed closer, talking, creating, eating, nourishing, caretaking, and sharing the responsibilities.
Nowadays we often wonder where our support village is. And I find that since it’s not really something we’re born into in the same way (with multiple generations and families living in the same place), it’s become something we have to actively create in our lives if we want to benefit from the support, nervous system reset, and restoration it offers.
I also find the same holds true for a spiritual community. Most women I meet aren’t born surrounded by other women who want to talk about witchy things, share truthfully and vulnerably, and let go of shame as they learn to harness their desires (and daresay, have them to start with!).
We’re in this precarious place where we’ve worked so hard for equal rights, but are we really treated fairly if we’re not also honored for being a woman?
Women who have cycles on the 24-hour clock like men, but also on a monthly rhythm that ebbs and flows and makes demands on our energy levels too. Women who feel deeply need to be honored for that, having it seen as a gift, instead of a weakness. Women who have a nuanced physiology and more hormone fluctuations than men. We need to honor these parts of ourselves in order to truly feel nourished, supported and relished for being a woman.
I hate that while growing up, femininity and receiving was in many ways shunned in favor of an “I can do it all” attitude. Sure, we can do it all. But at what cost?
Women are meant to receive. And so many of us are sorely lacking in that arena. We feel uncomfortable receiving after a lifetime of learning how to do it all and give, give, give. And our bodies and mental/emotional health are taking the tolls.
Which is why going on a women’s retreat can be such a breath of fresh air.
We truly need spaces in our lives to let go of constantly being in energy output – managing households, jobs, and the emotional labor demands in relationships.
Often women wonder, well, how do I break that cycle? How do I receive more energy than I’m giving?
First, we must decide that now is our time.
Our time to take a break, put it all down, and see how we really are, what we’re really craving and feeling, once we drop the busy-ness and “I can do it all” attitude. Because isn’t that exhausting?
Taking a retreat has great value.
At a women’s retreat you are ministered to by others and can receive on so many levels that aren’t usually available in other life settings. Your room is ready for you, fresh meals are made for you daily, you get to follow someone’s lead in a yoga practice, and you get to decide in the moment what feels best for you (massage or sauna, nap or hike, you get the picture).
It’s a place where we finally have options catered just to us, and all of them are pleasurable.
In a world full of harshness and women being asked to do so much that our systems tend to be constantly overburdened – we need this.
Rest. Enjoyable options. People taking care of us. Women holding space for us while we process whatever life transition we’re in.
As women we move through many different transitions – the Maiden, the Mother, the Warrior, the Wild Woman. We experience mini deaths and rebirths with every cycle (of our own or of the moon’s) and we also experience them in our lifetimes.
But often we’re so busy just treading water or doing the day to day that we don’t craft the time to slow down and get to know our most current selves. How have we changed? How is what we want in life different? Have our love languages changed? Is the type of movement and food we need different?
Slowing down to actually tap in and tune into whatever cycle you’re in, is HUGE. It means when we go back to our day to day lives, we are much more aligned in our systems and in what’s most important to us, as well as how to refuel ourselves.
Being around other women makes the empathy of being a woman tolerable, and dare we say, something to celebrate! Rituals give us concrete ways to check in with ourselves, honor our cycles, and anchor into being with ourselves, exactly where we’re at.
So whether you craft this for yourself or join us for a retreat, start now. You deserve to receive.
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Join Jess Cartwright, Deneen Pancari and Jen Kossin at the renowned Feathered Pipe Ranch outside of Helena, Montana for an immersive yoga and wild feminine experience under the “Big Sky” for an investment in your well being that allows you to connect to the elements and nourish your wild feminine, May 29 – June 1, 2024, “Wild Feminine Retreat: Yoga, Ceremony & Personal Rejuvenation.”
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About Jessica Cartwright:
Jess wants women everywhere to feel celebrated, held, nourished, and content. In her 14 years of teaching yoga, she has learned how to create a calming yet energizing class that takes into account the needs of each individual. Her background is in retreats and they are her favorite way to unplug, go deep, make powerful new friendships, release, refresh, and leave feeling like a new woman. She is a birth doula, advanced prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher, Ayurvedic Women’s Health Specialist, Akashic records reader, mother, and Montana lover!
Learn more about Jessica: jessicaenergy.com