Today we are diving into energy work, the importance of saying yes to our uterus, and healing our second chakra.

Last year I spoke with a friend from culinary school about her pregnancy journey. I had been working with a few pregnant mamas at that point and was reaching out to women to learn as much as I could about how and why they got pregnant. My friend and her husband had been trying to get pregnant for a while and it wasn’t happening. They both ate well, took all the best supplements, and she tracked her cycles with the Fertility Awareness Method.

Still no baby.

Everything opened up for my friend when she met a Naturopath who told her that she need to make peace with her uterus. At first she was like, what? Are you for real? The Naturopath explained to her that she had been telling her uterus ‘no, do not have a baby’ for so long that she needed to shift the energy focus and affirm ‘yes, I want to have a baby’.

When I heard this it struck me instantly.

Of course she needed to say YES to her uterus! How obvious!

We both laughed about how hilarious and clear this instruction was. I am so grateful for my friend and her willingness to share her experiences with me. That conversation sparked a revolution in the ways I talk to and address my body.

At 15 I popped my first birth control pill. None of my friends or I wanted kids when we were teenagers and at the time the logical step was to take the pill to prevent it. Back then there was no education about the effects of synthetic hormones, how to chart your cycle using the Fertility Awareness Method (yes I’ve mentioned it twice and highly recommend it!), or how a woman’s body and energy works. I wish I had known back then what I know now about all of this. Having the knowledge that I have today is one of the reasons I am journaling about this, to share information and create community with other women.

I went off and on the pill for the next 14 years and got pregnant twice from being careless in my late teens. Up until a a few years ago I was terrified of getting pregnant because I knew in my heart I wasn’t ready to have kids. Since learning how to chart my cycle and observe how energy flows, my life has changed in incredible ways. Now that I am having baby talks with my partner and am embarking on a conscious journey of exploring pregnancy, paying attention to how I talk to and treat my body has taken on a much greater meaning.

As you might imagine, my past experiences created a ton of stagnant energy in my body. Thankfully, I have many years of meditation and yoga under my belt which has opened me up to the practices that I am cultivating today, practices that I never would have been able to consider had I not laid the groundwork. The good news is you don’t need to practice yoga for 10 years to understand the practice I will share. The fact that you are reading this makes you ready to receive it.

When I started studying energy work years ago I was drawn to the idea that we can heal ourselves completely. This concept was something that was never in my realm of understanding as I was convinced I would need fixing my entire life. I was sure my darkness rendered me incapable of experiencing true healing. It always fascinates me how we are drawn to what we need most in life.

My intuition guided me to energy work in the form of Reiki, a loving Japanese energy technique of laying hands. I had this sense that there was something more out there to learn, to experience, and to share. I had a sense that I could heal on a deeper level but at every turn my mind told me it was impossible. A friend turned me on to the works of Caroline Myss and pretty quickly my life started changing in dramatic ways. Because I was so open from being a devoted yoga student, looking back it makes sense that the next step in my evolution was to go deeper into my own energy.

Years ago I had a boyfriend who said I healed his broken ribs with the touch of my hands. I didn’t give it a second thought until I walked into my first Reiki training. Listening to the teacher share the practice of Reiki with us made everything click. People told me my entire life I was a healer in one form or another and my hands have always carried a noticeable amount of energy. Last year one of my teachers shared that my hands glowed from across the room. When I dove heart first into studying Reiki, my ability to heal myself and hold space for others to heal amplified in ways that shook me to the core. Suddenly, those old beliefs that I was always going to need fixing began cracking open and were exposed for what they really were, outdated beliefs.

Practicing Reiki on myself was the first step in understanding how the healing worked and where I most needed healing at that time. I was immediately drawn to my second chakra, between the naval and pubic bone. This chakra (or energy center) governs our reproductive organs and is our creative center. For the first year that I practiced Reiki on myself I put my hands on my second chakra before everyday.

As my Reiki practice advanced and I started taking on clients, I came to understand in a very real way how we can promote harmony in our bodies. Reiki works by tuning into our own energy and clearing our mind to allow energy from the cosmos to enter and support our healing as well.

Saying yes to our uterus is key in promoting a loving environment for conceiving our babies. Early on in my Reiki practice I was intuitively guided to heal my second chakra. During the healing process I affirmed my desire for carrying a child in my body and acknowledged that I am ready to fully open to becoming pregnant.

This is a very simple practice that has profound effects on our entire energy system and life. I like to use the Yoni mudra on my second chakra when giving myself Reiki. Mudras are hand positions that stimulate different subtle energies in the body. The Yoni mudra (an upside down triangle) is a symbol of female fertility in Hindu religion and helps us get in touch with our divine feminine energy. The word Yoni means womb or source making it an ideal mudra for conception, or anytime you want to connect to your feminine creativity in a deep way.

When we practice the Yoni mudra and connect with our creative center,  we move towards healing our relationship to our body. The more peace we can cultivate within before we get pregnant, the more peaceful our baby’s first home will be. When I imagine creating a healthy and sacred space for my child, I always come back to this nourishing practice. I place my hands on the future home of my unborn child in the Yoni mudra and smile. This is they way I want to bring a child into this world.

To make this practice part of your life simply form your hands into Yoni mudra and place them between your naval and public bone. You can sit up or lie down. I love to fall asleep like this at night.

When your hands are on your body take steady, full breaths into your abdomen and let them go slowly. Create a smooth breath that has no beginning and no end. After several rounds of breath  start to meditate on saying yes to creating a home for your future child. Allow your self to be transformed by the warmth of your hands. As you continue breathing, smile and enjoy the present moment.

This seemingly simple practice is very powerful. Healing our energy centers effects our entire life. In the beginning you might experience loads of emotions, especially if you have past trauma. You might also feel grief and sadness for all the times that you dimmed your creative light for another person. Many of us are accustomed to putting our needs last and this practice is about putting our healing at the forefront. In order to be the attuned, courageous, and strong mothers we want to be, we must begin the process of saying yes not only to our uterus but to ourselves.

Take your time with this. There is no rush to heal. Commit to making this practice part of your life and then just show up and practice with an open heart. The rest will follow as it is supposed to. It always does.

Photo by Sera Lindsey