Feminine Energetics Q &A

REMINDER – Next Fall workshop, Energy Work for Sexual Trauma, is this Saturday! Sign up now on Eventbrite, and view other Fall workshops coming up (next round of the 3 month intensive will start in January.)

The following questions were put to me by the Spanish version publisher of Chakra Empowerment for Women, Ediciones Urano. They translated them into Spanish for their own audience, but I thought the questions were good ones so I wanted to post them here – questions on women’s energetics, methods for accessing the chakras, the role of gender identity and more.

Cyndi Dale, in her foreword states, that until your book arrived “the location of the basis of female power has been completely ignored.”  Some systems place this at the first chakra but you place it at the second chakra for women. How can we better understand why this has been ignored in the past?

The difference in emphasis between the first and second chakra partly has to do with variations in energy body mappings – there isn’t just one mapping. Energy body mappings from around the world all differ slightly, based on the purpose of the tradition they were developed within, and who developed them- just like a geological map and a road map of the same area differ based on their use. Some energy body mappings developed within energy medicine traditions and focus more on the connection between the subtle body and physical organs and systems, while others developed within spiritual or magic traditions focused on shifting consciousness and vibration. While they all intersect, it’s important to work with the model that works for what you are trying to do.

In addition, some traditions were more female-centric and some more male-centric. Historically male-dominated teachings and writings are what came down through history to the present day. But as the focus on women’s history grew over the last few decades, more women-centric teachings have been recovered. And it’s become clear that most if not all of these feminine energy body mappings center on the womb area as the primary energy center in the feminine energy body.

So while I value all traditions and energy body mappings, for most individuals who identify as a woman, I have found that focusing on the second chakra in the lower pelvis and working with this ‘womb’ energy (regardless of whether or not someone has a physical womb) is the most helpful for opening up the feminine energy body in general. Empowering and healing cascades through the entire energy body. Working here is also key to working on releasing blocks due to sexual trauma and misogyny.

In different methods of working with the chakras, including yours, can women work differently than men?

Everyone needs to find the method(s) of working with their energy body that most resonates for them. Some may prefer breathe work or sound, while others like affirmations or visuals. Most of us need a combination. They are each tools for hooking our awareness and intention into the subtle planes, and shifting energies, and all have their value. In terms of this, I don’t find that men and women overall gravitate towards one or the other method. But in terms of which chakras are the most blocked and how, there usually are differences, most of which I walk through in the book. The primary difference is that the masculine energy body tends to be anchored in the root, or first, chakra and can tend towards rigidity. The feminine energy body tends to be anchored in the sacral, or second, chakra and can tend towards absorption and fluidity. So men tend to need to focus on fluidity and energy flow, and women on boundaries and energy stabilization. Then there are a whole host of gender conditioning factors that can play a role in how our energy body functions – for example, women tend to be conditioned away from fully utilizing their power in the world, and so don’t always fully access their navel, or third, chakra centers. These are just a few of the differences commonly found.

In each process of transition or change in the woman’s body, such as menstruation, childbirth, or menopause, is the flow of subtle energy affected? If yes, then in what way?

Our energy body is an intermediary layer between both our physical body and our psyche and spirit. So yes, at the level connected to the physical, all of these physical phases and cycles impact our subtle energy body. Often we are conditioned to view these as negative, but in fact we can discover great power in accessing the energy cycles linked to our physical cycles and phases. In general, our sacral chakra waxes and wanes with our menstruation cycle, and our entire subtle body with it. We become more fluid and absorbent closer to menstruation, which is actually a great time to engage in contemplation, meditation, and intuitive inquiry. Closer to ovulation our energy body emanates outward more, and our energy is more conducive to action and interaction. We can learn to work with these cycles, and to protect ourselves with better boundaries when feeling sensitive. Similar cycles exist for post-partum and perimenopause – both are times of great energetic transition that we can use as major personal transits – they are not just medical events. Some of the Chakra Empowerments are designed to help us work with these cycles.

Is your contribution especially due to the impact of the recent high number of cases of women’s sexual abuse and assault, which cause physical and mental health problems?

I have been working with sexual trauma survivors for over 15 years, but yes in the last few years there has been an increased interest in different modalities for addressing this, with more attention given to the issue. We have become aware of the great number of women who experience some form of sexual trauma or harassment in their lifetime, and these tools are a way of helping to address the impact of these on our energy body. Because our energy body intersects with our physical body and psyche, working with energy tools can contribute to both physical and mental healing. Of course everyone needs to find the combination of healing methods that works the best for them – it is not the same for everyone.

You clarify that your work complements psychotherapy or psychological counseling, as well as medical treatments. Do these elements contribute in an integrated way to achieve better results?

Yes, mind-body-spirit medicine means treating all three, and often multiple modalities working together can best do this. Everyone needs to find their own way, but we know that somatic methods are often the most effective for trauma in particular. Energy work of the type I do is somatic because we are feeling into energies as they express in the physical body too. This can be very helpful for addressing longstanding emotional patterns and working to change them. Often people will say to me ‘I have done a lot of talk therapy and this helped me understand how the patterns I have developed from my past. Now I need tools for changing them.’ And they find that chakra work is a powerful way of doing this.

What are the Chakra Empowerments? Is there a common concept in all of them?

The Chakra Empowerments that I present in this book are all based on a combination of visualization and emotional affirmation. I am very focused on helping people activate the feeling of the chakra energies in their most powerful form as an energetic sensation in their body. This kind of somatic work is the most helpful in daily life, for learning to access the energies you need in the moment. These Empowerments can be combined with other kinds of chakra work – breathe work, yoga, reiki, crystals, etc. But at their core they are meant to be tools that can be activated on the spot when needed to help change old patterns. They are also all specifically designed to address the limiting energetic patterns and blocks I most often see in women.

Is there a relationship between these Empowerments and states of consciousness?

Yes! States of consciousness are vibratory states of mind, body and spirit, and working energetically can definitely help us experience shifts. Each chakra in its most powerful expression is tied to high states of consciousness and emotional states too. So for example, when we first work with the navel, or third, chakra Empowerment (Navel Fire) we may be initially focused on magnifying emotions and feelings like confidence, determination, or on improving energetic boundaries. But ultimately this chakra is about feeing oneself as a conduit for power, hopefully used for good, and that is a state of consciousness. When working with the heart chakra Empowerment (Heart Star) we might be focused on healing blocks to love or patterns of feeling unworthy. With time we can begin to explore feelings of universal love, which is part of our spiritual awakening journey, and a very high state of consciousness.

Can it be said that there are chakras more specifically linked with the needs of women in terms of their vital function?

The sacral chakra plays a special role in the physical and mental health of women, and its state of health is reflected throughout our entire subtle body. Just as our hormones play a role in the health of many other parts of body besides our reproductive system, including our heart and brain, so our sacral chakra impacts virtually every part of our subtle body.

 What is the reason why you have chosen to work on a visual and emotional level, through affirmations and memories?

These methods are the most easily transmittable in book form, and are also available to us at any time. Part of what I want to help people do is learn how to access their chakras on the spot in their daily lives when they need a particular energy. We may not always be able to say a mantra aloud, or utilize a crystal or yoga posture, but we can always take a moment to visualize something in our mind’s eye and say an inner affirmation. A valuable part of working with the Chakra Empowerments as I have presented them in this book is that with time and practice we can get to this place where we utilize a ‘snapshot memory’ – we can instantaneously activate the energies of an Empowerment by flashing on the associated visual or affirmation. A large shift can occur in an instant this way.

Can you combine these exercises with other modalities of working with chakras?

Absolutely – mantras, crystals, breathe work, yoga, reiki – all of these are great complementary modalities. Some work more on the physical level, and others more on the esoteric. The Chakra Empowerments work primarily on the emotional/psyche level. All of these levels are connected, and a shift on one impacts other levels. Combining modalities can therefore be a powerful approach.

How can your method be understood with respect to various gender identities, as opposed to biological sex?

From my perspective, gender is a spectrum, and when I talk about the feminine or masculine energy bodies I am talking about the energetic equivalent of this spectrum. Individuals may identify anywhere on that spectrum. Or they may find that when working on emotional patterns they identify with tools for the feminine energy body, but when working on other issues they identify more with the masculine end of the spectrum. I feel anyone can choose to work with these tools, although I did develop the particular ones in this book primarily by working with individual who identify as women.

Finally, is this knowledge and practice, is it exclusive to women or do you also offer it to men?

I do work with men in my private practice, and do utilize many of these tools, and for others I have variations depending on their needs. As I mentioned, I often find that when working with men it is helpful at first to focus on energy body fluidity. In addition, focusing on feeling energies is often a necessary starting point as men are often conditioned away from noticing their emotions or feeling energies in their body. So often for men focusing on the flow of energies between chakras, and on somatic sensations of energy, are the necessary first steps, while for women I would often focus on strengthening boundaries and grounding. But to some extent it is individual. Men also of course need work on their sacral chakras, but this chakra functions slightly differently in them, so different tools are often helpful for this chakra in particular.