WiseWomanhood School

Supporting Women - Body, Mind, & Soul

Anatomy-Cycles-Sex

Becoming a True Elder

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I’ve been studying shamanic practice with Paul Francis, of the UK. He teaches that the basis of shamanism is animism. Our Hunter-Gatherer forefathers & mothers lived in this kind of culture. They lived harmoniously within their human tribe and with the larger community of non-humans – Animal, Plant, and Stone Peoples. They understood all the Peoples are soulful and worthy of respect. They knew there was a Spirit World, unseen unless in a Shamanic State of Consciousness, during a shamanic journey or in a state straddling both the physical world and the Spirit World.

In this animist world, children were initiated into adulthood, signaling that they’d become a True Adult. They were shocked into giving up their childish self centeredness and into connecting more fully to the whole web of life – human & non-human. Using their talents for the good of the whole. That was the makings of a True Human Adult.

I hope to grow into that – and onward to be a True Elder, not just older but seeing beyond the daily world to bigger needs of the whole community and sharing that wisdom.  Paul Francis says that Shamans were Elders ahead of their time, with a foot in both the Spirit World and the physical Middle World. They tell stories to help keep the tribe on the path to being Truly Human Beings.

Luckily, Ayurveda helps us to live long and well as possible. With these supports I hope to make it to True Elderhood.

If you would like to join me on this path, join our free twice monthly Shamanic Study Groups and look into the excellent books and classes by Paul Francis at Three Ravens College. To have your own personal longevity plan, start with a zoom consultation with Terra or try some Ayurveda on-demand classes.

Deepening through Female Initiations

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You can view a woman’s life cycles as a series of initiations into a new state of being, a higher consciousness. When you look at them this way, they become more than a troublesome change. They become an opportunity for your soul to grow.

The phases that women go through are:  Menarche, Menstrual cycling, Female Orgasm, Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause and Later Menopause.  Intertwined with these is Creativity.

These stages have been correlated by the author Uma Dinsmore-Tuli with the traditional Tantric Mahavidya or Wisdom Goddesses.  Most of these Goddesses are very fierce looking, ready to shock you out of your everyday patterns into a state of newness, making them excellent for Female Initiations.

This beautiful graph is from the amazing book Yoni Shakti,by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli,PhD. It clearly illustrates the relationship of the Mahavidyas to the Female Life Cycles:

We can use the teachings of the Mahavidya to bring more awareness to Female Cycles, making them more than physical experiences which are often uncomfortable.

If you’d like to learn from my research and journeys with the Female Cycles and the Mahavidyas, as well as from other women on the journey, join my upcoming live, zoom class in February. We’ll go beyond the mind and enter into the subtle worlds to contact each Goddess for personalized teachings.

I also highly recommend the amazing book Yoni Shakti by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli  , the major inspiration for my own work to learn more and share about her great paradigm.  She delves deeply into women and yoga and also offers wonderful womb yoga techniques for each cycle of womanhood.

Learn more about the Mahavidyas and Women’s Powers class

Perimenopause- the Autumn Season of Women’s Lives

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The Autumn season has much in common with perimenopause. It’s a transitional season between the fertile summer and the winter when energies go more inward. Some days may be more summer-like, then some are cooler and windier. Dryness increases. It is unpredictable so one must prepare for any weather, with layers and perhaps an umbrella.

Just as Autumn is different in different climates, so does perimenopause vary according to the doshic condition of the woman. And it isn’t always easy to tell, at first, whether Autumn is truly here or it’s a cooler spell of late summer. Same with perimenopause – much must be taken into account.

One view of the menopausal transition, along with all the seasons of a woman’s life, is as a physical opportunity for initiation. Through conscious work with challenges presented a woman may increase her wisdom and power. So beyond the purely physical, mental and emotional must be addressed. A calm clear mind, sattwa, is open to the novelty of a new phase and can navigate more easily.

The Wisdom Goddess who associates with the unknown of the perimenopause is Bagalamukhi. She is know as the paralyser, just as the unknown of perimenopause can sometimes paralyze a woman. Bagalamukhi’s power is to stop us, so we can evaluate our past, and clearly see how we want to live in the future. We are forced inward, stopping outward activities temporarily to be still and contemplate. Embracing this initiation can help is along.

Comparing typical hormone changes
pre-menopause v perimenopause

As this illustration shows – perimenopause is highly changeable. Therefore, a remedy that helps symptoms for one month may not work the next! Confusion can reign in this unknown territory.

However there are many physical and emotional helps through this, especially when keyed to an individual woman’s body. When she is conscious of how to observe her body, she can learn to suit supports to her needs more skillfully.

If you are interested in learning more about Perimenopause, consider the new live zoom class this fall I’m teaching through WiseWomanhood – Perimenopause with Ayurveda. Gain more skill for yourself &/or your clients for helping smooth the path of perimenopause.

WOMAN- LOVE YOUR LOVE LIFE – Sexual Self Care

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A Workshop with Terra Rafael

Sexual self care starts with a pink model of female clitoris.
Cliti, the Clitoris Model

Our sexual life unleashes primal energies – it is full of the instinctual power of our species to reproduce and bond. This workshop gives you tools to better unleash these energies for you to use in whatever creative way you choose.
Videos and their PDFs include:
1 – Introduction
2 – Sexual Self Care for Women Overview (26:14)
3 – Be Turned On – Enhancing Female Libido (15:25) – if you lack sexual desire or arousal
4.- Keep Sex Juicy – Female Lubrication (22:32) – if your yoni is dry
5. – Enhancing Female Orgasm (30:13) – if you want to have mind-blowing orgasms

GETTING TO THE ROOTS OF YOUR MENSTRUAL CRAMPS

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Getting to the Roots of Your Menstrual Cramps with Terra Rafael

Have an easy to understand Ayurvedic explanations of why women have different types of menstrual cramps and some self care measures. An alternative to hormonal treatments that don’t cure, but cover symptoms.

45 minutes of Video

Self Care of Menstrual Problems – PDF

For further information, learn more in these courses:

Menstrual and Fertility Health with Ayurveda

Optimal Menstrual Health and Treating Menstrual Disorders

OVARIES AND UTERUS – WHERE ARE YOURS? by Terra Rafael

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Ovaries and Uterus- Where are Yours?  (5 min) is a brief, popular video that shows you how to find just where your uterus and ovaries are likely to be in your body. Sometimes women mistake their intestinal pains for being their ovaries or uterus. Being more aware will help your self care.

Ovaries and Uterus – Where are Yours? – the video

For more about how the uterus moves – with your cycle and with dysfunction – see our course on Female Anatomy