What is Feminine Embodiment?
The Feminine or Shakti is a concept that derives from indigenous, spiritual traditions all over the world. Regardless of gender, a duality of Masculine energy and Feminine energy exists in the Universe and within us as individuals. For instance, Shiva is the Universal Masculine, and Shakti is the Universal Feminine in ancient South Asian traditions, such as Tantra. Or Yang (Masculine), and Yin (Feminine), in Traditional Chinese medicine and South-East Asian tradition.
In the modern world, we live in a capitalist-patriarchal paradigm that values the Masculine principle over the Feminine. The Masculine is a rising energy. It is the linear, rational, driven, goal-oriented GO energy we all possess. The realm of cognition or mind-based intellect. The hyper or unhealthy Masculine can be seen in the world through extreme capitalism and globalisation (valuing wealth and power, over the preservation and sustenance of Mother Earth, the oppression of certain bodies, feminine suppression).
In spirituality, the Masculine or Shiva is the witness consciousness (formless), whilst the Feminine or Shakti represents all of Creation (Form) - the birthing energy of all that is created in the Universe. Thus, Shakti is the Divine Mother. This subtle Divine Mother energy resides in all women and female-identifying people, as the power of fertility, to birth new ideas (creativity), and nurture new life. Women and female-identifying people’s natural feminine rhythms are seen in the menstrual cycle and connection the lunar cycle (Moon energy is Feminine in nature). The Universal Shakti is seen as Mother Earth herself - with all of her creativity, abundance, evolution, and dynamism.
The Feminine is descending energy. It is our inherent feeling + flowing nature.
The receptive, surrendering, savouring, and magnetic energy within us. The internal, intuitive, often illogical and irrational sides of us, which crave depth, richness, and immersive experience. These are qualities that are generally not nurtured or respected in the modern world, but are so desperately needed for our holistic and emotional wellbeing, radiance, and essential vitality as women.
In my life, I found hyper-masculinity and Feminine suppression shaped many of my experiences.
It manifested in multiple ways:
The way we practised my faith. God was seen as a Father in the Sky (rather than a genderless being or in a Goddess form).
My feelings and emotions were ridiculed and thus repressed. I was deemed too sensitive, too emotional, or ‘causing trouble’ when I expressed my emotions as a woman. Emotions that often fluctuate through the month, as our hormones and energy fluctuate naturally.
Menstruation and infertility are still a big taboo in our culture, and I felt ashamed when I had a menstrual disorder. Menstruation is still primarily viewed as an inconvenience, rather than a natural, feminine cycle of life.
I discovered in Ayurvedic teachings that enhancing your shakti is essential for your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. There is a vulnerability to the womb, so by honouring our shakti-prana (life force energy) we heal our connection to our femininity, womanhood, and protect from illness and womb-related disorders. The idea of psychosomatic healing and the link to the womb is not well-known in modern medicine (in part, due to a lack of recognition of traditional medicine).
Workplaces are ill-equipped for the changes we go through cyclically - monthly (menstrual cycle), seasonally (the seasons of the planet), our inner seasons (stages of our life, such as menopause), which cause an imbalance in our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. For example, my hormones were often imbalanced due to work stress and pressure to perform, whilst suffering from severe menstrual cramps, fatigue, and headaches.
At work and in the modern world, we are obsessed with moving forward, pushing through despite challenges, productivity and growth. It created much anxiety, as I was always in my head and feeling ungrounded. There was little opportunity or value seen in prioritising mental calm, rest was an indulgence, and I didn’t feel balanced.
I felt a sense of disconnection from my sensuality in a female body for most of my life. With diet culture, Euro-centric beauty standards, racism, and the taboo of female sexuality in South Asian culture, it created an inability to access my pleasure as a woman. It was very challenging to own that I am a sensual woman due to cultural, patriarchal shaming and fear of persecution that is still rife in many cultures today.
I sought to feel good enough instead through external stimulation - shopping, exercise, alcohol. I ignored my body’s red flags and calls for rest, and worked even harder.
Did any of these resonate with you?
So…. that’s interesting. But what is Embodiment?
Embodiment is this sense of inhabiting more of your authentic, true Feminine Essence through the body. In the schools of thought that I’m trained in, and in ancient Tantric teachings, the body is the portal to accessing our innate Divinity.
The only way to embody is to experience. It is a hard term to define, because feeling is experiential and subjective.
The more we deepen into our bodies internal landscape, the more we unravel, and unfold, and re-connect to the essential Truth of who we really are.
Only you can know your Truth. I find this immensely empowering.
Therefore, embodiment is a practice of cultivating sensitivity to our body. Our body, which is a field of sensation and awareness. Our internal felt senses are the body’s intrinsic language, they are the inner messages that are communicating with us all the time.
Turning inwards and attuning to our subtlest energy, the shakti energy, is the practice of feminine embodiment.
We prioritise feeling-first, and direction-second.
When we cultivate sensitivity and embody our Feminine Essence the benefits are limitless (just as is the Universal Shakti). Just some of the benefits are:
Feeling good enough and worthy
Attunement to your body’s needs from moment to moment
Enhanced clarity in what feels aligned to your being and what doesn’t
Able to take clear, decisive action because of how aligned it feels
Able to build the stamina to voice boundaries as they feel resonant in the body
Start to move beyond shame stories and ancestral/intergenerational patterns or family wounds
Feel safe, listen to and start trusting your intuition
Experience relief from chronic health issues, stress, and anxiety
Feeling empowered and liberated
Resource a sense of safety and stability from within the body time and time again
Reclaim agency, self-expression, and self-confidence
Greater sense of creativity, play, pleasure, and magnetism (reclaiming our feminine gifts).
Start having FUN and researching the language of your body, rather than always living in the head or relying on cognition.
If you’re curious, or fired up to live in a new, radically feminine way - one that embraces your sacred feminine power - let’s chat.
As a final note, our ancestors’ indigenous traditions always acknowledged that we could not only thrive on the cognitive, rational, Masculine-GO energy. They valued Mother Earth's sanctity. They believed in the Spirit realm and our bodies as the bridge. They knew of the healing, nurturing, purifying, mysterious ways of the Feminine. They know that inner Masculine and Feminine balance was required for holistic health, emotional wellness, and life alignment. I have no doubt you will experience the profound benefits of these subtle teachings as I have in my own life.
Sending big love and shakti to you
Sharandeep x