The one constant in our life is change, and that is certainly true of our bodies. We all are born, live, and then die. Through the course of our lifetime, our body experiences the exponential growth of childhood, the hormonal mysteries of adolescence, the settling of adulthood and middle age and finally the slowing into the deep wisdom and reflection of our elder years. Add to that all the possible body life experiences, happy or otherwise…illness, injury, childbirth, sex, weight fluctuations, trauma, stress, equanimity.
This month, Eostre the Germanic Goddess of fertility, agriculture and spring invites us to explore our opportunities for growth in our relationship with our bodies.
One way to approach this work is to reflect on how we understand, embrace and embody the three elements of Body Sovereignty: Body Trust, Body Peace and Body Respect. Are there areas where you’ve made some progress and others not so much? I offer three scenarios and invite you to consider which of these three areas are there growth opportunities for you. Maybe all three! And that’s fair. But perhaps there is one that is calling to you a little more loudly than the others at the moment to help you have some focus in your body sovereignty journey.
BodyRespect
Maybe you have become more mindful and in tune with your body lately and have developed an intentional practice of self compassion. You feel in your heart and soul a growing unconditional trust in, and acceptance of your body. But you struggle sharing this experience of your body with others and find yourself susceptible to diet talk at work or images in the media that looks to undo your healing inner work. Perhaps Body Respect is an area of growth for you. Maybe it is time to engage in some reading and critical thinking about why our society is trapped in a body shame epidemic. Maybe growth for you is about learning to claim space in the world.
Body Peace
Or maybe you’ve done a lot of reading and reflecting and have embraced the values behind weight neutral approaches like Health at Every Size and radical body acceptance. And even though you’ve done some great work at becoming more mindful in your body, resisting the call of Diet culture to count calories or ‘eat Paleo’, you find yourself still with deep hurt and pain in your relationship with your body. This may suggest Body Peace and the practice of self compassion is a place of growth for you. Maybe now is a good time to use your mindfulness skills to pay attention to how your talk to yourself, especially how you talk to yourself about your body. Think about what your body needs to hear from you and develop a practice of loving kindness. Invite yourself to pay attention to the pain your body is experiencing and find ways to respond to yourself and your body in a loving way.
Body Trust
Finally, consider if Body Trust is an area of growth for you to focus on at this time. Think about how much you rely on others (friends, families, doctors, diet gurus) when you are making decisions about your body like the food you eat or the movement you engage in. Are you in tune with your body’s thirst, hunger and sleep signals? Have you ever tried mindfulness techniques like meditation or mindful breathing?
Goddess Reflection
In engaging with the energy of Eostre to support us in growth I invite you to read the information from The Goddess Oracle (below) on the mythology of this goddess and the meaning of the card (in the photo). What do you notice? What are Eostre’s messages to you? What speaks to me here is an element of magic and imagination. Both with the hare that brings rainbow eggs, and the young unicorn sitting with her. I feel an echo back to last month’s connection to Ceridwen in the invitation to transformation. The bird in Eotre’s mythology story was not able to be healed, but with the help of Eostre, she was able to be transformed. What transformation might be supported by your efforts at setting a growth intention in your relationship with your body?
Until next time,
Sydney
Sydney is a psychotherapist providing online counselling with a focus on healing body shame. Her approach is grounded in Health at Every Size principles, supporting a reclaiming of Body Sovereignty, where we once again experience peace, trust and respect of our body. To learn more about Sydney and her approach, check out here website: www.sydneybell.ca or send an email: sydney@sydneybell.ca
Mythology & Meaning (from the deck):
images and card meanings are from The Goddess Oracle Deck by Amy Sophia Marashinksy.
The Germanic Goddess of fertility, agriculture and spring, Eostre was celebrated with the ritual lighting of dawn fires as a protection for the crops. She symbolizes springtime, new growth and rebirth. Once, when the Goddess was late in coming, a little girl found a bird close to death from the cold and turned to Eostre for help. A rainbow bridge appeared and Esotre came, clothed in her red robe of warm, vibrant sunlight which melted the snows. Spring arrived. Because the little bird was wounded beyond repair, Eostre changed it into snow hare who then brought rainbow eggs. As a sign of spring, Eostre instructed the little girl to watch for the snow hare to come to the woods.
Eostre comes into your life with her springtime message of personal growth. It is time to open to things in your life that facilitate growth, development, evolution. Is there a class or workshop you’ve been wondering if you should take? Do it now! Is there something new that you want to include in your life? Let it in now! Have you just gone through a period of stagnation and lethargy where nothing seemed to be happening? Let it go! Now is the time for growth. Eostre says that wholeness is nurtured when you embrace experiences, risks, and occasions that cause you to stretch. The stretching promotes your growth.
Ritual Suggestion: Growth
Find a time and a place when and where you will not be disturbed. Sit or lie comfortably with your spine straight and close your eyes. Take in a deep breath to the count of six, hold for sex, and exhale for six. Do this three times. Let a feeling of relaxation and well-being spread through your body. Now choose a plant. It can be a plant you know well or one you imagine, a cultivated plant of a wild one. You are the seed of this plant, and you have just been placed in the ground by human hands, animal feet or the breath of the wind. You have been asleep, held in a state of suspended animation until conditions were right for you to begin your cycle of growth. Now it is time for you to wake up and grow. You tingle and vibrate as you begin to expand. Your movement and expansion cause you to break gently out of your hull. You can now begin taking in what you need for your growth.
You drink in moisture for the earth and draw in all that nourishes you. You only take in what you really need and you know what you need. First you develop roots. Those roots travel downward into the earth, both to anchor you an to search for what you need to continue your growth. Now you begin to expand upward, responding to the light and warmth of the sun and you send up your first green leaves. More warmth and light from the sun pulls you up and out. More water and nutrients from the earth, and you grow and create more leaves and deeper roots. As the conditions around d you continue t nurture you, you and your environment continue the weaving dance of taking in and expanding out, breathing in and breathing out, as you continue to unfold and become exactly who you are.
Stay with that feeling, sense, or image of breathing in – taking in what you need – and breathing out – expanding and growing – for as long as is appropriate for you. Now take a deep breath and release it slowly coming back into your human body. When you feel ready, open your eyes. Welcome back!