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By Carole Fogarty
on Jan 11, 2013

Many of us draw on excessive masculine energy to move through our day. Over time, an internal imbalance occurs between the feminine and masculine aspects of ourselves. Perhaps this is true for you.

Our feminine energy begins to weaken, leaving us feeling empty, hollow and disconnected on the inside. A faint sense lingers in the back of the mind – something is missing.

Somehow along the way we’ve decided to place excessive amounts of focus and importance on the outside world. The house, job, cars, money, gadgets, power, winning, trinkets, consumption, the story. A sad energy split occurs between our mind and physical body. Over time, our feminine self slowly dissolves.

We lose the ability to rest and digest life, receive prana and nourish our deserving body.

More imbalances occur.

Pausing, reflecting and nurturing become lost parts of ourselves – distant memories. If only we had the time.

Vital feminine (shakti) energy channels flowing through our body become slowly weakened, blocked or starved.

We forget about our connection to the Mother Earth and all her balancing and healing rhythms and cycles. Nature exists for a reason. We are intimately connected to her.

Intuition becomes a stranger. The thinking mind dominates. We ignore our inner gaze.

We forget to lead life from our bellies. The home of our shakti. Our feminine, passionate, creative, nurturing self. We no longer love our bellies. We clench our bellies. Holding it all in. Blocking a feminine energy channel. We often send bad thoughts to our belly. Our belly then carries that hurt.

Exhaustion, emptiness, fatigue and stress are now daily visitors. There is imbalance in our chakra’s.

It has now become screamingly clear to me there is a timely need for us all (particularly women) to restore balance back to our feminine energy channels and back into our lives.

So, if you get a sense you are in need of reclaiming health and flow back to your feminine energy channels, I’m sharing a few of my favourite rituals to help you get started. They are simple, not time consuming and are offered to your wise feminine self as a sign of good faith that your new journey can begin today with one small breath and one small step.

I’m trusting one or more will resonate with you. Trigger a whisper of truth. Perhaps even awaken a distance memory from the ancients to you.

This is a year where we can start receiving vital energy/prana/chi on a whole new level.

  Practices for Restoring Feminine Balance:

Know there’s the perfect time for doing and an equally perfect time for receiving within the same 24 hours.

Know there’s also a subtle difference between doing a restorative yoga pose and actually receiving its goodness.

      1. Shakti Belly Breathing

If you do nothing else, do this pose. I can’t begin to tell you how incredibly nourishing and nurturing it is. It helps me connect to the energy and wisdom swirling around in my belly. My ‘gut’ feelings. I always get a sense of being refueled as I breathe intentionally into my belly. That’s what receiving feels like.

Before you begin give your belly permission to receive. Relaxing your belly is the first, must-do step.

Now bring the soles of your feet together. Gently let your legs flop out to the side (resting on cushions, blankets or bolsters if you need to). Rest hands wherever it feels right for the day. Above your head or down by your side, palms facing up.

Place your awareness and breath on your base chakra (the perineum area) and belly.

Breath in through your base chakra drawing the breath up and into your belly. Simply follow your breath as it enters and leaves your body from the base chakra. Feel the gentle movement of energy between your belly and the base chakra.

I usually practice for around 5 minutes each morning.

   2. Squat

Nature certainly didn’t intend for us to sit in chairs all day long.

Squatting helps bring our awareness and breath to our base chakra, legs and feet. It’s very grounding. Anchoring us into the earth’s energy.

A simple practice while relaxing in a squat is to inhale vital life force energy – up from the ground – through your feet and legs, gently nourishing the base chakra as it flows through up into your belly. Feel your belly swell and fill like a balloon with each inhale.

A beautiful nature exchange of energy takes places when we firmly root our feet into the earth’s replenishing energies. It may feel familiar and comforting.

A simple squatting pose will help lengthen your spine, strengthen and improve flexibility in your hips, thighs, knees and ankles.

  3. Full Moon Breathing Ritual:

The energy of the full moon is infused with a very cooling, calming and feminine energy. It helps us re-connect to the natural rhythms of nature so we in turn can be more in-tune with our own internal bodily rhythms. It will help us pause and receive more often.

* Inhale the full moon in through your left shoulder and down into the left side of your body. Continue until you get a feeling that your feminine, receiving side is a little more spacious and flowing. Then shift your awareness to the right side of your body.

* Inhale the cooling rays of the full moon in through your right shoulder and down into the whole right side of your body. Each inhale has a cooling and calming effect on any excess masculine, pushing or forceful energies. Continue alternating between the left and right side of your body until you feel an evenness of energy flowing between the left and right sides of your body.

This article is reprinted from Carole’s wonderful blog thehealthylivinglounge.com and appears on midlifexpress with her kind permission.
http://midlifexpress.com/replenish-feminine-energy/