ONE: Motherhood is a full time job. TWO: Being a self employed yoga entrepreneur, too. In this perspective, I’m working two full time jobs, one of them being a 24/7 shift without designated breaks.
Mmh…
Everything is a matter of perspective and there is a very fruitful perspective available that goes like this: ONE is an honorary appointment to accompanying the new generation into adulthood without forgetting about their magical powers and unlimited opportunity - which is a much bigger endeavour for me than for my two daughters. And TWO is a calling. Yoga has found me, we got engaged, I can’t leave, like my dear friend Lorenzo said: I swallowed the pill, there is no return.
Yoga has taught me many things that are much greater than wrapping my ankles behind my neck. One of them is self care. A lifestyle of honest, sustainable practices which nourish me from the inside and allow me to do the crazy things I do love to do occasionally, too.
I swear by practices which align body, mind and spirit, which restore and revitalize from within, rather than looking outside the self for remedies. It’s in this spirit that I have come to cherish my yoni egg. It came to me through my Mexican friend Ale about one year after my first daughter was born and it has taught me great deal about myself. Back then it was much more about the redefinition of “me” after seemingly splitting into three: my dearly loved daughter, a mum and a “Julia” who has transformed.
Yoni is a Sanskrit word for the vulva & vagina junction, which encompasses the power of divine feminine creativity.
Yoni eggs are smooth, egg-shaped crystals that come in different sizes, weights and are inserted and held inside the vagina. While the crystal is doing it’s crystal specific work, consciously moving the egg within the vaginal canal recruiting the pelvic floor & vaginal muscles is strengthening the pelvic floor as well as bringing awareness to the pelvic area and the different layers of the pelvic floor and vaginal walls.
Yoni eggs are used in different phases of womanhood for different reasons. When used regularly, amazing things happen: menstrual difficulties lessen (or cease altogether), abdominal and lower back strength increase (improving posture), lubriction comes naturally from the vaginal walls and doesn't need to be "helped out by lubrication products– all of that goes along with reigniting the source of your true feminine power.
It’s now 2 years that my second daughter is born and I have come to cherish my drilled Jade egg for its service restoring my pelvic floor and its service to help me notice my boundaries, to know when it’s enough and hold my boundaries with integrity. Here’s how:
Just like in my first postpartum time I hung out with my AcroYoga peers very soon after delivery, watching them play got me ignited with the desire to train, I did a couple of training sessions and was horrified by the feeling in my pelvic floor, feeling the weight of the organs pushing down when pressing into inversions jumping into or out of a pose (of course… but tell that to me when being in the “I want, I like" state)…
- when writing this I have to laugh about myself how OBVIOUSLY this wasn’t an appropriate way getting back into practice… However, this horrifying feeling got me right on track finding / creating a truly satisfying and sustainable postnatal practice which gets me in my femininity, true power center, general integrity in my pelvis, something which:
- restores pelvic floor
- restores core
- slowly eases me back into training
These steps were so hard for me to follow because inversions felt so damn good to me prenatally as well as postpartum. They take the weight of the organs off the pelvic floor and give a great sense of relief. And since my arms weren’t pregnant and therefor remained in the same integrity, handstands felt a great practice. Yet, handstand practice doesn’t restore the pelvic floor.
So there I was. A very content Baby with long sleep cycles, a big sister with a regular Kindergarden schedule and a ready made 4 weeks handstand plan from my husband. A great set up, but I had to postpone it.
Instead of using the pelvic floor trainers made out of plastic I used my yoni egg to get instant feedback of how my pelvic floor is doing. Here’s how:
- I started with a smaller non-drilled egg of about 35 - 40gr about 9 weeks postpartum. After a couple of frustrating tries in the first 3 days my pelvic floor was able to hold the weight in for longer than a couple of breaths.
- I made it a regular practice in the morning doing simple pelvic floor exercises with the egg, sitting on a ball, squeezing a block between the knees and finding the lower abdominals. And I consciously use the word “exercises” because it’s a word that doesn’t necessarily refer to “tightening”. A healthy balance between contracting and releasing is crucial for sustainable pelvic health.
- after about two weeks there was a great increase of time in which I could hold the egg in, the subconscious holding pattern of the pelvic floor was turned on so holding the egg in was more easy. And I went up to 55gr and then to 70gr.
- I started to do a full yoga practice once the pelvis floor muscles were able to hold the weight in for a good 90 minutes after I was finished with the isolated pelvic floor exercises.
- after doing this for about a week it felt like an organic step to start my 4 week handstand training plan which does include still up to this date vaginal farts. Even though they decreased tremendously.
After working with the egg now for 2 years I have learned:
IT IS NOT ABOUT HOLDING A WEIGHT inside for a 90 minute yoga practice. It's a great training impulse, but a healthy pelvic floor is NOT IN A CONSTANT HOLDING PATTERN.
A healthy pelvic floor moves alongside the diaphragm in each breath. It has enough integrity to hold the organs in place and give you a feeling of safety and security in your body by supporting a controlled urinary function and great sensual experience in having real pleasurable sex. Also after vaginal birth, C-section, episiotomy... you name it.
I created an online course to take you through a 10 week step by step training and exploration of all layers of the pelvic floor laying a foundation for an honest and authentic connection to your creative source: your vagina.
Check out my program here:
And receive a 20% discount for reading all the way to end:
https://vhab.mykajabi.com/offers/pzo8Vnxg/checkout?coupon_code=BOUNDLESS
The yoni egg continues to not only be my pelvic floor trainer, yet it has become my “core whisperer” telling me straight forward what’s going on at the bottom of myself. Feelings of tiredness, weakness, strength…, now I act according to these feelings. When tired, I rest, when weak, I recharge through practices of self care, when strong I celebrate the energy… profound healing can occur from the enhanced awareness and sense of connectedness that develops through this sacred practice with the crystals.
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