8 ways to access your feminine energy

As a life balance coach/author, I speak, teach, write and facilitate experiences to support people in coming into greater balance on all levels, including: being and doing, thinking and feeling, giving and receiving, working and playing and more.

For some of us, finding balance in our relationships–both with ourselves and our loved ones–can be our greatest challenge.  Interestingly a nationally-known couples therapist once told me most men and women she sees are in trouble because of imbalances in how they manage their masculine/feminine energy (read more about the dance of the yin and yang).

Do you ever feel more like a drill sergeant than a goddess?

This concept–how to balance both our masculine and feminine energies–always strikes a strong chord with the women who attend my self-renewal retreats.

As women, we can be imbalanced in all sorts of ways, but for many of us, learning to embrace our feminine essence can feel particularly challenging if we’re used to carrying a heavy load and are overburdened with caregiver responsibilities. (For discussions on sacred masculinity, I highly recommend the work of Richard Rohr.)

For some women, learning to embrace their feminine energy can be critical to their feeling whole and alive; it certainly has been for me. For years I was solely career-focused (more of a “human doing” than a “human being”). Throughout my twenties and early thirties I was more interested in building my career than nurturing my femininity (I never realized I could do both). After I had my son and launched my first business, I tapped my deep well of creativity and began to actively celebrate and embrace my feminine essence and its many gifts. This awakening — that I could be both strong and soft— became pivotal to my healing and the reclaiming of my true power.  Here are some ways I have learned to connect to my feminine essence and bring more balance and joy into family life (and as a result, am a heck of a lot more fun to be around):
• by reclaiming dance and encouraging my family to dance and move for the pure fun of it (check out Nia dance, Quoya, Five Rhythms or Let Your Yoga Dance if this calls to you);
• by creating a pleasure-infused life at home and at work (whether that’s enjoying a foot massage, a lavender-infused bubble bath, fresh flowers on my desk or taking time to savor a simple but lovingly prepared lunch in the middle of the workday);
• by appreciating my body and taking time to enjoy and celebrate my inner and outer beauty;
• by creating a home sanctuary, using candles, aromatherapy, family pictures, color, relaxing music, and more;
• by encouraging creative expression — whether through cooking, gardening, or spontaneous creative play both for my family and myself;
• by embracing the natural world, both by getting out into nature as a family and bringing nature into our home, such as by putting a small vase filled with rosemary from our yard on the dinner table or displaying fall leaves I found on a stroll;
• by practicing receptivity and allowing others to help me, so that I receive as much as I give; and
• by learning when to initiate and when to allow, rather than habitually launching into action or “fix-it” mode (this applies to my personal and professional life).

I find when I celebrate and embrace my feminine essence, things tend to flow more easily. My husband and son appreciate me more. I have more fun and life feels more juicy. And when the pull to move into army sergeant mode rears its head, I call forth Joan Borysenko’s quote, “Remember—your to-do list is immortal. It will live on long after you’re dead.” Amen sister!

TIMELY SUPPORT FROM RENEE:

• Would you love to gather, support and connect women in your community who are feeling called to focus on their self-care while also reflecting on “What is uniquely mine to do?”  Find out more about our 14 year-old global Personal Renewal Group Program and consider becoming a RTA-Certified Facilitator and leading self-renewal groups/retreats for women in your area ($100 off online training through 3/31/17 + a private coaching session with Renee!).
• Self-employed and live in Texas? I am co-creating a beautiful new community for souful, entrepreneurial women seeking a like-minded tribe called UNLEASHED ATX. I offer Mastermind Workshops for Enlightened Entrepreneurs around “The Conversations You Wish You Were Having.” The March 31st theme will be Harnessing & Leveraging Our Energy. Learn more/register; space is limited. We’ll be meeting at the inspiring, luxurious, Austin JW Marriott in a window-filled space overlooking one of the most creative cities in the world!

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance teacher/coach/speaker and Career Strategists president, Renée Peterson Trudeau. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Spirituality & Health and more. Thousands of women in ten countries are becoming RTA-Certified Facilitators and leading/joining self-care groups based on her award-winning curriculum.  She is the author of The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal and Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 15 year-old son. More on her background here.