1. Side Stretches: In
the beginning, Woman created the world, and the world was Woman. 2.
Diagonal Stretches: Woman
fashioned clay into a bowl, fired it in flame, cooled it in wind and water... 3.
Belly-Centering Breath: ...and
set the bowl within her belly. 4.
Belly Bowl: With
the substance of her body Woman traced out the four directions south to
north and west to east and rolling this bowl around its rim gave birth
to earth. With
the heat of her fire Woman set the sun in motion from solstice to solstice
and from equinox to equinox and rolling the sun around its orbit in the
sky gave birth to day and to the year of time. With
the coolness of her winds and waters Woman set the moon in motion from
full to new and from waning half to waxing and rolling the moon around
its orbit in the sky gave birth to night and to the month of time. Stirring
fire and water into the substance of her body, Woman gave breath to the creatures
of the land, sea, and sky, to women and to men. Encircling all creation in the
community of her love, she gave birth to life, death, life, and to the interweaving
of our lives. 5.
Cradle: Woman
created the world in circles, and now Woman cradles the worldthrough sunrise,
through moonrisein the bowl which is her belly. 6.
Making Waves: Woman
nourishes her world with the pulse of her breath. Inhaling, Woman reaches down
into the center of the earth to gather her sustenance. Exhaling, Woman draws sustenance
up from the earth center and presses it out. In wave-like undulations, Woman mediates
the interpenetration of earth and sky. 7.
Spinning from Center: We
Who Have Been Living In This Time awake and find a world spinning out from us
in all directions. We find ourselves each at the center of a vast circle. 8.
Standing in Stillness: We
find ourselves kin to the trees, pressing down into the earth below and stretching
up into the sky above. 9.
Blessing Breath: We
ask for, and receive, the blessings of the earth, the trees, the sky, and we enter
these blessings into the center of our bodies. Our breath carries these blessings
into every cell of our being. 10.
Power-Centering Breath: Finding
ourselves alive within an ocean of energy, we reach out, take, and enter the power
of creation into the very center of our bodies. Our breath carries this power
into every cell of our being. 11.
Spiraling Circles: Life
energy has a wisdom. Creative power has a way. Everything the power of nature
does occurs in circles. Moving
with the power of nature, we explore our universe, the worlds of our experience.
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Releasing to Ground: We
may find that certain judgments depress us, resting heavily upon our shoulders.
We dismantle these judgments, releasing them to earth, where they harmlessly dissolve. We
may discover that the knowledge of our own worthiness has been suppressed. We
receive from the earth the truth of our worthiness, wearing these affirmations
easily upon our shoulders. 13.
Stretch Up/Press Down: We
may find that certain lofty ideals oppress us. We bring these unrealistic expectations
down to earth. We
may discover that certain of our instincts have been repressed. We bring our instinctive
wisdom into the light of day. 14.
Squat to Full Standing: We
honor the natural rhythm of our lives-descending into communion with ourselves
and the earth; rising into relationship with others, heartfully, with open arms. It
may be that, in expressing ourselves so powerfully, we encounter a challenge,
internal or external. 15.
Rest Pose or Circular Squat: We
turn inward to meet this challenge. We name and reclaim the qualities and powers
which we had lost, forgotten, hidden, or given away. We
honor ourselves as giving birth to our own becoming. We allow old patterns of
repression to disintegrate and new patterns of expression to develop. We
restore our strength in our self-valuation. 16.
Squat to Half-Standing: We
understand that the sacred feminine has been desecrated. We understand that the
reverent masculine has been demonized. We reverse these reversals. 17.
Rise into Standing: We
rise, expansively, dispersing all traces of internal and external oppression. 18.
Spreading Wings: Having
restored our power and strength in freedom, now we celebrate both the earth below
and the sky above, the wisdom of the sacred feminine and the heartfulness of the
reverent masculine. 19.
Toe-Balancing Squat: No
matter how comfortable we become in moving skyward, we continually deepen our
relationship to the earth, to the sacred feminine within, and to the women in
our lives. Such deepening steadies our balance. 20.
Stretch Up and Squat: We
invoke the sacred feminine and the reverent masculine into our worlds, integrating
them into this time and place, defining the boundaries of our worlds with our
presence as a whole. 21.
Tree: We
acknowledge ourselves as kin to the trees. 22.
Heaven and Earth: We
acknowledge ourselves as creation and co-creator of heaven and earth.
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