A sacred space over our kitchen sink that reminds me of the holy, centers me, and reminds me to breathe while I’m doing dishes
This morning, I woke up early. Everyone was still asleep. I wanted to have some time alone before I teach yoga outside at our park downtown. I made myself some breakfast without hurrying. While I was standing at our kitchen sink washing the dishes, I looked at the window sill as I usually do. This is one of my sacred spaces.
I intentionally placed these sacred items here – on the window sill of our kitchen sink — to remind me that THIS — whatever I am doing, however the day is going, whatever mood I am in — is holy. This sacred space centers me and reminds me to breathe. Creating sacred spaces around the house that we can draw nourishment from throughout the day can be our touchstones. Sacred spaces invite us into a sacred pause. They can remind us to breathe and what matters most.
This morning, as I was thinking of “sacred spaces,” I started to think of the beautiful moms I was going to teach today – in all different stages of motherhood. And that’s when I stopped in my tracks:
“WE are sacred space. OUR MAMA BODIES are sacred space.”
We truly are sacred space
I stood there in awe of the sacred feminine – how we truly are sacred space.
In awe of how our bodies intuitively know how to shift, change, grow, stretch, make milk, hold little ones with just the right touch, and bring our little ones into our arms to be held and healed. In awe of every single moms’ “yes” to bringing baby into this world, having her whole body, life, career, home, focus, social life completely transformed. In awe of how we say “yes” to this messy, miraculous, “beyond us yet includes us” work of the divine, the mystery, the grace to bring a child into the world and BE sacred space.
Our bodies are sacred space for our children when they need to be nourished, held, comforted, and reminded of how deeply they are loved.
WE – as sacred space – are the sacred pause for our children when they need to slow down, be seen, find center, and begin again.
we truly are sacred space. Our bodies – our arms, hands, breasts, heart – are altars for our little ones. We nourish. We heal. We hold.
But in a culture of hurry, in a culture that tends to isolate moms, in a culture that keeps women occupied with harshly judging and blaming ourselves, we often forget how WE are living and breathing sacred space. We forget just how very holy our eyes, hands, arms, bellies, voices, words, songs, and embraces are.
Just as we need sacred spaces in our home (and work space!) to remind us to pause and remember what is holy, what would it be like to look in the mirror each morning – naked, stretch marks, breasts and belly just as they are — and remember:
~ how our bodies have stretched, changed, grown, cried out in pain, held, comforted, fed, and loved…every single day
~ how beautiful and sacred we are
~ how we are touchstones for our children, we are the sacred space for our children, and they are so so very sensitive to the words we say, our tone of voice, how we touch them, the warmth and pressure in our touch, how our eyes look at them, the gentleness and regard in our eyes
– how our slowing down and embodying sacred space reminds them of the holy, what matters, and to breathe…and to be gentle with the words we say to ourselves
~ AND… how we need the sacred space of each other – our tribe – to remind us of just how holy, good, and whole we are?
What would it be like to pause each morning like this?
I can imagine that we’d begin to honor ourselves more and more each day. We’d walk with a fiercer feminine power. We’d see the ways our children our coming to us throughout the day because we are safe, sacred space. We’d see the holy in other moms. We’d tell them. We’d remind them of their goodness. We’d begin to shift the messages moms receive in our culture – in our lifetime and in our children’s lifetime — to ones that deeply regard the sacred feminine, build up our girls (and boys), and support women in seeing the holy and beautiful within ourselves.
Dear Moms, your body is beautiful. Your heart is beautiful. How you love and nourish is beautiful. Your belly, hips, and chest are beautiful just as they are, mama. Just as they are. And if you don’t believe it, believe your little ones and how they find comfort in your embrace, how they feel nourished and loved in your arms, how they hug your round(er) belly.
Blessings for believing in the SACRED SPACE YOU ARE. Blessings for cultivating sacred space in our everyday life that brings you back to feeling centered. Blessings for belonging to a sacred space of others who nourish you and reflect your beauty to you.
Blessings,
As usual, so poignant and beautiful. Thank you!
Thank you, dear heart!!! Love to you, Lisa
This made me tear up, but only because I needed this today. Thank you for this post, it filled my heart with joy and gentleness towards myself.
It brought a tear to my eye, too! I write about the things *i* need to hear, too! Many blessings — and…happy birthday! Love, Lisa
Thank you for the birthday wishes 🙂 Blessings and love backatcha!
seeing ourselves, knowing ourselves as sacred brings such healing to our own life and to the world around us. What a beautiful post.
Thank you!!!! I’m so grateful. Love to you, Lisa
I was just thinking about this in my own way. How funny. Talk about space: the womb. Talk about sacred.
You will wonder how we think alike:
http://aholisticjourney.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/20-things-i-consider-sacred/
OH MY GOODNESS! We sure are on the same wave length! I LOVE IT! It’s something about fall, too, that calls me to focus on my surroundings – in the home. And then in doing so, it just came to me “mama, YOU are sacred space.” yes, yes, i KNOW this, but for whatever reason, this spoke to me in a new way! Keep up your poetry!!! I’m going to be writing and sharing more of my poetry this winter. Many blessings, Lisa
You hit it again, Lisa: as the seasons cool, we contract. And so the harvest offers foods that help us settle and center, move inward. Roast pumpkins, stay home, ruminate. (I smell a poem.) Summer offers food that help us expand. I’ve been writing a lot of poetry on the board. The one you looked at wasn’t quite poetry and it was an oldie. =) Keep it going. Xxxx
YES YES YES — moving inward with the harvest as it allows us, invites us to settle and center. There is a LOT going on in Sept and Oct — more than I think “should” be — or well – at least, I am feeling the need to be very very mindful of how much energy we are putting out into the world and honoring the invitation and the need to turn inward. Love love love that you are sharing your poetry more! Little by little – me too! Love, Lisa
Love, love, love that paragraph that starts with “Your body is beautiful.” Hmmm I can sit in that paragraph all day! Beautiful, just like you!
Thanks, Jodi! I like that line, too! I think of how beautiful you are — your picture — the very first thing we see when we arrive at your blog — invites us to smile, too, because of your gorgeous, kind smile! Love to you, Jodi. Lisa
Wow!! What a concept.. to accept, to realize, that we ourselves are a sacred space. What a wondrous way to go through life. Thank you for this! And for the links too, I am eager to enjoy some of Shawn’s writings. Thanks for sharing about that amazing site. Warm hugs of gratitude for you always, Gina
Gina, you’ll love what Shawn is up to. I’m contributing just a bit to one of her online workshops — Abundant Mamas. Yes, what a concept — seeing ourselves as sacred space. I love it.
Thanks for the mention, Lisa!! Great post. As usual!
You got it, Shawn! Your Abundant Mamas online workshop is awesome!!!