I’ve just returned from a road trip through the Southwest with my sweetie. We traveled through New Mexico and Colorado as we stopped to soak in healing waters and bathe in luminous rays, surrounded by the natural world! It was a mellow getaway spent with family and friends, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do so. You could say that I spent my time on vacation “receiving”.
The Balance of Give and Receive is SO important for the greater enjoyment, ease, and fulfillment of our lives on Earth. These two opposing (but complementary) energies can be witnessed and experienced simply as what we put out into the world and also what we take from the world.
You may also interpret Give/Receive as the Masculine and Feminineenergies that exist within and without, above and below. Within us, we have this represented by the seemingly symmetrical sides of our Earth-Bodies. Our right side is our Masculine side – which I describe as active, outward, exertion, ascending, and giving. Our left side is our Feminine side – which I describe as passive, inward, healing, descending, and receiving. You may also interpret this through the spirit of Mother Earth below and the spirit of Father Sky above. Mother Earth is the ultimate representation of the Feminine, and Father Sky is the Masculine. Together they form two halves of one greater whole, much like our Earth-Bodies. In Chinese Philosophy, what I speak of here is widely known as the balance of Yin and Yang.
This balance occurs in every breath – your inhale meets your exhale, which then meets your inhale as the cycle begins again and again. Your inhale needs your exhale (and visa versa) to be a complete breath. Light and Dark, Sun and Moon, Earth and Sky, Strength and Surrender, Fire and Water… there are endless examples of the harmonizing opposition of Give and Receive.
Perhaps you feel called to one side versus the other. Perhaps you are more likely to Give rather than Receive or Receive rather than Give. Perhaps you spend your days in action, moving from inward to outward rather than resting, moving outward to inward. Or perhaps it is the opposite.
HOME PRACTICE: Have no judgment, resistance, or attachment as you engage in any of the following practices (contemplation, meditation, shamanic journey, yoga, dance, walk, journal, etc.) that feels like a match for YOU to gain clarity. Hold the clear intention in your heart space to discover how you are in relation with Give and Receive, and be open to experience your own inner wisdom. Perhaps you may even come to a revelation of how to gain greater balance of these two energies in your Life, because we certainly need both!
We as humans are always striving to find balance. This appears fundamentally when we become tired or feel energized, become hungry or feel full, or even when we are sweating or have the chills. Balance is always something that we are reaching for physically, energetically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. This occurs every day, every hour, every minute – whether we are aware of it or not. There is also great wisdom to be said in that there is NO true, concrete place of balance! We are always ebbing and flowing at every moment to “find” it. If we can bring in more AWARENESS around what we need to “work on”, it will act as a powerful ally on our journey closer.
When in “right” relation with Give AND Receive, we will experience Life as truly satisfied, wholesome, and healthy beings! We are on our path towards it <3
Your belly is the space between your chest and your pelvis. Your pelvis begins where your belly ends as the lower portion of the trunk of the human body. Your abdomen (otherwise known as the “belly” or “gut”) is home to your digestive organs. Your pelvis (otherwise known as the “hips”) is home to your reproductive organs. These areas together hold great influence over the functions and systems of the connected Body and Mind.
We know there are millions of neurons in the gut that directly influence our mood, behavior, and perceivable experiences. This mesh of neurons is called the enteric nervous system (ENS) and can operate largely on its own, independent from the brain or spinal cord. Because of this, the gut (ENS) is frequently referred to as the “second brain”.
The gut is also home to bacteria and other mircroorganisms intrinsic to our health and our susceptibility to disease. To encourage a healthy and balanced gut flora, it is essential (but sometimes not the most convenient) to eat a wholesome, clean diet. If we have a “happy” gut with a healthy array of bacteria – our overall mood, health, and vitality will correlate and reflect that. If we do not, we will surely feel the residue of an unhappy belly throughout the web of ourBody and Mind. A belly without diverse bacteria may cause a long list of digestive issues, autoimmune disorders, pain conditions, skin irritations, nutrient malabsorption, and may even affect the brain with fatigue, depression, anxiety, mood/behavioral disorders, and more.
We feel feedback and sensations (satiation, bloat, hunger, pain, anxiety, etc.) in our gut in response to the quality and amount of food we eat or don’t eat; we also feel sensations because of a variety of external stimuli. We may remember experiencing a “gut response” to a specific event or situation in the past – a “gut response” that was subtle or perhaps significant and created an inner feeling orpresence in the belly. The “gut response” may show up as butterflies, knots, turning upside down, or even just feeling really relaxed and calmed. The belly and the brain are constantly communicating in this way with each other mostly through the intelligent pathway of the vagus nerve, which carries the parasympathetic response to vital organs and muscles in the Body. Basic ways to strengthen and improve this connection involve yoga, deep breathing, “cold blasting”, and maintaining a healthy gut flora.
The same general concept goes for the pelvis, as well. Women will be affected by the enjoyment of their menstrual cycles just as much as both men and women will be affected by the health and regularity of their bowel movements. It is important for men and woman alike to hold a neutral pelvis while performing daily activities (instead of tilting too far forward arching the low back or tilting too far backward slouching the spine) because it acts as the foundation. The everyday alignment of the pelvis will directly impact the sensations in the hips, back, and neck. I predict we would experience lower pain and discomfort of these areas if we practiced and embodied a natural, neutral alignment.
We have all experienced how the difference of pain to pleasure in these areas impact our overall well-being and Life satisfaction.
So…what does all of this mean?
We have spoken about the Body/Mind relating to the Belly/Pelvis, but what about the connection to Spirit? Energetically, I see the seam where the belly meets the pelvis as the central point of gravity in the human body, where the essential connection to Mother Earthbelow is first established and harnessed within. We can feel and cultivate how connected we are with the Earth through the spaces in the belly, the pelvis, and even stemming further down into the legs and the feet. In my yoga classes and workshops, I always speak to the pelvis, the pelvic floor, the pelvic bowl, the belly, the core, the legs, and the feet to increase our inner-awareness of these parts by activating them and also by consciously groundingthe energy down.
If we are too tight or restricted in our Belly/Pelvis, we will not only have a hard time grounding down energetically, but we will also physically through difficulties eliminating waste. We may also suffer from fulfillment sexually if we are too restricted or blocked in this area; in severe cases, this may even show up as abdominal pain or pelvic pain.
It is natural in some occasions for the body to hold onto heavy amounts of stress, trauma, and tucked-down-and-away-never-to-be-felt-again emotions in the Belly and Pelvis. These emotional blocks have direct influence over our physical health.
Alternatively, if we aretoo open or loosein our belly/pelvis, we may feel quite sluggish or lazy. We may also feel unable to engage our core and our pelvic floor properly; this may lead physically to incontinence and energetically/emotionally to over-consuming sexual urges or food cravings.
It is also natural to have desires.
But, for optimal health and healing, balance is a necessity.
In Tantric traditions, your belly and pelvis inhabit the first 2 Chakras (energy centers) of your body. Your 1st Chakra (Root Chakra) is in your pelvis (located at the base of the spine in the perineum) and is your place of stability and safety. Your 2nd Chakra (Sacral Chakra) is in between your lower abdomen and lower back (located a few inches under the belly button) and is your place of sexuality, emotions, and desires. The element that relates to the Root Chakra is Earth (grounded, strong, solid), and the element that relates to the Sacral Chakra is Water(fluid, flowing, flexible).
You can feel how fundamental these two centers of the body are in order for us to continue to heal and evolve and grow.
So…how do I embody a healthy, balanced Belly & Pelvis?
You must first learn how to engage AND release these areas.
I find it is so important for humans to learn how to use the muscles of their core/pelvis and then learn how to let them go. You can experiment yourself with these actions through specific exercises to engage, then perform meditations/massages to release – feeling the polarity of these two extremes and resting somewhere in the everyday neutral, soft but strong.
I find it is also very important to seek out energetic and spiritual support to help find balance and healing from either extreme.
Everything that shows up physically has a spiritual correlation.
Shamanically, I treat and encourage the healing of the spiritual illness – the root of the illness at the very subtle layers of Self.
For those of you who know me personally, know that I am deeply connected to this area of the body because of my own in-depth experiences and healing journey. The unveiling of pelvic pain and its many layers has played a big part of my Soul Path and Soul Purpose since day 1. It has bestowed infinite wisdom on me that I would not have received otherwise. It has opened doors and propelled me on a vast and humble path of being in service to Spirit, the Greatest Good, and the Highest Truth.
I feel blessed to even write this today.
Your Belly and your Pelvis together hold ancient, primal wisdom that once unlocked, can impact the trajectory of your Life – of your Health, of your Healing, and of your entire Well-being!
Aho – So be it! <3
With Love Always,
Surrender to Soul Wellness
Shanin Weisberg
Owner, Yoga Teacher, Chef, Shamanic Energy Healer
For more access to: tools that aid in the Health, Healing, and Richness of your LifeORmore information onIntuitive Divine Love Healings (in person or long distance), visit my website here.
