Circles of Sisterhood - Anna Morton, Red Thread Doula
/Circles of Sisterhood
On the new moon in the depths of rural Oxfordshire a group of women gather in circle. We talk, we rest, we release, we laugh. These women are my sisters. After the isolation of lockdown my dear friend and I put out the call and the whispers rippled through the village, “come women come mothers gather together you are not alone, and you never have been.” The response was beyond what we had hoped, the women came with gusto, relief, joy, nervousness, they came and took their seat in this circle, the seat made just for them.
I have practised menstrual cycle awareness for many years since stumbling across a course in a hotel conference room in London run by Red School. I had recently had my second child and was feeling overwhelmed and lost, I had no idea what it was about I just knew I had to go. The course was run by Red School founders, Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, who explained the practice of menstrual cycle awareness (MCA): charting our own menstrual cycle, as a way of holding oneself and developing self-knowledge, on a deep, personal level.
I sat listening to these incredible women, describing the wisdom and power within our own bodies; our own cycles, and I felt so much ‘Yes!’ rippling through me! Every time I listen to them speak, I feel incredible joy but also deep grief that this knowledge has been hidden and forgotten for so long. The work Red School does to bring this awareness back is truly inspiring. I really encourage you to look at their website, to read their books, to do their courses and to practice MCA yourself and share it with the women in your life.
Through sharing this practice with my community, it has really come to life, making it a true companion and presence in my every day. I know I am not alone in my searching for something beyond myself, the mystical calling within the everyday surrender of motherhood. Our menstrual cycles, the moon cycle, the seasons, our awareness of them all can gently contain us; an embodied reminder that we are a part of the cycles of life, that we are connected to other women all over the world, birthing and feeding, raising children, menstruating, going through perimenopause, we are in a glorious, glowing web of sisterhood.
Through cycle awareness we can become empowered and empowered women raise up other women. I believe all women need this, I certainly do, a little tasty morsel of nourishment hidden within me, my cycle, reminds me I exist, beyond but also within the piles of laundry, dishes, the endless to do lists, I exist fully in this moment just as I am. I smile in recognition at my sisters as we sit in circle and then when I see them the next morning walking to school: our heads a little higher, our shoulders a little lighter, our hearts a whole lot brighter.
Bio:
My background is in natural health and human rights law. I am a Doula, writer, reiki & head massage practitioner and Ayurvedic lifestyle counsellor and I also run women's wellness workshops and circles focused on menstrual and seasonal cycle awareness. I have also studied and written about indigenous women’s rights around the world and the vital role their wisdom and teachings has to play in creating a healthy relationship with our natural world. Women’s wisdom and wellness is at the heart of all my practice.
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