All you need to know about Holistic Pelvic Care™
Four years ago, I got to train with Tami Lyn Kent, mainly as a response to my own changing vagina & a desire to seek out answers as to what was going happening in my body & why I was suddenly experiencing pain with penetrative sex. I had already been working with a female physio who used internal massage, so training in Holistic Pelvic Care didn’t feel too much of a leap, in fact it felt like a natural extension of exploring the body more deeply than with the womb/abdominal massage I was already using.
Ever since, I have been on a mission to normalise holistic pelvic care & vaginal massage, because for me, it embodies ALL that as womxn we need, to connect/reconnect with our bodies, our pelvis/womb, the Divine Feminine/Masculine archetypes & our innate inner power & wisdom. In fact, I believe this is true for anyone with a vagina, regardless of gender.
But everything changed when I realized that healing in this part of our body wasn’t meant to be straightforward. It was meant to subtle, spiritual, a spiralling gateway into the depths of numinous possibility. At its heart, vagina healing is multidimensional. When we can venture into its tender realms of emotional and spiritual healing, this part of our body can become a portal into our destiny. {Asia Suler]
So often in the feminine experience we have been penetrated in ways that are mechanical, medical, toxic, without (full) consent or just plain brutal. Here is the antidote. To touch a woman therapeutically, so intimately, without agenda. To support another who has experienced similar experiences as oneself, merely because of gender, is a gift & loving service that’s hard to fully express. And to receive this touch in a non-sexual, healing, sacred, affirming, loving & supportive way, is really quite radical, pioneering, brave & courageous & I honour any womxn/person with a vagina who is ready to take this descent into unknown aspects of themselves, because this is the place where so much memory & experiences are held, stored, filed, waiting patiently to be acknowledged & be seen.
Patriarchal colonisation of the female body, linear lifestyle, being busy & productive, coupled with multiple layers of embedded & ingrained shame, serve to keep us further removed from the self. Let’s begin to bring ourselves home to ourselves.
How can we be truly embodied, if we are unable to take out awareness into this sacred place in our bodies & listen to this wisdom held within? [AC]
So, here is your “HPC 101” for all the questions you’ve been dying to ask but weren’t quite sure where to begin. What is it, what do sessions look like & who can benefit. The techniques although magnificently simple, are equally cutting edge & powerful. This therapy is a huge agent for change in your life, even one session can bring about insight, awareness & begin the process of inner dialogue & reconnection. Are you ready?
How can we be truly embodied, if we are unable to touch our vulva, or take a moment to explore the inner realms within? [AC]
WHAT IS HPC?
A rich blend of energy reading & internal physical bodywork ~ a combination of intravaginal massage of the fascia + energy reading of the patterns, experiences & traumas held within the pelvis/pelvic bowl. The fascia is the linking piece because it’s the connective tissue which surrounds everything within the body. The internal work, the intra-vaginal massage, works both physically and energetically. On a physical level, the treatment is about fascial holding patterns, trigger points, scar tissue & restriction. The whole of the pelvic area is considered, so as well as the massage, the abdomen is palpated, and restrictions released as the fascia is gently encouraged to relax & lengthen.
If you are experiencing vaginal imbalances, it’s not because you are deficient or damaged, it is because there is so much potential here that your body will not allow you to move through life without seeing it [onewillowsappothaceries.com]
On an energetic level, it’s about connecting more fully than you thought possible with your own innate womb wisdom & your ability to be able to truly co-create in this world. When we hold so much personal trauma & ancestral/generational trauma, it’s hard to be connected, it’s hard to hear the message. What is that numbness about, what is that pain trying to say? What does that sense of constriction need? All are calls for attention, for curiosity, to welcome. Pain too, in the pelvis, can relate to specific past experiences, and so as we use focused breath & presence, we can start to cleanse, clear & balance non serving energy. And so, we explore what arises with the touch.
Once we start to shift these physical & energetic expressions, we enhance the natural vibrant flow within the pelvic bowl. As an experienced energy reader & fertility/womb massage practitioner, interpreting energy patterns of clients is second nature for me. But what really fascinates me about this as a system of healing is that as the practitioner, I am just the guide, the space holder, the enquirer, but it’s you, the client who instigates your own healing, through breath, awareness, intention & attention. It’s you who applies the “medicine”. From this space, you can then go on to consciously cultivate the energy of the “root” and use it as guide to daily living ~ now that IS empowering.
“The primary goal of HPC is to empower a woman to inhabit her pelvic space and occupy her feminine ground physically, energetically, emotionally & spiritually: [Tami Kent]
WHAT DOES A SESSION LOOK LIKE?
I begin each session by welcoming you into the space ~ I like to begin with conversation & powerful questions, because this starts to shift & open up the energy field. It also means I can address any fears, or anxieties as they arise. When we are ready to proceed, I like to leave the room as you remove underwear, so that you can settle into the space & onto the couch in your own time. A shawl/rebozo/blanket will cover your belly, pelvis & legs.
When I come back in I spend as much time as needed for you to feel safe, held & ready to receive. This step is really important to me because this is about you beginning to learn what your body (not mind) is asking for & whether or not you are ready/open to receive. Always, we are curious about whatever arises in the moment. When we are ready, I will sit to your left, so I can insert my left forefinger into the vagina (gloved & lubricated), whilst my right hand is used to palpate the abdomen. A note here is that the massage is not always internal, it may begin & end with the vulva. This can & is just as powerful; we meet the body where the body is able to be met. There is no agenda, no pushing, no forcing beyond comfortability. At any point, you can choose to withdraw consent.
Through breath we move from the heart, down into the pelvis, anchoring in, noting felt senses & awareness.
We assess the muscular contraction of the pelvic floor and how even the right/left/front and back of the vagina are – noting how well, how evenly the muscles recruit. Are there areas which are numb, too tight, tender? Are you able to contract and relax equally? Is there a sense of congestion? Or a sense of emptiness?
Next, we bring presence to the pelvic bowl to release and clear congestion. Most women have chronic holding patterns due to menstrual products, stress, trauma, scarcity/lineage/ancestral patterns, holding our stuff & everyone else’s. However, the natural energy flow of the bowl is to hold and release. Our menstrual cycles and pregnancy followed by birth are good examples of this pattern in action. Working the fascia to release and smooth, only then does it become apparent how much tension we hold here. This tension maybe acting as protection & it may have become so habitual that we don’t even realise that its there, it’s become normalised. The tension/tightness can be physical but have emotional roots ~ we would call this “amoring” & it can keep us from authentically experiencing life in all its richness & variety.
We then bring presence to the grounding connection, from the perineum to earth. We check in with the womb, right & left ovaries & how their energy presents, bringing greater connection through breath and visualisation. The ovaries are our creative jewels, relating to the mother line(left) and father line (right), so this is often an area of rich information & unfolding.
Pathologies/conditions such as fibroids, cysts, endometriosis, pcos, pelvic pain, all have their metaphysical tales to tell, just waiting to be heard and bought into to our awareness. By bringing in balance we can begin to restore the dynamic flow. “Blessing” the bowl, can feel quite magical as we plant seeds of intention & connecting with energy, colour, spirit, whatever is needed. As we draw to a close, re-engaging the pelvic muscles helps to integrate the session & cues the body to sense new patterns emerging.
All sessions are unique & individual
As a minimum, expect to feel more grounded, more present, more aware of your body & yoni, more alive & energised ~ anything else will be distinctive to you.
WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM HPC ANYWAY?
Everyone who has a vagina if I am honest
Our world needs this to be the reality ~ womxn rooted & connected and sitting comfortably in their own power. These are common threads for clients
* pelvic/menstrual pain
* feel disconnected and shamed
* sexual, medical, emotional, physical, mental trauma
* conscious conception/difficulty conceiving
* feel disempowered, lacking clarity in your soul mission, have given away your power, are lacking in resonant boundaries
* feel called to assist with raising of consciousness of this planet, wishing to live a fuller, deeper, multidimensional, aligned, flowing life where creative living & magnetism is an everyday occurrence
If any of this resonates with you on any level, then get in touch, lets chat. I generally recommend buying a copy of “Wild Feminine”, so that you can work through this as we work together. This work has the capacity to completely change how you move forward in your life. Its powerful, it can shift sh*t, you are brave, you are courageous, and the gifts you will receive will be incredibly rewarding ~ welcome home sista, welcome home to yourself.
You can find out more about this therapy here
And book a clarity call, to see if this is the right therapy for you here
HPC ™is a therapy based on 25+ years of work and research by Tami Lynn Kent – a female physiotherapist based in Portland in the US and author of “Wild Feminine”, written as a direct response to the energy patterns she was seeing in women within days & weeks of 9/11 in New York.
