As a woman who is in the work of creating a heart-centred approach to life, I feel pulled to explore and integrate more softer, feminine inspired acts into my day to day life.
Who doesn’t desire a hot bath at the end of a long week, an abundance of candles and sweet smelling oils? Need I say more…
What often attracts us to these feminine acts is that they often present as more ‘yin’ in nature – soft, flowing, nurturing, create a state of ease and calm. We are attracted to them because they give us a sense of balance and support to counter our busy lives and consequently busy minds.
However, what also attracts us to certain feminine acts, is their wild side, their spontaneous or chaotic nature. Think free flowing dance, to walk in nature along a path you’ve never travelled, swimming in the ocean, getting a massage, elements of a Kundalini yoga practice or perhaps creating a painting without any agenda.
We all go through periods in our life where we crave the spontaneity, the loss of inhibition or freedom that these experiences provide.
Our desire to ‘bust out’ and gain freedom from the norm is often a reaction to a feeling of being stuck in the same old routine.
So what if I told you that you don’t have to ‘bust out’ in a major way to create change? Instead you can utilise the masculine elements of routine, planning and structure to get you through the times of feeling stuck?
Recently, I was in conversation with a friend when she reminded me that as we spend more time investigating our feminine desire for freedom, ease and flow, there is also a place for the masculine to weave it’s way in.
As a modern woman in Western society, it could feel like you are in a constant dance between the feminine and the masculine. In the past, my chosen career, the type of exercise I did, the way I dressed, had me swinging more often in the direction of the masculine.
In my experience, the pinch point occurs when you swing too far in one direction and in the case of the masculine, all this doing left me feeling disconnected with my passions, burnt out and uninspired. The natural reaction was a big ‘bust out’ moment – rebel against those masculine ways.
Leave a career, move overseas or cut off your hair – we have all been there.
If you’re not feeling inclined to rebel against the masculine just yet, here are 3 ways we can utilise it in our daily life:
#1 – Structure brings ease to daily practices or rituals.
When we overlay the masculine with practices like meditation, yoga or even simple breath work, we create structure and regularity. The masculine in action could look a little like this:
>> You pre-set an alarm to get up at a certain time each day to do the breath work
>> You routinely build ‘alone time’ into your weekly schedule or book our classes in advance
>> Your yoga practice incorporates a repetitive sequence that creates consistency and familiarity in the body
>> You power down your devices at the same time every night
>> You don’t turn on your phone for the first 15-30mins after waking
We when we utilise this concept our actions are less reactive, or come from a place of desperately needing to ‘chill out’ or be alone.
#2 – We create consistent, small actions to move us towards our dreams.
The masculine is absolutely vital to acting on our dreams and goals. In the early stages of my mentoring program we explore the dream side, the big picture work that is endless and free flowing with creativity.
What helps make these dreams a reality, is the act of breaking them down into often small repetitive actions. Consistency is the catalyst for change and impact if we really, truly want what we want.
#3 – We know that being in that glorious ‘flow’ state, actually looks like dancing between both worlds.
If you’re feeling like you are in a constant back and forth between the chaos of the feminine and the structure of the masculine, remember that drawing on the qualities of both is actually the essence of creating balance in life.
As we move into the new year, or we find ourselves navigating something deeply personal, remember that structure can be extremely supportive and helpful in these periods.
