By Tami Lynn Kent
Every woman’s female center contains a wealth of creative resources for mothering. Although there’s a plethora of books and other information about parenting, a woman is always able to return to her center and ask: What does my intuition say?
Beyond pregnancy and birth, our female bodies can also assist us with mothering. Within our bodies, we have abundant resources that can provide guidance, bring energy when we need it, and restore the mother-child connection. I call this capacity Wild Mothering.
Maintaining equilibrium in the ups and downs of mothering takes practice. When in the midst of a challenging mothering moment, such as a conflict or high-level frustration, instead of reacting to what’s happening, I redirect my awareness away from the situation itself and into my own center. I expand my energy by breathing toward, and then sensing the reserves in my center. From there, I’m better able to comfort my child, deflate a conflict by taking a different approach, or engage the situation in an entirely new manner.
While a head-based response perceives only a “right” or “wrong” approach, the creative womb and loving heart offer infinite options and potential.
To access these creative resources, it’s essential to remember the energy medicine in our centers. Here are some examples of how to center yourself in the creative essence of Wild Mothering:
1. Set your core intentions. For example, my top three core intentions include being available to tend my children, nourishing my creative practice, and living in a home and manner that support energy flow.
Since tending my children is a high priority, I work a part-time schedule with the flexibility to be present for my children. Their needs come before my work. I hold my children in my center and schedule work around them, making our connection the priority. I also have the intention to nourish my own creative practice — meaning that I write, make ritual, or even engage my kids in creative ways before I take on housework or other tasks. Living in a dynamic creative flow involves planning activities to enjoy one another as a family to brighten the overall potential of our family energy field.
2. Follow the flow. Rather than a set to-do list that demands a specific order, try organizing your mothering days by following the flow from your center. It takes practice to sense energy flow.
You can start with a small thing, like running a particular errand. Sense from within your center and notice whether you feel an opening of ease, like excitement and potential, or whether you feel congestion and hesitation. If you sense an opening, go ahead and run the errand. The traffic, the people you encounter, even finding what you need will often flow more easily. If you sense congestion but proceed anyway, you may run into traffic or difficulties, or even find that the store is out of your item. Try it and see for yourself.
3. Transform worry to blessing energy. In my practice of wild mothering, I’ve developed some key meditations. This practice doesn’t mean that I remain in a Zen state no matter how rowdy my children are; rather, it’s a practice of aligning the overall energy and guiding them in caretaking their own energy.
Differentiate a protective intuition from fear or unfounded worry by connecting to your center. Intuition has a solid and unwavering quality, whereas fear or worry feels contracted and dissipates with breath in the center. Listen to and follow through on your protective instincts for your child.
4. Teach children about their energy field. My children often hear my energetic directions like “Find your center,” “Notice what’s happening in your energy,” or, “Please calm your energy.” I have them close their eyes and locate the inner space in their body to sense their own energy. I ask them to understand how it feels when their energy is out of balance, and teach them to sense their own center and return their energy to this personal energy field.
Practicing this skill with my oldest son, I invited him to direct his energy toward me and then bring it back to his own center as he sat behind me. I would say “now” every time I felt his energy in my space and “back” when it was back in his space. My son was amazed that I could detect the direction of his energy. He said to me, “Now what does it feel like?” I answered, “It feels like you’re choking me.” He answered, “Yes! I was imagining having my hands around your neck.” “Great, honey. That’s lovely,” I responded sarcastically. He wanted to continue. “Now what do you feel?” I sensed his energy from my center and said, “It feels like flowing water.” “Wow, Mom,” he said in awe. “I was imagining myself surfing. That’s so cool.” That’s the power of energy medicine.
Wild Mothering enables us to expand the energy we carry toward the sacred act of tending. We’re able to creatively embrace the type of mothering that not only sustains our families but also feeds our mothering souls.
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Tami Lynn Kent is a women’s health physical therapist, a TEDx speaker, and the founder of Holistic Pelvic CareTM where she utilizes her ability to read energetic patterns of the body. Kent maintains a private practice and an international training program in Portland, Oregon. She has authored three previous books. Her latest, Wild Mothering: Finding Power, Spirit, and Joy in Birth and a Creative Motherhood (Atria Books, May 7, 2024), is a newly updated edition of her classic, Mothering from Your Center. Learn more at www.wildfeminine.com.
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