Just like we have a physical body we have an energetic body too, in fact we can even think of our physical body as made of energy that from this vantage point in space and time appears to be solid. Even our mind we can think of as energy, and the thoughts that pass through our awareness are energies, with a certain shape or form.
However, it’s useful to think about the energy system as being the part of us that connects the different parts of mind and body together. So we have the higher mind (soul), the conscious mind, the physical body and very connected to the sensations of the body are the unconscious and subconscious mind. Our energy system connects all these levels of mind together.
Our energy also includes:
- Aura
- Chakras or cauldrons
- Meridians
AURA
Our energy body includes the aura or bubble of energy that exists around us. Most people cant see this, but almost all people can sense each others energy fields.
CHAKRAS
Chakra translates as wheel. The chakral system was first described in the vedas ancient Sanskrit texts from India. I use the system taught to me by my teacher Shakti Durga which teaches 8 chakras.
MERIDIANS
Meridians, lines of energy that run through the body described in traditional Chinese medicine.
CAULDRONS
Some people have also said that in western pagan/celtic tradition the energetic cauldrons described in the poem xxx are the whispered remnants of European understanding of the energy system.
Each of the energy centres govern the energy for certain systems or organs of the body, and also take care of different aspects of a person’s life.
The chakras are how we ‘see the world’, they are the windows through which we experience life.
“We don’t see the world as it is, we see it as we are”
― Anaïs Nin
Our chakras will change size and shape depending on what we have ‘put in them’ or what they are storing. These are normally unconscious programming that we just believe to be ‘the truth’ or just the way things are, but we all experience the world subjectively, based on our chakras.
Ideally we want all of our chakras to be bright and energised and in lovely proportion to each other.
AS a birth worker, midwife or doula you might be living in your chakras like this:
CROWN: How much energy can you receive? Is it easy for you to open to support from the universe? How much energy are you allowing into your life to feel connected to the part of you that is one with your clients, one with the health care proffesionals, one with nature?
AJNA: What is your vision for birth? What is your vision for your birth work? Do you feel despair about the state of things and find it hard to imagine it will ever get better? Or do you hold a big vision for the future of birth culture?
Are you able to connect to your intuition in birth? Are you open to synchronicities and do you feel guided by a wiser part of yourself that helps you see the big picture?
THROAT: The witch wound about speaking your truth will be found in the throat chakra. The throat chakra also will hold the energy of how you speak about your work to others. How are you with your invoicing? Your emails to clients? And keeping up with your client appointments? Organised or chaotic – this is in the in the throat chakra
HEART: doulas tend to be caring and giving individuals so often have naturally large heart chakras. Its easy to love our clients. But can you love the midwives and health care professionals that think differently to you? Our capacity to stretch our sense of who we are able to love is connected with the size and potency of our heart chakra.
SOLAR PLEXUS: do you value yourself and do you value your work? This will show up in the solar plexus. Are you able to take action to go out in the world and create a business and back yourself? Imposter syndrome might sit in this energy centre. When you were young, did your parents, teachers and adults in your life validate you, accept you for your beautiful uniqueness or were you critisised?
NAVAL: in your work how empowered do you feel with health care professionals? Also in terms of boundaries with your clients this is the domain of the naval chakra. Your relationship with your clients in terms of time/money will also show up here.
SACRAL: our experience of our own pregnancy, birth and children live here, if we have experienced negative or positive births that energy will be sitting in this energy centre.
BASE: this is where we store our beliefs about money, and as doula work, mothering and care work is typically undervalued often doulas have smaller base chakras than their heart chakras. Our beliefs about family, security and community are also part of your root chakra. Are you a doula with lots of doula friends, who feels connected to your doula community or are you more of a lone wolf?
So being able to work with your energy field as a doula, midwife or any kind of perinatal professional can help you transform your energy, and your experience of life.