Any woman who has been pregnant knows what kegels are! For those of you who need a refresher, kegels are exercises for the muscles of the pelvic floor which help pregnant women prepare for the later stages of pregnancy and childbirth. Kegels are done to basically strengthen all those muscles down there! Most mothers have done hundreds, if not thousands of kegels…in the car, in the tub, as we sit, as we walk, we were told…the more, the merrier! But, please allow me to back up a few thoughts…

I practice earth-based spirituality and my daily practice is to begin my day with a morning meditation. As a teen, I was first exposed to meditation by the Beatles. I thought if the Beatles could benefit from meditation, so could I. In my 20’s, I lived in an ashram and have experimented with silence, inner contemplation and breathwork since those early days. I have sat on the floor in front of my altar while pregnant and while nursing, have rocked my babies with my eyes closed as I followed my breath, have lit candles with my children as we sat quietly for as long as they could-usually only a few minutes (which was good, cuz that’s all the time I had then.)

For me, beginning my day with a few moments of silence has deep benefits. It grounds me into my inner presence before I jump into all the outer doings that call for my attention. I believe I am a spiritual being in a physical body and meditation is a way for me to strengthen the spiritual part of me.

Today, I began my inner meditation time with a visualization/intention of connecting to the earth: I concentrated on my first chakra-the place at the base of my spine-the seat of our worth and belonging - and imagined and sensed that I had tree-like roots going down deep into the earth. I then perceived the earth’s strong energy coming back into me through one of the most powerful areas of my body-my vagina. I like this practice because it I feel deeply held, very safe and connected to my earthly Mother. I feel that this practice is a way of honoring the feminine force in her and also in me.

This morning, I wanted to feel a deeper connection so I worked and played with using my breath and with kegels. I’m not sure why I never thought of this before.

As I sat, I started doing kegels to focus my attention down there-on my first chakra. With each contraction of my pelvic muscles, I could feel my energy more focused on that area of my body. Duh! Of course, if I am doing kegels, my attention would be more focused down there! That’s what I was looking for…a deep, focused connection at the base of my spine. As I contracted my pelvic muscles, I visualized pulling the earth’s energy into me. I then relaxed those muscles and felt that I had roots that were going down deep into the earth. Contraction. Relaxation. Pulling the earth into me. Letting go and rooting into her.

I did it again. And again. And again.

Then I stopped the kegels and focused on my breathing: I did a deep inhalation through my nose and a deep exhalation through my mouth. Circular breaths. Inhaling through my nose, exhaling through my mouth. (I teach this breath to my preschoolers as a way to relax and release…)

Then I put the kegels and the breath together: As I inhaled through my nose, I contracted the muscles around my vagina and visualized the tremendously powerful energy of the earth coming into my vagina. As I exhaled through my mouth, I released the muscles’ contractions and also intentionally let go of any tension, worry and stress into my tree-like roots which were more and more easily finding their way into the earth. I followed this, in and out, contract and release kegel/earth meditation for about 5 minutes. Then I sat in the energy that I generated. The strength that I pulled up through my vagina had expanded all the way up into my heart. It felt really good. I felt connected and present. And happy.

I ended my morning meditation by pulling my ‘roots’ back into my body. I thanked the earth for the million ways she supports me and all of humanity. Thanking the sun for this new day, I blew out my candle.

As the children in my playschool arrived for their day, I greeted them with a feeling of grounded presence. I felt grateful for all the ways the feminine manifests in my life.