A guest blog post by Clare Curtis
“Over the last few years through my work I’ve been witness to many connections being made during classes and I hold space in a way that encourages connections to be made. In my work with pregnant women and new mothers more often than not people form friendships that continue long after my classes have ended and this gives me great joy to know I’ve helped bring women together! We need more connection in society, we need women to support each other and communities need women to be united as they are crucial in the way the world will look for future generations. Connection above competition.
Pregnancy and Motherhood open you up in the sense that they can change your entire perspective on life. This to me is a wonderful opportunity to bring women together, to help them see that we are all more alike than different, we are all just as vulnerable, we are all just as amazing. We notice at this time in our lives that pregnancy and motherhood is a level playing field and if we’re open to it we can see how these experiences are an opportunity to bring us together. The friendships and connections we make along the way are all part of our growth, maybe part of our healing, part of our joy, part of our celebration of life.
In pregnancy the shared experience of talking about how many weeks pregnant you are, physical symptoms, all of the joys or not (!) of pregnancy, how we got to this point in our lives, these experiences within the experience connect us. We share knowing looks, laughs, understanding and deep empathy when we are going through something simultaneously.
The same in motherhood. In classes of new mothers I see some women at first putting on the face they wear for society, the one where you’re expected to smile and be joyful about your new baby and not honestly admit despite how blessed you feel – it’s so much harder than you thought it was going to be! This is the reality of motherhood for a lot of women at least and I feel that when we show our vulnerability it allows others to. This is a great time to realise that what we need more than ever is to support each other. We’re at a crucial time in our life where we may be feeling like we’ve gained a baby, however a piece of you may be feeling lost, or maybe this moment in your life is so wonderful because there’s been a long difficult road to get here. All of these experiences should be heard, healed and celebrated. This is a time in our lives that we’re all learning from and figuring out together.
We are all connected and shared experiences help us to remember that. I love bringing women together and holding space in a way that they can just be themselves, the magic that happens when women support one another is truly special and unique.”
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Join Clare for her ‘Mothers Breathe & Bloom’ Retreat at Anahata on 12th May 1pm – 4pm. For more details on this beautiful retreat please contact clare@clarecurtiswellbeing.co.uk. For more information click here.
