Women’s Celebration

Shakti Tantra Workshop Review

“The feminine has slower rhythms, meanders, moves in spirals, turns back on herself, finds what is meaningful to her, and plays.” — Marion Woodman

So, my Tantra journey continues with level two of Shakti Tantra’s workshop for women, Women’s Celebration. I’ll be honest, after doing level one (Women’s Invitation) I was surprised to discover there were four more levels. ‘How much deeper can the work go?’ I thought. Turns out deeper.

Much deeper.

This work reminds me of Russian dolls: you crack open one to find another woman nesting within. Each doll represents a deeper, more authentic, more passionate, juicy, and vital self you’d have never discovered had you not done this work.

You could spend years talking through your issues with a counsellor, analyst, or therapist and you’d make progress for sure. Alternatively, you could work through your issues in what I consider to be the most powerful experiential setting available in the UK today with the most courageous, supportive, and inspiring women you’re ever likely to meet.

From my ongoing studies of depth psychology I’m familiar with Jungian analyst and bestselling author, Marion Woodman’s BodySoul work and its offshoots. As a staunch believer of the dictum ‘Talking is fun, but doing gets done’, I know the value of consciously including the body when it comes to facing and tackling deep-held conscious/unconscious issues. Talking will carry you so far, but when it comes to certain psychological issues there are times when you just have to bypass the rational logical mind and approach it physically.

I’ve seen countless folk talk themselves out of relationship with their bodies, terrified of feeling, terrified of being fully present in their bodies. I know because I was one of them. They retreat up into the safety of the head and stay there. Meanwhile, the body becomes nothing more than an unconscious stick used to prop up the head, a mass of unconscious flesh. Thing is, the mind isn’t located in the brain: the mind is located in every single cell of the body. And that’s where this work comes into its own.

Even if you don’t consciously know what the issue is — what’s holding you back, restricting you, inhibiting you — it doesn’t matter. This work goes straight to the heart of the matter — that ‘matter’ being your body. And remember, the word ‘matter’ shares its roots with ‘mater’ which means ‘mother’. This, therefore, is healing at the deepest, most profound level imaginable.

I love this work because it cuts to the chase and releases you from any false illusions you may have had about yourself, leaving the mind reeling in its wake. That doesn’t mean you can’t consciously reflect on what you experienced afterwards and draw your necessary lessons etc. My point is, once you do this work your relationship with your Self and your body is changed forever and will never be the same.

Bring on level three.

(For further information on Shakti Tantra’s work click here to visit their website.)

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To buy a copy of Running into Myself, visit Amazon UK, Amazon US or, better still, order a limited edition signed copy direct from her publisher here (also ships worldwide). Also available to download on Kindle.

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