Womb Wellbeing ii.

Initiation by Earth.

I was first introduced to yoga when I was nineteen years old. I took it as a class in my community college. It was a very unassuming class. I remember really enjoying the flows, and I connected deeply with the classmate who always practiced next to me. I remember enjoying her presence and not really knowing why. During that same semester, I met a friend in my astronomy class who would be in my life for the next decade. At the time, I lived in Lancaster, CA (about an hour drive from Los Angeles) and didn’t venture out much. I still had the habits I developed in childhood of spending much of my time consuming the stories of others’ books and movies. This new friend enticed me into my story. We would take trips to LA to go to concerts, try new and exciting restaraunts and get into hipster shenanigans together.

Through her influence, I started paying attention to the seasons (which I know seems silly now, but I genuinely had no connection to seasonal changes at all), developed my musical tastes, and paid more attention to the events and gatherings around me. I really learned the alchemy of Earth through our time together. She just knew what song to play when we hit the freeway with windows down and the breeze blowing through our hair. She would instinctively make smoothies with the fruits and veggies that hit just right in that moment, and most impressively, she always knew what to say when I randomly took our conversations into fantastical bits varying in historical time, space, and far-fetched scenarios. She showed me just how healing community can be. Just how much we all hold keys that unlock deeper aspects of each other.

When we transferred to the local university, I met another dear friend who would go on to become my roommate for the rest of my time there. She was a foreign exchange student from China, and during our time together, she taught me gentleness, attention to detail, and gave me many insights into Traditional Chinese Medicine. She bought me a little fish-shaped hot water bottle from China that she said many women and girls use during their cycles. She taught me the benefits of rose tea and eating foods that bring warmth into the body during that time.

My embodiment was growing.

We had another friend in our foursome who was originally from Brazil. During our time in university, we shared many meals and adventures. We would see the latest films, watch performances at the Hollywood Bowl, and frequent art galleries and museums together. All of these outings were stitched together by delicious meals from an assortment of cultures.

This time of my life was full of exploration, curiosity, and fabulous enrichment.

I was learning more about how to navigate my cycle, but I still experienced excruciating pain and dreaded the time of the month when I would still be trapped at home in bed to find a sliver of normalcy in my body.

When I walked the stage for graduation, my cap could barely fit my head because I had already started what would be an incredibly potent nine-month freeform loc journey.

I had no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it at the time, but I felt a strong shift in my energy when I left university, and I knew I had to let my hair loc up, and it had to be freeform. I also became a plant-based eater, which would last for the following three years.

The best way I can describe this time is “the great unplugging.” Many unquestioned beliefs and attachments I had taken on from growing up in the Western world seemed to melt away from my aura. Certain insecure, image-obsessed, and racist based thoughts no longer had a home in me. I was slowly being untangled from the weights that held me down and called themselves the real expression of femininity.

I embraced my body hair, packed my lunches, and got out into nature as much as I could. Pieces of my understanding seemed to interlock to form a still, delicate sense of self.

I got two internships and started making plans for transitioning to living in the city after graduation. I took care of myself with dedication and devotion. This Earth mama love I was pouring into myself would usher me into an incredible movement of energy that I still look back on with awe.

Yanique, 2013.