Feminine Forces

Womb healing is growing in popularity for its ability to treat a range of female health issues, and may be key to unlocking a woman’s sensuality and creativity

- Beverly Cheng

Unless you’re thinking of getting pregnant, chances are you haven’t thought about your womb lately. Also known as the uterus, it’s where a foetus develops once a woman is pregnant, and an organ connected to hormonal balance, menstruation and sexuality. Despite its importance in maintaining feminine health, I only considered it upon a friend recommended a womb-healing workshop by chance.

On a chilly spring day in Toronto, I find myself amongst a group of women gathered in a revamped factory co-working space. We sip herbal tea while waiting for the womb healing circle to begin, and after introductions, our guides Clare Kenty and Deborah Brody fling open the doors and invite us into the large, dimly lit space with burning sandalwood incense. We sit on cushions strewn on the floor encircling a beautiful altar adored with multicoloured crystals and sacred artefacts, with rose petals and glowing candles of all shapes and sizes.

Before we begin the group meditation, participants are asked to set an intention, and share it aloud. Some women are searching for direction in their professional lives, while others in our circle were recovering from sexual trauma. A few of us want to get pregnant and others are recovering postpartum. We join hands briefly in a sacred circle and choose from a deck of angel cards. I draw the Pacha Mama card, earth and fertility goddess revered in South America, or Mother Nature in the West, which seems fitting since I was initially attracted to womb healing to find out more about my own fertility.