TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword by Alexandra Pope 15 Author s preface Opening practice: an invocation to yoni śakti 17 INTRODUCTION Welcome home 21 Who needs Yoni Śakti? 22 What is womb yoga and do I need a womb to practise it? 23 Old roots 25 Womb ecology and the spiritual dimensions of femininity 25 Yoginīs as agents for global justice 26 How to use this book 27 What is a yoginī? 30 Strong language: a cautionary note on tone and terminology 31 Saturday night on the town 38 Questions and reflections 41 PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS Foundations of womb yoga: thirteen gates 44 CHAPTER ONE From exclusion to initiation: men teaching women, women teaching the world 47 So many women 47 Western women learning yoga 1890 1960 50 Adapting the teachings: Western women sharing yoga inside and outside traditions, 1960 2010 56 Stories from today s studios: disempowerment of women in yoga through discouragement, disrespect, disregard and disconnection 63 Empowerment of women s yoga practice through exploration, welcoming, open sharing, honouring and re-connection 75 Watching the tide turn: guidelines for a practical feminine yoga consciousness 79 For women doing yoga now 81 Questions and reflections 82 Further reading and research 83 CHAPTER TWO Women in the pre-history and early development of yoga 84 How did we get here? Considering the roots of yoga; exploring the routes of yoga 84 Histories of yoga: the development of haṭha yoga 86 No women please, we re yogīs. Was classical haṭha yoga for boys only? 88 Herstories of yoga: Are there any girls in here? Looking for women in the pre-history of yoga; goddess worship and the global matriarchal network of nurture 92 Female voice and presence in the Vedas 96 Tāntrik yoginīs: were the women teaching men? 97 Bhakti yoginīs: devotion as a direct line to spiritual authority 104 Questions and reflections 108 Further reading and research 108
CHAPTER THREE Female siddhis; intuited origins for a new perspective on yoga 109 Angela Farmer s legend : another way of seeing it 109 Pārvatī and Śiva 110 An invitation to a radical new perspective 111 Magical mysteries in yoga: siddhis, the supernatural powers in haṭha and rājā yoga 112 Female siddhis 116 Female siddhis: the original inspiration for yoga? 122 Questions and reflections 126 Further reading and research 126 CHAPTER FOUR Awakening to the feminine energy of the life force: prāṇa śakti and the foundations of womb yoga 127 Welcoming the power of life 127 Circle of flowing breath: welcoming the rhythmic breath cycle 128 Full yogic breath: widening the circle, inviting the guests to linger 131 Victory and surrender: the ocean golden thread combination 132 Opening the lotus to prāṇa śakti: integrated sound, breath and hasta mudrā (hand gesture) meditation 136 CHAPTER FIVE Greeting the womb with love: nine core practices of yoni namaskāra 140 Reconnection 140 Heart-womb river: the channel of energy between love and creativity 140 Yonisthāna cakra: placing the womb between earth and water 141 How to use these practices ǀ A note on breath and mudrā 142 Heart-womb river sacred greeting gesture: river-lotus form (inner) 143 Heart-womb river sacred greeting gesture: river-lotus form (outer) 144 Heart-womb river sacred greeting gesture: lotus-ocean form 145 Heart-womb river meditation 147 Head-heart sacred gesture meditation 148 Womb power sacred gestures sequence 149 Hiraṇya garbha: golden cosmic womb 153 Yoni śakti pūjā: honouring the power of the womb 153 Seed flower sequence 154 Womb elevation bridge sequence 155 Extended heart space twist pose 159 CHAPTER SIX Honouring the feminine energy of the life force: nine practices of prāṇa śakti pūjā 160 Magical river in spate fullness flowing in the heart-womb river, hṛdaya-yoni nāḍī 160 More on mud: yonisthāna and the special place of the womb 161 Mud in the scriptures: yonisthāna and other references 162 Practices to unlock power and honour the feminine energy of the life force: śakti bandhas and prāṇa śakti pūjā 163 Bhava or inner feeling 163 1 Womb pilgrimage: mill grinding (cakki calanāsana) 164 2 Womb-honouring rhythm 165 3 Lotus feet breathing 166
4 Full butterfly womb pilgrimage 167 5 Snake circles the womb 168 6 Standing womb pilgrimages 169 7 Standing heart-womb river sacred greeting gestures 172 8 Full hands womb energy pilgrimage 176 9 Eternal fountain of energy invocation 178 Note on pāda bandha and mūla bandha in these practices 179 CHAPTER SEVEN Embodied spirit: experiencing yoni śakti with womb yoga 180 Elemental consciousness in yoga and the Taittirīya Upaniṣad 180 Table of fives: pentads in Sāṁkhya and yoga 183 Five dimensions of being sequence with gesture and sound 183 Śakta tantra: the floods of bliss and beauty (Saundarya-Laharī) and teaching on the wisdom of the union of the individual soul with universal consciousness (Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra) 188 Honouring the elements with sound and gesture 189 Tattva yantra 199 PART TWO: LIFE CYCLES AND THE WISDOM GODDESSES CHAPTER EIGHT Kālī Cycles and circles of female siddhis 205 A twenty-first century note on women s rhythms and cycles 208 The whole circle: a pattern of interconnection 212 From bud to seed: cycles and circles 214 Wombs / rooms 216 Sixteen cycles 216 Goddesses and siddhis 217 The ten great wisdom goddesses (Daśa Mahāvidyās) and the female siddhis 218 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 225 Mahāvidyās in the cycles of women's lives 229 Living with the Mahāvidyās 230 What to expect in this part of the book 233 Questions and reflections 235 Further reading and research 235 CHAPTER NINE Ṣoḍasī Celebrating menarche: yoga and girls initiation into womanhood 237 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power at menarche 237 Limitations: cultural expectations 239 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 243 Writing a letter to your younger self 248 Yoga practices 250 Yogic remedies and responses 251 Feed the wild yoginī: a ritual to reconnect the placenta with the earth and a ritual to re-vision your own menarche 252 Questions and reflections 253 Further reading and research 254
CHAPTER TEN Tārā Honouring the cycles of the moon within: yoga, menstruation and fertility 255 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 255 Limitations: cultural expectations 258 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 261 Yoga practices 268 Feed the wild yoginī: menstrual blood pūjā 269 Yogic remedies and responses 269 Paramparā, or the yogic tower 271 Exegesis 277 Questions and reflections 278 Further reading and research 279 CHAPTER ELEVEN Kamalātmikā Freeing the śakti: yoga and full spectrum feminine sexuality 281 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 281 Limitations: cultural expectations 284 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 289 A note on sex in neo-tantra and tāntrik yoga 295 Yoga practices 298 Yogic remedies and responses 300 Feed the wild yoginī: juice and honey 306 Questions and reflections 306 Further reading and research 307 CHAPTER TWELVE Mataṅgi Manifesting the śakti: yoga and creative expression 309 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 309 Limitations: cultural expectations 312 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 314 Yoga practices 323 Yogic remedies and responses 324 Feed the wild yoginī: lucid dreaming ritual 326 Questions and reflections 327 Further reading and research 327 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Bhuvaneśvarī Nourishing the golden cosmic womb: yoga, pregnancy and birth 329 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 329 Limitations: cultural expectations 331 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 333 Yoga practices 338 Yogic remedies and responses 339 Feed the wild yoginī: on the lap of the cosmic mother 342 Questions and reflections 342 Further reading and research 343
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Chinnamastā Thanksgiving, grieving and healing: yoga and postnatal recovery 345 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 345 Limitations: cultural expectations 350 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 361 Yoga practices 363 Yogic remedies and responses 364 Feed the wild yoginī: radical ritual recycling 1 drink your own breastmilk and radical ritual recycling 2 give the placenta back to the earth 373 Questions and reflections 375 Further reading and research 375 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Bagalāmukhī Stepping into the unknown: yoga and perimenopause 377 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 379 Limitations: cultural expectations 382 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 384 Yoga practices 391 Yogic remedies and responses 391 Feed the wild yoginī: self-anointing for acceptance 393 Questions and reflections 394 Further reading and research 395 CHAPTER SIXTEEN Bhairavī Embracing our power: yoga and menopause 397 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 397 Limitations: cultural expectations 400 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 402 Yoga practices 407 Yogic remedies and responses 408 Feed the wild yoginī: radical ritual recycling 3 drink your own amarolī 410 Questions and reflections 411 Further reading and research 411 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Dhūmavatī Living our wisdom: yoga and the crowning of a woman s life 413 Mahāvidyā and siddhi: wisdom and power 413 Limitations: cultural expectations 416 Freedoms: yoga perspectives, techniques and awareness for breathing, moving and being 417 Yoga practices 422 Yogic remedies and responses 423 Feed the wild yoginī: encounter your own death 425 Questions and reflections 426 Further reading and research 427
PART THREE: FURTHER PRACTICES OF WOMB YOGA CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Yoga nidrā: an inner ritual of healing and homecoming 432 1 Starry night pure yoga nidrā: the fundamental practice of awareness (Kālī) 435 2 New beginnings: menarche, innocence, trust and power (Ṣoḍasī) 442 3 Cyclical wisdom unfolding: menstruation, cycles and seasonal turnings (Tārā) 443 4 In the wild garden, joyous freedom to flow sexuality, creativity and juice (Kamalātmikā and Mataṅgi) 445 5 Nourishing growth: nurturing the capacity to support new life (Bhuvaneśvarī) 446 6 Thanksgiving and grieving: postnatal recovery, transformation and adaptation (Chinnamastā) 448 7 Being with not knowing: perimenopause and the inevitability of change; becoming the seed at the heart of the fruit (Bagalāmukhī) 450 8 Self-anointing ritual: embracing power, menopause and the confidence to speak one s own truth; empowered by nature to be your true self (Bhairavī) 451 9 Out of the smoke: touching power close to the bone (Dhūmavatī) 453 10 In the yoginīs temple: resting and healing to live in wisdom and power; full constellation of yoginīs 454 Further reading and resources 459 CHAPTER NINETEEN Intimacy: mind and breath 460 Meditation: welcoming inner silence, connecting with the inner teacher (antar mouna) 460 Breath dances (prāṇāyāma) 462 Golden thread breath 462 Peaks and valleys breath 463 Triangle breaths and psychic alternate nostril breathing 464 Balancing breath (padadhirasana) 466 Sonic massage (bīja mantra massage) 467 Humming bee breaths (bhrāmarī prāṇāyāma) 469 Cooling breaths (sīthalī and sītkārī) 470 CHAPTER TWENTY Energy locks and seals (bandhas and mudrās) 472 Awakening the feet and hands (pāda bandha, hasta bandha) 472 A note on terminology: pelvic muscles and the myth of the pelvic floor 473 Vaginal root lock for use with empty womb (yoginī mūla bandha) 474 Menstrual and pregnancy root lock for use with full womb (garbha mūla bandha) 475 Uplifting lock with root lock (uḍḍīyāna bandha with mūla bandha) 476 Horse gesture (anal squeeze) (ashvini mudrā) 476 Psychic gesture (urethral squeeze) (sahajolī mudrā) 477 Urine drinking (amarolī) 478 Five elemental hand gestures (hasta mudrā) 478 Further reading and research 479
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Support and nurture: security and uplift for the pelvic organs 480 Applications 480 Integration of pelvic organ support and positive posture into daily life 481 Healing breath: lifting up to heal and energise 482 Semi-supine practices: 483 Explorations with a flat lower back (counter-nutated pelvis) 483 Explorations with an arched back (nutated pelvis) 483 Explorations in decompression of pelvic organs 484 Combined explorations with decompression and arched back 488 Explorations in foot arch support (pāda bandha) for vaginal lift (yoginī mūla bandha), pelvic lift and pelvic organ support 488 Inverted practices: 488 Pelvic tilts with feet against wall 489 Rolling pelvic lift with feet against wall 490 Supported restorative pelvic lift with feet against wall and in Butterfly pose 491 Standing practices: 492 Standing cat with agnisara kriyā 492 Pelvic tilts exploration and rolling pelvic lift with back against wall 493 Dynamic taḍāsana (mountain pose) for pelvic organ support 494 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Nurturing and freeing energy 496 Breast care and energy nurture practice (Deer exercise) 496 Complete liberation of energy series (pūrṇa pavanmuktāsana or PPMA): 497 A: From Stick pose 498 B: From Butterfly pose 501 C: From Cat pose 502 D: From kneeling 503 E: From Easy cross-legged pose 508 Poses to unblock the life force energy (śakti bandhas): 511 Pulling the rope 511 Dynamic spinal twist 511 Rowing the boat 512 Pumping water (easy version) 512 Pumping water (deeper version) 513 Greeting squats 513 Rocking and twisting mermaid (sacro-iliac joint-stabilising practice) 514 Cleansing practices (kriyā): 515 Essence of fire cleansing (agnisara kriyā) 515 Shining skull breath (kapālabhāti) 516 Being in the cycles / the dance of life 517 Further reading and research 521 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Integrations 522 Sequenced poses with gestures (āsana-mudrā-mantra-vinyāsa): 522 Full moon salute (pūrṇa candra namaskāra) 522
Moon phase salute (candra namaskāra) 527 Swaying palm tree with womb greeting sequence (taḍāsana vinyāsa with yoni mudrā) 532 Postnatal sun salute 533 Feminine strength: spiritual warrior dance 536 Balancing poses: 539 Fierce goddess and lord of the dance vinyāsa (śiva/śakti: devījai utkaṭāsana-naṭarājāsana vinyāsa) 539 Half moon pose: easy version 540 Further reading and research 528 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Spirals and snakes 541 Sequences from Cat pose and kneeling: 541 Circles and spirals 541 Kneeling salutations (vajrāsana namaskāra) 542 Rising snake series (kuṇḍalini vinyāsa, śaśāṅkabhujaṅgāsana) 543 Snake pose variation 543 Twists: 544 Standing twist (katicakrāsana) 544 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Nourishment 545 Inversions: 545 Half shoulderstand flow (viparīta karaṇī mudrā) 545 Supported poses and restoratives, part 1: 546 Wall as teacher sequence 546 Supported poses and restoratives, part 2: 550 Simple and super deluxe five-star corpse pose (savasana) 550 Supported side-lying 551 Open flower (supta baddhakoṇāsana) 552 In the golden cosmic womb (Queen s pose) (hiraṇya garbha /supported supta baddhakoṇāsana) 553 Hare pose (śaśāṅkāsana) with fists and blankets 553 Supported forward bend 554 Surrender and worship (praṇāmāsana) 555 CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Connection and flow 556 Suggested sequencing for practice and classes 556 For uplifting spirits and energising 556 For calming and grounding 557 For reconnection and self-acceptance 557 To nourish and strengthen 558 To get unstuck and move on 558 To become cool, collected and quietly energised 559 To build sexual and creative energies 559 Menstrual and fertility mālā: circle of practices to promote a healthy menstrual cycle and to support fertility 560
PART FOUR: EXPANSIONS CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN World as womb: womb ecology, eco-feminism and yoga activism: a powerful force for change 567 Resources for yoga and eco-feminist activism 579 Further reading and research 579 Running to ground, going home to the earth, the story of the birth and death of Sitā 580 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT A womb-friendly yoga manifesto 582 Part 1: the need for womb-friendliness in the yoga world 582 Part 2: the information 583 Yoga and womb life: special times 585 At a glance table for womb-friendly yoga practice 587 A voice from the womb 589 Sharing this information 590 Revealing the cosmic gateway 591 CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Conclusion and beginnings: śakti circles 595 Closing ritual: greeting women s power in a śakti circle 601 A note to male readers 602 A note on yoga lineages and traditions 603 AFTERWORD Genesis, gestation and birth of Yoni Śakti: learning to be fearless 604 Acknowledgements 610 Trainings, retreats and learning resources 612 Notes on pronouncing Sanskrit words 616 Sanskrit glossary of terms 618 Select chronology: 50,000 bce to 2003 ce 622 Bibliography 626 Permissions 639 Index of therapeutic applications and life experiences 640 Index of practices 645 General index 648 About the author and illustrator 655 APPENDIX Ten Mahāvidyā yantras: for meditation and contemplation 657 Commentary and reflections by Nirlipta Tuli, illustrator 658