Stopping an Epidemic: Healing your Breasts from Within
It’s October. What used to be a month about changing leaves and finding costumes has now become a marketing tool for companies wanting to profit off of tragedy. This post isn’t about how those companies who put little ribbons on their products use carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting chemicals in those products and then act like they are doing a good thing (see what I did there?). No, that post is for another day. Today I want to talk about the spiritual and emotional side of healing. I want to talk about how we heal our breasts from within.
As we talk about this, I may introduce some ideas that trigger you. My words may cause cognitive dissonance inside you. Pay attention to that discomfort. I find when something triggers me it is typically a sign that something needs to be healed.
Now let’s begin. I’ll start with a few basic premises that come from my studies to become a Shaman. Premise number one is all chronic illness starts as energetic and emotional imbalance. Over time that imbalance manifests physically in the body. Premise number two is physical healing cannot occur if the energetic and emotional aspects of the situation remain. Premise number three is that all healing depends on the recognition that your illness is a decision of the mind.
A couple of weeks ago I got my DNA results. In addition to a Grandmother and Aunt who both have experienced the illness in question (why say the word and give it any more power?), I also have some genetic markers that mean I could be more likely to share their experience. I do everything right physically speaking—I eat organic, I use pure personal care products that are totally free of anything harmful, I exercise, I practice extended breastfeeding, I don’t take pharmaceuticals, I avoid BPA—even going so far as to refuse to touch receipts that have BPA on them—you get the idea. So physically I am not a candidate for that experience. However, plenty of people who choose pure living still end up a statistic. So what gives?
I was recently in a class that my mentor was teaching on healing the endocrine system through meditation. I decided that I needed to tackle the breast issue for myself because in spite of everything I am doing right, I still had a niggling feeling of doubt in the back of my mind. I’ve learned to pay attention to that intuitive feeling.
During the class I was deep in meditation and focusing on my heart chakra, which is the center of energy in the chest in Vedic teachings. I noticed something profound—it was as if my breasts were not attached to my body energetically. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a very small person with very large breasts. Over the years, my girls have garnered a lot of attention—both negative and positive. From teasing that I stuffed my bra to men in the work place treating me differently for my femininity, my breasts and I have had a tumultuous relationship. But my breasts have also been the source of nourishment for all three of my children—they have brought health in a way that no other part of my body could bring to those amazing beings I brought into the world.
As I meditated I consciously re-attached my breasts to my body. Side note—the girls have gotten perkier and firmer in the last month ladies—I recommend you try this. But I digress. I actually feel differently. My heart is more open. My always good posture no longer feels as if I’m flaunting myself. I have more fully embraced the feminine side of my nature.
This got me to thinking. I can’t be the only one who has emphasized my more masculine traits in an attempt to fit into the workforce. I can’t be the only one who has mixed feelings about my breasts. And so I delved into the topic more deeply. What has changed in our society over the last two generations that deeply impacts women? Toxicity of our environment aside, what societal and social norms could be causing such a large rise in illness of the breast?
In the last two generations, women have left the home making environment in large numbers and become breadwinners for their family. They have fought for their rights for equal pay and equal treatment for that entire time. They have had to push down their feminine side and emphasize their masculine traits in order to compete. They have continued to birth the children and be the main source of nurturance to those children, particularly when the children are young. (Side note—Dad’s are great too and this is not an indictment on them) Or in some cases women who have stayed at home with their children have wondered if somehow they are “less than” because they don’t have a career outside the home. Some women try and do both—I’m one of them—and stay at home while having a career. Do you see where I am going? Many of us have pushed down the feminine side of our being. Many of us have felt self-critical and maybe even criticism from society for either choosing to have a career or to stay at home with our children.
Let’s take a look at the pressure we are putting on ourselves to be good mothers and successful career women. Let’s talk about how the only time many of us get to ourselves is in the middle of the night when we should be sleeping. Let’s talk about how we work all day, and then work all night, and then sometimes get up in the middle of the night with our children. We are riddled with adrenal fatigue and thyroids that are under-functioning. We are burning the candle on both ends in the name of being Super Woman—I am woman, hear me roar. And you know what? Us women really do rock. And you know what else—we are often very good at taking care of everyone except ourselves.
We are not taking care of ourselves. We are not nourishing ourselves. So let’s go back to the beginning—-what do the breasts represent? Femininity and nourishment. I’ve just shown there is challenge against both in our current society.
So then what do we do about it? How do we heal the breasts from within?
Is your heart open? Are you loving yourself for who you are regardless of your circumstances? Are you willing to be vulnerable? The breasts, after all, cover the heart.
Are you setting boundaries? The illness we speak of has no boundaries—it goes wherever it wants. Energetically speaking, if our mind creates our reality and we are not holding good emotional and physical boundaries, what are we creating?
Are you nurturing your soul—your spirit? Are you taking care of yourself? Are you putting yourself first and feeling good about that? Or are you putting yourself first and then feeling guilty about it?
Are you allowing yourself to express your femininity in a positive way, or are you playing up your more masculine traits? Are you comfortable with your body as a physical and sexual being? Do you embrace your breasts as a part of yourself, or do you dismiss them, or try to hide them? Or conversely, are you putting them on display in a show of defiance?
Herein lies the answers to healing this epidemic energetically and socially. The feminine aspects of energy are pushing their way forward. We are claiming our power not by using masculine energy, but by allowing the feminine to move forward. Let’s be the first wave of women who are healing our breasts from within.
