Midwifery is among the oldest professions. It begins with one woman helping another; from grandmother to mother to daughter to sister to friend all sharing the wisdom of experience with the generations that follow. The verb, "to midwife" has its roots in French and Old English, mid-wif— to be with woman. Midwifery originates with a compassionate witnessing of a woman’s path from pregnancy through childbirth and has evolved into a deep body of knowledge and wisdom.
Midwives support and nurture the process of becoming. Midwifery respects childbirth and the force of life as it manifests itself through a woman’s body. Midwives understand that during pregnancy and childbirth a woman is not merely a receptacle for new life but is also in the process of birthing herself as a mother. Midwives care for a woman as her baby grows inside of her, assist a woman in having a healthy and safe childbirth experience and help the baby with the profound transition from inside the womb into its mother’s arms. By supporting mother and baby, midwives also help a partner expand into parenthood.
The midwifery tradition has many expressions depending on culture, time and place. In contemporary U.S. culture, midwives attend women in their homes, free standing birth centers and hospitals. There are Direct Entry Midwives, Certified Nurse-Midwives and Certified Midwives. For more information about midwifery see mana.org and midwife.org
Birthing Intuition is created in the spirit of the with-woman tradition. We hold pregnancy, childbirth and parenting as a natural experience which is also an opportunity for awareness and growth. Birthing Intuition offers holistic education for preconception, pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting in a nurturing atmosphere filled with support for an individual’s inherent body wisdom. Birthing Intuition is not a medical provider and does not include prenatal care.
Staci and Hokhmah met while participating in Stargate. Stargate is a study group on Non-Ordinary States of Conciousness (NOSC’s) created by Jyoti, PH.D. and Russell D. Park, PH.D. According to it’s brochure,
Stargate is a 10-month empowerment program. The focus is to help people become conscious. This course is composed of a sequence of five unique weekends designed to provide an integrative, psycho-spiritual experience. Many different tools are used from various indigenous traditions to dive deep into our selves to discover the wisdom and power that lives within each individual. The course draws upon rituals, breathwork, transpersonal imagery, sound and meditation techniques to access NOSC’s.
Jyoti’s website continues an explanation of the five&ndashstep process.
Each weekend has a theme that is similar to many other paths of initiation. The first step is Preparation where we start the process of acknowledging our wounded selves and learn tools to move into our empowered selves. Step two, Purification, takes the participant deeper into aspects of what does not serve any more. For instance, we work with cleansing the body by fasting and participating in Native American sweatlodge. The third step is Initiation when we study service as one of the tools of initiation. On our fourth meeting, we study Integration while participating in a vision quest. Our final step is Actualization when we get to dance our power alive.
For more information see mothersgrace.com or call 209.533.8809.