What is Yoni Reclamation Therapy™?
Updated: Dec 27, 2022
*Trigger warning: childhood sexual abuse
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yo·ni
/ˈyōnē/ noun
HINDUISM
the vulva, especially as a symbol of divine procreative energy conventionally represented by a circular stone.
a stylized representation of the female genitalia that in Hinduism is a sign of generative power and that symbolizes the goddess Shakti
Yoni is a Sanskrit word that has been interpreted to literally mean the "womb", the "source", "divine passage", "sacred temple" and the female organs of generation. It also connotes the female sexual organs such as "vagina", "vulva", and "uterus", or alternatively to "origin, abode, or source" of anything in other contexts
rec·la·ma·tion /ˌrekləˈmāSH(ə)n/ noun
the process of claiming something back or of reasserting a right.
the cultivation of waste land or land formerly under water.
the act or process of reclaiming: such as. a : reformation, rehabilitation. b : restoration to use : recovery.
the process of getting something useful from waste, or getting something back that was previously thought of as waste.
ther·a·py /ˈTHerəpē/noun
treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder.
therapeutic treatment: as. a : remedial treatment of mental or bodily disorder. b : an agency (as treatment) designed or serving to bring about rehabilitation or social adjustment
Yoni Reclamation Therapy was lovingly, consciously, scientifically, physically and metaphysically, neuroscientifically, and sacredly - designed to invite women to
COME ALIVE! 💥 Our most divine, most sacred feminine Self was undeniably linked to ancient life, laws, and practices - but this secret has all but been lost - silenced by 5000+ years of patriarchal systems designed to abolish our strength.
Maybe a few of us might hear some trickle-down messages throughout our lives that we "cycle with the moon" ('whatever that means'), or that masculine-feminine polarity is the secret to sexual excitement, or that 'tantra' sounds 'spicy'... but, the fact is that before their age hits double-digits, the majority of women experience their first of many bouts with
abuse
harassment
sexism
and body-based shaming
When we're told we cannot play with a certain toy because it's not "for girls" we are imprinted with subtle messaging about what we're not allowed to do because of the body parts in our pants. When we're told about "girl's hair styles" and "girl's colours" and "girl's clothes" we're being conditioned to emulate the standard patriarchal norm for a woman's role in this life. Boys get space ships and race cars; girls get kitchen sets and baby dolls.
When we're abused at an early age, we learn that being a woman is unsafe in this world. We learn that our most sacred spaces are shameful and dirty. Our abusers often groom us to stay silent and we're bred to be "good" by being quiet. And so it begins.
When we're caught touching ourselves or exploring our bodies we're shouted at and shamed.
When we begin to menstruate we're often left a pack of sanitary products on our bed and, if we're lucky, we avoid the cringe-worthy announcement of - "Guess who's a woman now?!" at the dinner table.
When our bosses objectify our outfits, when our colleagues whistle at us as we walk by, and when we date our first narcissist - we're reminded that our femininity is unsafe, our sexuality makes us dirty, that relations lead to STIs and unwanted pregnancies, and that our period is a drag.
Our physical womb and yoni spaces become riddled with stored trauma of the emotions we weren't equipped to handle of the traumas we never should have experienced.
It's fairly safe to say that most of us have spent the majority of our lives fervently attempting to reclaim ourselves.
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I have been working to "reclaim" my yoni since I was small. An older cousin of mine began abusing me before I'd even discovered myself for myself. My stomach turns at the thought that it was he who taught my body to climax and that's how he abused me... over, and over, and over. I would count ceiling tiles while it happened. He would tell me he's a doctor and that it was all part of his "exam". My stomach wrenches writing these words.
Just when I thought I had "healed" from the childhood abuse, I was re-victimized as a teenager. That "damaged goods" mentality ran deep and in my painful insecurity and wild codependence I was a walking target for abusive men.
Two decades later, birthing my twins - a moment in time meant to be me stepping wholly into unabashed feminine power - turned out to be one of the most medically traumatic and dignity-stripping experiences of my life (at the hands of men who treated me as nothing more than the obstacle between them and the fetuses they needed to extricate from my body).
My twins were only a few months old when an investor in our tech startup offered us more investment if I would sleep with him. This was not an isolated incident.
And for what it's worth.....
.... My story is alarmingly common!
Close to 1/3 of us have been sexually abused.
More than 1/2 of us have been sexually harassed.
It's estimated that 1/2 of women describe their birth as traumatic.
Almost every single one of us has been shamed, silenced, guilted, blamed for facets related to our femininity. And it's time to take it back!
How does unreclaimed feminine appear in women?
These are usually
women with fear, shame, and guilt around sexuality
low libido, painful intercourse
women struggling with obesity and reproductive health issues
disconnect or apathy toward their menstrual cycle
women afraid to speak up about their needs or even have needs in the first place
ashamed of their bodies and unable to feel unapologetically liberated in their skin
carrying trauma (both from early life and inherited grief)
in abusive relationships (either as the victim OR the abuser)
unable to create or maintain boundaries (with themselves, family, partners)
needy, codependent OR toxically independent
lack of creative spark, sense of fulfillment, vibrancy in life
lacking empathy around how their behaviours influence those around them
women struggling to embody their chosen roles as life partner or mother
.... and the list goes on.
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When we're unafraid to speak the truth of our childhood abuse, we take back our power.
When we stand up to abusers and predators, we take back our power.
When we own our bodies and accept them unconditionally, we take back our power.
When we embody our pleasure and pursue it with laser-focused intention,
we take back our power.
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Yoni Reclamation Therapy™ (YRT) is an evolution of the private healing practice I've built in the Riviera Maya for the past year on top of a foundation of my own journey of yoni reclamation I've been walking for a decade. It's build upon the tenets of Jungian-inspired shadow therapy, on neuroscientific principles of the brain-body connection, on conventional massage therapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine points. It's softer and more feminine than holistic pelvic care, and it's more trauma-informed and nurturing than yoni mapping. Yoni Reclamation Therapy safely and consciously incorporates threads of ancient tantric energy work woven into an undeniably effective science-based practice with striking effects experienced after just one session.
"Yoni work" is not new. Actually, it's been around since the beginning of time - when pagan societies treated womens' bodies holistically and with great honour and reverence. Women were meant to be empowered - empowered women meant empowered matriarchal societies. Unfortunately, it's when patriarchal norms, conventional medicine, and the business of wellness took over, that women's bodies were tucked away never to be seen again (outside of the prying eyes of her husband in bed).
Yoni reflexology, yoni mapping, pelvic care, and tantric massage are practiced around the world. Sadly, yoni therapy has been globally silenced, shamed, and pushed into the shadows (not unlike most of our conscious and confident femininity).
I experienced my first accidental run-in with it via tantric massage in Eastern Europe (of all super conservative places!) (more on this blog here) but at the time its ultra taboo and super secretive nature made it far too "mystical" for my science-self to grasp. I attempted to study tantra while living in Thailand and realized the shadows and risks of studying it are even deeper and more grave than the shadows of working with the yoni herself.
Tantra and tantric massage have been openly pro-yoni for eons. Sadly, and for reasons I'll surely be unraveling for a very long time, it's strikingly unsafe to study tantric theories as they relate to yoni therapy in 2022. Of course, this is a personal opinion - one that I'll dive further into in another post.
YRT is NOT tantra. It was these very shadows of studying in the global tantric community: instructors with decades of rape and abuse allegations against them, "gurus" and "swamis" with jail sentences they've shoved down in the media - that inspired me to build a space in which it's safe to learn this work. I mean, the fact that women (who are pursuing healing and evolution) end up re-victimized in the schools designed to teach them said healing and evolution - makes me sick.
And I'm taking it back.
This work is too powerful, too transformative, too life-changing to silence... and it's too intimate to leave in the hands of predators.
I'm taking a stand.
Yoni Reclamation Therapy™ in conjunction with Feminine Re·Embodiment Massage™ (FRM) is a slow and safe session (usually 5-6 hours) designed to recalibrate a hyper-vigilant and overactive nervous system. Opening with an embodying hypnotic journey, followed by client-led shadow work and intention setting - this therapy is a ceremony - a worship at the temple of the sacred woman at its core.
The room is cool and dark, lit by candles and infused with the smell of incense. The soundtrack is feminine, primal, intentional. The massage is both sensual and activating, slow and steady as well as quick-paced and dynamic (both actions required to move stuck trauma and trapped emotion from the parts of the woman's body where they're most commonly stored).
The focus of this body work is on the pelvic bowl, the sacrum, coccyx, abdomen, diaphragm, between the ribs, around the womb, inside the yoni, and deep within the inner thighs. These are the parts of the body "forgotten" by conventional massage therapy - or rather, strategically avoided to ensure no emotions are released.
All YRT practitioners MUST be trauma-informed.
The entire body work session is explained at great length before it begins. This includes the use of scientific pelvis and yoni models to depict every action and intention.
Nothing is left up to chance or practitioner's interpretation.
Full openness and full disclosure mean full safety and informed consent (and that, in itself, is healing).
The session is consent-led, EVERY TIME.
There is no assumed or blanket consent - it is explicitly asked for and granted at every step, during every session. This process of consent-granting alone was intentionally woven in to reinforce a woman's right to choose and to practice expressing her voice in openly asking for what she needs and granting permission for what's to come. Consent can be changed or removed at any time. Any part of the massage, any part of the body, can be skipped over (or more focused on) as she wishes.
When her body is re-calibrated to safe and slow, nurturing and sensual, consent-led and feedback-guided, she begins to change her internal compass for how intimacy with a partner (or with herself) should feel (and that, in itself, is healing)
The highly-innervated Traditional Chinese Medicine trigger points (sacrum, coccyx, etc) are extensively opened up and worked on with meticulous attention. The abdomen is a "trauma map": maternal line, paternal line, birth story, unprocessed fear. Working on these areas releases stored memories and emotions often without prior conscious awareness. Memories that come up are shared out loud and processed together in live-time. If particular parts of her body are presenting a greater deal of physical or emotional discomfort they're stayed with and worked upon until they feel cleared. There's no time clock for this session - she sets the pace (and that, in itself, is healing).
Sessions come in packages of 3, 4, or 5 . There are no standalone shadow-work / trauma release therapy sessions. It would be extremely unethical and triggering to rip open deep wounds and leave them to bleed. A trained YRT therapist knows how to create safe opening/closing sessions within the healing container and consistently checks back with the client to inform and adjust as required.
The client chooses the intervals at which she experiences her healing. When clients fly in to experience with me here in the Mayan Riviera we can do 3-5 sessions back-to-back, or if she's here for a longer period of time we can space the sessions out by one week, two weeks.... She can choose to experience the session purposefully during her moon time to reconnect with the divine femininity of her cycle or she can choose to keep that week for turning inward and nurturing herself while she bleeds. She's in complete control (and that, in itself, is healing)
A powerful integration of tantra, womb/fertility massage, shadow therapy and yoni work - this work is sacred, transformative, and healing. It's exhausting and empowering. Unlike therapies we attend for months on end just waiting for a change, here - life-changing effects are experienced after just one session. The growth from these sessions is cumulative as we systematically peel back layers of shadows, armour, and misalignment. The reclamation is in the power of receiving sensual touch and feeling into our own sexual energy outside the typical constraints of a more performative sexual interaction - where most women are more worried about whether they look right, smell right, are skinny enough, liked enough. The re·embodiment is in allowing yourself to focus on your breath instead of the grabbing of your breasts and to reflect inward rather than bracing for impact. This therapy heals - but you don't have to take my word for it.
Here's what one recent Goddess had to say:
For seven years I healed. I worked with coaches, therapists, personal trainers, intuitives. I tried any and all modalities in my path with open arms.
Knowing my ego, my shadow, my expectations of me - got in the way.
Yoni/Womb work was the healing I a self-proclaimed feminist loathing “I wish I didn’t have a womb” woman needed. I just didn’t know it.
Pleasure isn’t how I would describe my work with Aia June. It was purpose. Intentional purpose-filled healing to reconnect my feminine and then reclaim my yoni and my sacred self.
It wasn’t easy work but it’s been some of the most mindbendingly necessary work in creating
peace and freedom inside myself.
Where once was ego, posturing and societal expectation masquerading as desire has been replaced with clarity, alignment and a knowing at my very core of who I be and what I will create and accept in my life.
It’s shifted me as a person. I’m stronger yet softer. More in tune with my sexuality, my career, my relationship, my life. I live a pleasurable life free of expectation and rich with intuition and intention.
Aia is richly talented, not afraid to hold space yet lovingly calling you forward.
To heal. To deal. To create anew.
I never thought I needed this work until it changed my life.
Divine reclamation of my feminine/masculine polarity and my life.
- Crystal T., Canada
Founder: Word Magic Copywriting
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If you're a practitioner who feels led to train in YRT and FRM, I invite you to connect with me. This work needs you (and you don't need any previous accreditation or training to begin!) What it does require, though, is your ongoing commitment to working on yourself. You must move through your shadows. You must hold tremendously powerful space for others to heal in your presence. You must offer unconditional love to those you treat by first giving yourself the same. This work is not for the weak. But if you're called to it, then that means it might just be for you.
If you're a woman feeling called to experience this deep-dive into transformation, I'm here in the Mayan waiting for you - with open arms and an open heart to welcome you upon your path and hold space for the biggest reclamation of your life.
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