Liminal space - from the latin ‘limen,’ meaning threshold; a place of entering or beginning or both; a time of not knowing; of transition between what was and what is next

The Birth Portal is a liminal space.

We kind of give this a name in our modern vernacular. ‘Nesting.’ And, yes, preparing the home for a baby’s arrival is a piece of the pie, but ‘nesting’ falls short of defining what is really happening in this time.

The Birth Portal is a wisdom-keeper. It’s not something we can “prepare” for in its entirety. We can’t know what’s in there or demand it go a certain way, but an awareness can ease our transition and open the gates for internal wisdom, instinct, and intuition to come through.

Entering the birth portal…

Many women and birthing people begin to turn more inwards during the immediate weeks and days before labor begins. I liken this to pratyahara in our yoga practice. Pratyahara is the drawing away from the external senses to prepare for meditation. Entering the portal is a lot like that…drawing away from the outside world to go inwards, to cocoon in your environment, to connect with your baby or babies.

Women naturally do this when given the space and when trusting their own instincts. Preparing the home. Wanting to go out less, and stay close to what feels safe and familiar.

Here, the veils between worlds are beginning to thin.

Birth itself…

The veils between worlds are the thinnest during active labor and transition, those moments where we are really close to meeting our babies. And, I do mean between worlds. Think about the magic of birth - literally giving life, delivering life from inside to outside, from water to Earth, from ether to matter.

When birth is left alone, women and birthing people will naturally go further and further inwards. It’s a primal state. It’s a practice of surrender, letting the body and the baby lead, learning to get out of the way. It can also cause confusion or disorientation to become aware of the strength of your body, to realize that you have so much less control than you thought, and to lean into a greater intelligence. Yes?

But, even if birth has an intervention - you still enter the portal.

Birth is birth. Vaginal birth. Belly birth. Unmedicated. Medicated. No intervention. Lots of intervention.

Clarity, intuition, lessons, they can all rush in here…if given the space to reflect and allow. This is the wisdom. This is birth as a wisdom keeper. This is a precious time in our lives where the “logic” brain is forced to take a back seat, to surrender, which creates space.

When I guide others (or myself) back to this portal in movement and meditation practices, there’s always something that comes up…even if it takes more than one practice, one session. Depending on our stories, we might numb this space, black it out, or we might feel shame that we experienced so many emotions at once (exhaustion, fear, excitement, love, joy, grief, and so on). Often, there’s an exhilaration, a remembering, a light, too.

Departing the birth portal…

Those early days and weeks with a newborn can feel like a baby vortex. What day is it? What time? What month? It doesn’t matter. Not really. A baby is born, and a mother or parent is born anew, too (this is true whether it’s the first baby, second, third, and so on).

The mother’s brain is literally rewiring to support her baby. Her body is producing nourishment. Her body is beginning to heal and requires plenty of rest and hot, nourishing foods. And, there is a wisdom here, too. Yet again, there are very few moments in life when we’re asked to slow our lives down…almost to a halt.

We resist it. Our culture is one that talks about “bouncing back” in body, mind, heart, and profession. That masks the portal, the cosmic intelligence. This is a time of cocooning, of allowing our raw nervous systems to heal, bond, stay close to our babies and partners, receive support and helping hands. These are lessons in and of themselves.

The veils begin to thicken, almost like a skin towards the end of the fourth trimester…somewhere around 12 weeks postpartum…as we depart the portal itself and move into the rest of our postpartum experiences (primary postpartum, secondary, and for life).

In Afterglow, we set aside a whole module towards exploring The Birth Portal, whether pregnant, early postpartum or many years post birthing babies. What wisdom came through? What lessons did we uncover? How can we incorporate this innate knowledge into our lives moving forward? We return or welcome this time with meditation and yoga therapy based movement practices. It is precious. It is vital. These are big questions and they require the support of someone. A trusted friend, a community, a healer, an elder.

When we do this work, exploration, and acknowledgement of ourselves and others, it can lessen our anxieties, overwhelm, loneliness, shame, and so forth. We recognize that all is welcome to the table - the challenging emotions and the beautiful ones. We work through our stories (rather than around them or stuffing them down), so that they don’t manifest into the emotional or physical body.

I don’t believe that we need to brace against perinatal mood disorders. I don’t believe we need to pathologize or over-pathologize women’s bodies, emotions and experiences around birth. Instead, what if communities learned to honor a portal like this? To recognize that big emotions and reflections are normal and need support? What kind of communities would we create? What kind of health would ensue?

Do you recall entering the portal? I’d love for you to write me and share what’s on your heart.

Afterglow will open for enrollment in late Spring, early Summer. If you’re interested, please get on the waitlist to receive 10% off.

Jai Ma.
With love,
Leanne

P.S. My vision is that postpartum becomes synonymous with healing, inner wisdom, embarking on a new life, and integration. Integration meaning learning to integrate our experiences, and welcome each one into our hearts. This is contrary to postpartum becoming synonymous with hardship, struggle, anxiety, depression, and so forth. Postpartum IS hard. Entering The Birth Portal, staying in it, and departing it ARE challenging. That’s the tapas, the fire.

We’ve forgotten as a society how to honor something as sacred as birth. How we give birth matters. How we’re born matters. Now, of course, severe postpartum depression and psychosis (which is RARE) does happen and needs medical attention. I won’t sugarcoat the reality that even with ALL the preparation, you’ll still feel the hard emotions and that’s okay. Actually, it’s normal. And, yet…what about all the beauty of this time? Yes. That’s what we’re here for. Both. Talk to me if you’re interested in Afterglow.

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