Womb Space
Oct 19, 2024
What is "womb space"?
What role does the womb play for a developing baby?
- Safe place for development
- Enclosed area
- Soothing environment
- Buffer from external threat or stimulation
- Muted sensory input
- Nourishing, detoxifying, and providing for all the needs of the baby
A "womb space" is a symbolic place or set of conditions that mimic or provide the same benefits as an adult.
I discovered the draw of "womb space" before I had a word to describe it. In my journey to heal my neurological system from the effects of trauma, soothing behaviors were important. The more I provided those things for my soul, the more I found I naturally gravitated to them when I needed them. Sleeping with a weighted blanket or wrapping up in a fuzzy blanket were very soothing. Dimmed lights and sounds were soothing as well. Time and space to journal or listen to music without competing demand were also very nourishing. These things helped manage stress in the waking hours, and also helped me sleep better at night.
I noticed the same behavior in my son. After his dad and I divorced, I got him a loft bed, with the main mattress 3 feet off the ground, leaving space for an extra mattress for visiting siblings or guests. I found that his first choice in where he would sleep was in the underneath space. It was darker and cozier and he slept so much better there. He also still loves to turn the lights off and do a quiet meditation before bed, especially if it includes a head rub!
Our souls have intuitive wisdom that our brains don't always understand. I found that in this healing season, after I dropped my son off at school, when I drove into my single-car garage, I often had a desire to just stay there in the dark small, quiet space in my car and have some time to meditate, journal, or read.
I also discovered that I was intuitively soothed and restored by being in the hammock. It felt like being held, and the rhythmic rocking was very calming. We set up a hammock on the back porch, one in the wooded hedge, and two 15 feet off the ground in the branches of a giant pine tree. Both my son and I escaped to these places when we need restoration or quiet time.
A year later, while in a class with Thomas McConkie, he encouraged us to make any adjustments we needed in our environment prior to beginning a meditation so that we could create a "womb space." I felt a magical resonance and some kind of fairy dust sprinkling down on me in that moment. That phrase described what I was intuitively seeking and what I knew my son was seeking as well.
Since that time, I have been intentional about claiming that term in my life and using it in teaching and communicating as a mother and as a coach. Further study and discussions have led to beautiful insights from a variety of perspectives I would love to share with you. I want to take a "soulful approach" and look at womb space from body, spirit, heart, and mind and see how those interconnect.
Our earliest experiences in a mortal body were in the womb. While that experience resides in implicit memory, it is still with us. While in the womb, the needs of a baby are all provided for by the mother. I don't know about you, but they're definitely have been days where my most accurate mantra is, "I don't want to be a grown up today." The thought of someone else being in charge of providing everything is very appealing! Studying the umbilical cord made me appreciate it, both physically and metaphorically.
"The umbilical cord is considered both the physical and emotional attachment between mother and fetus. This structure allows for the transfer of oxygen and nutrients from the maternal circulation into fetal circulation while simultaneously removing waste products from fetal circulation to be eliminated maternally. On the other hand, mothers associate an emotional connection to the fetus through the cord. It may merit consideration as the route of love and care during pregnancy. Thus, some poets call it the string of life."
Attachment, nurturing, removing waste, connection, love, and care.
Physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually; that sounds heavenly. Literally.
When Jesus taught Nicodemus that a man needed to be born again to experience the kingdom of God, certainly there is an aspect of umbilical experience connected to the metaphor of rebirth.
What would it be like to experience that umbilical connection with heaven?
That is such a fruitful question to explore. It made me realize that that is exactly what a covenant relationship with my Good Shepherd promises. Reading Psalm 23, we quickly see the parallel of love and care all our needs are provided, we have rest, protection and security, space for growth, and connection and attachment.
I also found deep meaning in the metaphor of the umbilical cord removing waste from the developing baby that the baby doesn't have the capacity to filter out itself. In my repentance, forgiveness, and healing process, there definitely are debris and waste products that I struggle to remove--memories, feelings, beliefs, and more. I want them to be gone and even yearn for them to be gone, but I seem to struggle with the capacity to let them go for good. What a beautiful encouragement that Divine umbilical love can remove that for me, just as a mother's circulation removes the waste products of her developing baby.
I also appreciate the developmental metaphor that birth provides. In my desire to be born again and to continue growing as a child of God, as a child of the covenant, and as a disciple of Christ, I can't always be dependent on umbilical, nourishment and cleansing. In Their beautiful omniscient plan, our Heavenly Parents provided the way for ongoing development to happen and for us to learn and grow both physically and spiritually to account for those needs.
The baby needs a womb space to grow the organs that will one day be able to fulfill the life-sustaining tasks on their own. Once a baby takes the first breath of air outside the womb, blood is diverted from the umbilical vein and arteries that nourished through the navel to the blood supply for the lungs. In a short time that tiny being becomes able to circulate, oxygenate, and even create its own blood. It learns to process food and eliminate waste beautifully. (So beautifully, as the diaper changer will attest!) The baby goes from being entirely dependent on the mother to using the bodily systems and organs that developed inside the womb. What a beautiful polarity of development.
One specific example is the blood. Where the unborn baby was sustained by the mother's blood, a newborn infant is sustained by its own blood. The bone marrow physically and symbolically represents the ability to create that life-sustaining blood independently.
"Bone marrow is the soft, fatty tissue inside of bone cavities. Components of your blood including red and white blood cells and platelets form inside of your bone marrow."
So, both the umbilical nourishment through our navel and the marrow in our bones are symbols of that loving care made possible through both our dependence on the Lord and our independent ability to grow in providing for our own needs and eventually the needs of others.
At times we may become weary or depleted of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual nourishment we need. Just like eating healthy food can nourish us physically, "womb space" time can also provide necessary nourishment in other ways. Understanding how a physical space and sensory soothing features can help our brains and bodies experience the calm, safety, and reassurance we need can be a gift we give ourselves.
What experiences or places are soothing to you? Start there
What kind of physical touch or sensory experience is soothing or calming? Add more of that.
What things are over stimulating? Understanding what needs to be removed or minimized is an important part of creating your personal womb space.
What thoughts or emotions indicate you may need womb space time? This discernment is so important.
What thoughts or emotions do you experience in that womb space? This awareness can help you understand and refine your needs.
Remember that neurological calming and restoration takes place slowly over time, but your consistent efforts will make a big difference!
