About the Wild Woman Initiation Series
The Wild Woman Project came to me in a flash, a vision & it wouldn’t let me go. So, I listened. The Wild Woman archetype has been initiating me ever since. Through various experiences, which have mostly been about untangling what is true & what is not true in my own being, I have come ever closer to the wild woman within. I am a student, servant, guardian to this project who’s mission is to to awaken women to their most authentic, undomesticated nature, so they may feel like themselves, all the time, no apologies. I am sharing the 13 most important lessons I’ve learned about the path of the Wild Woman over the next few months. May it be useful.
8
I traced my palms over the soft contours of my body.
I held my own breasts in my hands with such tenderness.
I felt every wrinkle and fold of my body with the tips of my fingers.
And tears ran down my face.
I slowly began to feel the livingness of this body-its memories, its wise instincts, its sensitivity and strength.
What an amazing creature, I thought, this body of mine.
So very alive
Capable of healing itself
And of Knowing.
That day, I began to love that pulsing, fleshy, intelligent home:
My one and only body.
~~~
Like so many young women, I used to experience my body as an outside witness. I could see it in the mirror or when I looked down. But I could barely, just barely, feel it.
I’d poke at the mushy part of stomach, just below my naval and watch as a crater formed around my index finger.
I gasped in horror at the stretch marks on my inner thighs-how did this happen? Why me?, I wondered.
If a photo captured any bit of cellulite it was immediately discarded-I couldn’t hardly look at it.
In high school, I experimented with many forms of conquering my body: diet pills, which were essentially speed and accentuated my teenage hormone fluctuations. I tried binging and purging-ouch. I drank Slim Fast and ran 12 miles a day. I remember chewing up a burger and spitting it out (no swallowing) just so I could taste it. I was obsessed with improving the appearance of my body and as far as I was concerned, I had my work cut out for me.
My journals from those years are a heart-breaking read.
The pages paint a picture of a young, ambitious, intelligent woman woman at war with her own body. The two sides: the flesh & the mind. The distance between my consciousness and my body was vast. And it seemed all I could do was throw rocks of hatred and self-loathing across the void. My thought patterns were relentlessly abusive and the actions that followed them, even more so.
The bottom line was: my physical appearance did not meet my ideal. Where did that ideal come from? I don’t have to tell you: Culture-Magazines, Pop Stars, Movies, Advertisements, well-meaning adults, with their own ‘body image’ issues.
I actually had no idea how strange & unhealthy this way of being was because I was surrounded by other girls who were also battling their own flesh. It was normal, no big deal, simply the way it was.
~~~
The re-wilding and remembering the truth of my body began in college when I met a teacher who guided me to experience my body from the inside.
This teacher taught me to move and be moved by the impulses of my body. She taught me that the body has an intelligence of its own and that we are meant to inhabit our own skin with great awareness, not rage against it.
It was with her that I started down a long path of healing and discovery that I am still on, and will, hopefully, be on for the rest of my life.
Learning the Chakra System gave me a map of deep self-inquiry that is directly connected to my body.
I often say that finding yoga & practicing it saved my life. And I don’t think I’m being dramatic. Making a friend, lover, companion of my body vs. an enemy, a machine, an ugly thing to be conquered, has changed my relationship to….well, everything.
Every year I seem to fall in love with my body just a little bit more and in doing so, I fall in love with the world, just a little bit more.
~~~
The Wild Woman speaks through the cells of my body & the marrow in my bones.
She Says:
Every time you laugh that mighty laugh, you do so through your body.
Every time you stand in awe of some beautiful place, you do so through your body.
Every time you touch the ones you love the best, you do so through your sweet body.
Every time you cry
Every time you make
Every time you sweat
Every time you hold some sacred scripture
Every time you hear your favorite song
Every time you are scared
Every time you are brave
Every time you feel your toes in the sand
Every time you feel the cool light of the moon on your skin
Every time you orgasm
Every time you pray
Every time you are humbled
Every time.
Every. Single. Time.
You experience anything
You do so through that miracle that is your body.
~~~
So dear ones, in your wild woman initiation, may you remember:
Lesson 8: Your body is a miraculous living portal to the physical world and all its wonder.
EXPLORE THE OTHER LESSONS OF THE WILD WOMAN INITIATION SERIES
On the Horizon
Join us for an hour-long New Moon Meditation Adventure on December 2nd!
Online, from anywhere.
Using a dynamic meditation journey, we will tune into the New Moon, to your own Inner Guidance, synced up with wild-hearted women from around the world. This offering will include music, storytelling, meditation, journaling prompts & intention-setting.
Can’t make it live? No worries. All participants will receive a copy of the recording with 24 hours of the session.
Join the WILD WOMAN UNDERGROUND.
"The Circle Leader Training Program at The Wild Woman Project was one of the most transformative and healing experiences of my life. I have received many tools, resources, support, and connections that I will carry on with me forever." ~ Hannah Devin, Graduate
We have Wild Woman Project-trained Circle facilitators is 26 countries, and 44 out of the 50 United States.
Chris Maddox is the founder of The Wild Woman Project where she teaches women how to utilize the gifts of the Wild Woman Archetype in their everyday lives & how to lead women’s circles in their local communities. She is the organizer & facilitator of the beloved annual WILD WOMAN FEST, a women’s retreat-festival hybrid which fosters a deep connection to nature, a direct experience of the divine feminine & profound spiritual sisterhood among the women in attendance.
An ever student of the great mysteries of existence and nature itself, Chris believes women are holding innate gifts & tools that society at large needs – now more than ever. She is committed to helping women remember their special magic and to bring it forward into every corner of their lives, for the greater good of the planet.
This is beautiful. I wish I had remembered Wild Woman so much earlier in life. It can still be a struggle to love and respect my body, but bit by bit, I let her shine. I appreciate what she has allowed me to experience…love, light, nourishment.
Thank you, Chris.
Bit by bit, for sure. Thanks for sharing and for reading, Nina. ♥️