Finding Artemis: Nurturing One's Own Unique Feminine Essence

For the past few years I've felt the imbalance between my inner yin and yang become harder to manage until a thyroid condition forced me to relax. During my recovery I felt the benefits of being in a more "yin" state and knew it was important to not neglect.

A Chinese medicine practitioner mentioned to me once that women who spend too much time cultivating and embodying male energy seem to be more represented in the patient population of adult females diagnosed with thyroid disorders. Certainly this was a possible explanation to me as to why I was diagnosed with low-thyroid function despite no genetic history in my background. It made perfect sense so I went seeking for the lost feminine in my life.

Unfortunately finding the lost feminine essence I was born with was hard. It was triggering to find other resources in the self-growth space that seemed to either make me wrong for not being a natural vixen or tried to bend me into a specific template of a woman.

So much of the other workshops and self-growth seminars aimed at helping women cultivate a more feminine presence felt manipulative to me. Many focused on being more feminine in order to attract a man and/or espoused very rigid traditional notions of what feminine meant. This wasn't very healing, at least for me.

Then, somehow, I found out about Marcela Veron's upcoming women's retreat in Berkeley, aptly titled "The Art of Feminine Presence: Love Your Essence". Initially images of being turned into Sophia Loren flashed through my mind. As much as the Italian screen Goddess has always been my favorite icon of femininity I don't want to be like her. 

Truth be told I always wanted to be more like Madonna. It just feels more authentic to follow in her path. Even as a child I was not a "girly-girl" and much more a tomboy in personality. The archetype of a strong powerful Queen like Cleopatra appealed to me far more than the subservient yet femme fatale type a la Brigitte Bardot. However, with so much of the emphasis by many relationship gurus on the drawbacks of being a woman with empire-like aspirations, finding peace within me about being feminine felt impossible. However, I contacted Marcela about her retreat and decided to have a feminine essence consultation anyway.

My feminine essence session was a pleasant surprise full of insight, practical guidance, and recommendations that were easy to incorporate into my lifestyle. Marcela tuned in with precision to the areas of my life which were affected by a lack of feminine or "yin" energy.

Finding Marcela was a moment of serendipity. When she did my reading not only did it feel safe to be in the presence of feminine energy within me but felt it as a strength instead of a weakness. Marcela related to me as who I was and worked with how being feminine expressed itself in my innate nature.

I was most surprised and pleased that Marcela didn't tell me to try to emulate someone else or take on some feminine persona from popular culture. That alone was healing enough! I'm more Cameron Diaz than Sofia Vergara or Madonna instead of Sophia Loren and Marcela "got it" and clarified to me that my "wild feminine" or "sporty type personality" was just as valid. She explained how the Greek mythological Goddess Artemis is one symbol of this kind of wild woman. Artemis was known as the Goddess of the Hunt or Nature who loved to spend time in the forest like a kind of Amazon figure.

Not only does Marcela honor the person and their unique natural way of expressing femininity, her work is about individual growth. She focuses on embodying feminine energy, staying true to one's nature, and being in one's own essence rather than adhere to a standard of femininity set by external factors. The clarity was an A-HA moment I had looked for but was wondering if I'd ever find. I found Marcela to be an all-around wonderful guide with much knowledge and compassion.

Being supported and encouraged to be more of who I naturally am made the difference when I compare my experience with Marcela in contrast to others in the same marketplace. Having a consultation with her was enough to convince me to take advantage of her feminine essence retreat intensive in late June here in the Bay Area. Not only is it an investment in some much needed R&R but also in meeting others who celebrate their natural selves instead of conforming to others' expectations.