EAT PRAY DOULA – the first days

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The heat rises, the sun grows strong, the energy from within and around grows strong. More stories, More tears, smiles and warm embraces, we open our hearts, share our vision, the doula spirit within grows stronger. We reconnect the circle of women at birth and life.

The First Annual Eat Pray Doula workshop is under way. It is am amazing opportunity for us all to share the doula spirit while also taking in the magic of Bali and Bumi Sehat.  I wake each morning before sunrise to the sounds of the roosters calling, as the birds, frogs, monkeys, bugs and other creatures that we share this tropical paradise with add their voices creating a magical and deeply connected feeling to all living beings. Last night the winds blew as our energy is stirring the elements, giving a much needed breeze through my mosquito netting, that feels like a princess bed surrounding me. As I open the door of my traditional Balinese hut, I am greeted by the humid air, a dampness that begins cool and  as the sun rises later in the day,  feels like a cleansing sauna.

It is off to morning yoga as the sun rises. I walk through the organic gardens that feed us to arrive at the yoga platform. The staff has already begun to place fresh flowers everywhere, designs with flower petals adorn our entrance where we leave our shoes. This morning as we stretch and breath prana into our chakras I noticed a monkey on top of another hut watching us. He sat so still, also taking in the morning, the meditation and OMs we were chanting. After yoga we have a wonderful breakfast in the cafe alongside the pool. Normally instant coffee would not meet my needs for coffee, but somehow everything in Bali has a richness and energy I can’t resist. So instant coffee it is to begin my day.

 

Before long we are gathering our group to begin another day of doula workshop. Ibu Robin Lim and Katherine Bramhall, two amazing midwives join in and share the many amazing birth stories and lessons from Bumi Sehat Bali and Ache. We open with a communication exercise, sharing personal stores with a doula partner as we become aware of how we listen with our body, heart and hand. The bonds of the group are growing strong as we share our visions and our dreams to create peaceful, gentle respectful births and a world that honors girls and women. We are gathered from many countries in the world, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, U.S., Canada, Germany, Sweden and more… and yet we all share the same stories of women being put in bed, put down and having their births taken over by the medical authorities.  Stories of disrespect and even abuse as such a sensitive time in a woman’s life brings many tears. We are here to make change one birth at a time, to help women reclaim their power and wisdom and give birth with dignity and respect. Bumi Sehat, Ibu Robin Lim’s birth center, brings these elements and more. She embodies all that is possible when we give our care with love and respect. We can feel the oxytocin that is freely flowing among us as we look eye to eye, acknowledging our different cultures and religions – loving each other as women with a passion to bring peace to the world one birth at a time.

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