I am humbled as I reflect on the incredible connections I have made this past year through navigating the Center for Sacred Window Studies. Each student who has passed through our program has given me a gift of their authenticity. Each inspirational colleague I have met has shared their wisdom in ways that are shaping the work I do. And each meeting and conversation I have with my beautiful team weaves a tighter and more intricate pattern that makes this work so satisfying.
Looking Back through Our Beginnings
When we launched this vessel a year and a half ago, I wasn’t sure exactly how the Ayurvedic Postpartum Caregiver course would go. We had a lot of faith, and I felt an exciting undercurrent of energy for this project.
I remember the pride – and a bit of fear – in each baby step that we took: the first tiny website, and pressing the “send” button on our first email announcement. But with each outward gesture we offered, it was met by someone so happy to receive it.
We quickly saw that the flow of energy moving us forward was also present in many others who were searching for this work. And we aligned…
There have been a few times in my life when, even if outcomes were uncertain, there was never any doubt that I was on the right track.
I felt that when I sat in Ayurvedic school for the first time. I felt that when deciding to start a family. And I felt that in a totally unique way when deciding to open this Center. I treasure that certainty, and in moments of “what now?!?!”, I can return to that =)
In my module of the Ayurvedic Postpartum Caregiver Program, I teach about the journey through the sacred postpartum window. With each stage of this journey, the brand new parent adjusts, heals, settles and evolves in many ways. But it is an acute window of time, with SO much happening in a few short weeks.
As my youngest babe is now two years old, I am seeing this process extended. And I am grasping the journey of healing and evolution in a much more expansive sense. My oldest son is 12 years old, and I can put myself back into the place I was when he was born. I was overwhelmed with happiness at being a mom, and also full of uncertainty.
With each breath, with each year, with each child; I am evolving.
My adjustment period is ongoing! With each new parenting stage, I am presented with new experiences to navigate. It’s truly a wonder to me that the parenting journey — the HUMAN journey — is reflected in the crucial sacred postpartum window. Conscious care to pacify naturally elevated doshas, along with the Universal Mother Principles (simplicity, flexibility, listening, compassion, grounding, intuition and non-judgement) apply to just about every evolutionary stage I’ve ever gone through!
Leading this organization is not something I would have done ten or even five years ago. I had to move through life gaining skills and perspective, and evolving in necessary ways.
Being open to that clear call, that flow of energetic motivation when things align on their own…feels good. That is what guided me here.
I also wonder about the feeling of wanting to reach outward that I experienced around this same time. I know it is one and the same, but I am looking at another side of it. Since my oldest was born, I had been focusing the vast majority of my attention to my children, my home, and my family. I guarded myself from too much that would take me outward or away from my responsibilities there.
But suddenly, I was yearning to engage with my community in new ways. I would wonder
what new things I was capable of, how I could participate in the world in new and meaningful ways. I was…..ready.
Looking Ahead
Moving forward into a brand new year, I am committed to offering continued value and growing resources for caregivers and families. We are part of a vibrant movement that is actively working to raise awareness and shift the subpar paradigm of modern postpartum care. It feels incredible to align with the many individuals and organizations who are on this journey with us.
I am committed to leading the Center for Sacred Window Studies (and my own efforts!) guided by the Universal Mother Principles we teach. Sustainability can be difficult in a caregiving field. It has sparked many conversations between our team, the larger community and in our classes. I find that listening to the doshas within me as they shift, as Ayurveda so beautifully teaches us to tune into, gives me the clues I need to move or pull back.
Truly, my favorite thing about this job is the permission to take care of myself.
For if I can experience that feeling, it is that much more meaningful to teach it to students, and educate families on the necessity of care during the sacred postpartum window.
To close these reflections, simply said…
Thank you for reading, for responding to the work we are doing, and for all the efforts you bring to the world.
I am so grateful.
Christine Devlin Eck
Dec. 20, 2019
Conscious Postpartum Caregiver Program
Inspired by Ayurvedic Principles
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