Woman, Uncorrupted Part 2: Heart Awakening, a Somatic Journey

You’re in for a treat with a double header of rituals: a Taoist Breast Massage with Sarah and Somatic Journaling Practice with Sarina.

Hello loves,

Woman, Uncorrupted is a collaboration with fellow Somatic practitioner

If you haven’t met Sarina yet, you are in for a treat. The first thing you’ll notice about Sarina is her exquisite, loving presence. She wears her heart on her sleeve and naturally exudes the kind of intimate vulnerability that immediately puts you at ease. Oh — we can be ourselves here? Cue the collective exhale. 😌

Since she is a fellow somatic practitioner, we have compatible styles and magic to share.

Woman, Uncorrupted is all about quieting the noise from society about how you are supposed to be, and attuning to your unique beauty and brilliance, so you can return to your essence. What’s not to love? 💗

In case you missed Woman, Uncorrupted Part 1: Womb Wisdom, find it here!

If you were born into a female body, chances are that you have a natural instinct to nurture and care for others. The challenge can be prioritizing care and nurture for ourselves. This kind of self-love is our primary responsibility. Then, whatever care, nurture and love we receive from others is simply icing on the cake.

Years ago, I heard Australian portrait photographer Sue Bryce speak at a women’s event in Seattle, and she said: We have two hands: one is meant for giving, the other is meant for receiving.

No? Chances are you’re not alone there. It’s okay babe, we’ve got something to help you balance the score.

There are two rituals to today’s heart awakening practice: a breast massage and somatic journaling practice. Depending on how much time you have, you can shrink it down to a 10 minute practice, or expand it to fill more time and space. These practices are designed to be done on a regular basis, so you may set some time aside weekly in your calendar to prioritize your pleasure.

If possible, we suggest practicing the breast massage first then moving straight onto the somatic journaling prompts. In this luscious space where your heart is open and receptive, the journaling process can be rich and layered. Depending on what comes up for you, the writing exercise may take longer.

Taoist Breast Massage as a Gateway to Love

Licensed stock photo of woman holding her breasts

When I was studying with Layla Martin to become a VITA Certified Sex Coach, I learned a Taoist breast massage. This simple practice is a profound gateway for self-love, empowering you to cultivate more sensation in the breasts, reduce stress, and promote an open heart, making it easier to receive love.

Breast massage produces the love chemical oxytocin in your body. Oxytocin is a bonding agent, promoting trust and generosity, and enhancing your mood. It can also boost sexual arousal.

So many women are moving through the world with armored hearts from past heartbreak, preventing them from letting love in or allowing themselves to be truly seen in their magnificence.

There’s a variety of reasons that we build up walls around our hearts: toxic relationships; past experiences of trauma, loss, neglect, or abuse; even a fear of vulnerability. Believe me, I get it.

Armor becomes a natural protective mechanism. With practices like these, it’s possible to de-armor.

When a heart is armored, we’re blocked from receiving love and from feeling the natural flow of energy. It also creates stagnancy in the breasts.

Since the heart and the breasts live in the same neighborhood in the body, breast massage has dual benefits for the breasts and heart, encouraging the heart to soften and gently unfold.

Sarina’s experience:

Here’s Sarina’s experience with the breast massage as a mother and an embodied woman:

Before becoming a mother, self-touch was a regular ritual. It took a long while after finishing breastfeeding to honour my body with devotion again. Of course, this is the common story among mothers, we become so caught up in giving to others that we overlook giving to ourselves.

Sometimes, the idea of adding another thing to our list, even if that’s self-care, can be overwhelming. The idea of something else we ‘should’ do can make even self-care feel heavy.

This is why, especially for mothers, having practices that are short and manageable in our day is essential to minimizing overwhelm.

The idea is to experience intimate moments with ourselves that leave us nourished and connected to our innate beauty.

I did Sarah’s breast massage practice in the kitchen, my phone in the holder on the benchtop, Gia (my three year old) playing happily nearby. As there’s no audio in the videos, I wasn’t distracting Gia from her play.

Towards the end, Gia noticed I was cupping my ‘boobies’ and wanted to cup them too, so we giggled and I told her how my boobies helped her to grow big and strong when she was a tiny baby. We spontaneously sang a boobie song and laughed together.

It was such a beautiful example of where my self-care rituals and my mothering can have blurred lines and where they can actually enhance each other. My heart was certainly awakened as I laughed with my little girl after massaging my breasts and I felt a lightness that lasted the rest of my day.

Ritual 1: Breast Massage

This was originally published for paid subscribers in summer of 2023. Lucky you!

Breast massage is one of my favorite sensual practices to offer my clients. It’s been handed down from Ancient Chinese Taoist sages across the ages. This sensual massage practice has benefits that are both physical and energetic. Through it, you can:

Encourage lymph drainage
Sensitize the breasts
Promote firm breast tissue
Cultivate self-love
Clear energy blocks
Fill yourself up with loving energy
Activate feminine energy
Encourage heart activation

Let’s start with what you’ll need to prepare your ritual space:

A quiet, private place (if you have roommates or young children, even a bathtub will do)
Body friendly massage oil
15 minutes (If time is short, you can shrink this down to 5 in a pinch!)
Bonus: candle, crystals or incense to help set the stage

Continue on for a step-by-step tutorial of the breast massage, including video demonstrations.

Breast massage includes the following process: arriving in your body, clearing out old, stagnant energy from the breast tissues, then inviting in fresh energy to your breasts and heart space.

The great thing about embodiment? It’s basically free. You get to approach your body as a loving experiment and see what there is to be found, then measure your results and adjust accordingly.

A cautionary tale:

If you are a woman who has had a mastectomy, or a trans woman who doesn’t have breasts, you can do this practice energetically by hovering your hands a few inches over the body for the practice.

If you are a person with breast cancer or have had a recent surgery, you may want to do the fourth step energetically. The third step builds and amplifies whatever is already there. Alternately, if you just do this step for one minute at a time, this may be a good safety protocol for you.

Step 1: Drop into your body.

Before you begin the sensual massage, touch your body in a gentle, loving way. Run your fingers down your arms. Nurture yourself with loving energy. Give yourself a little hug.

Step 2: Bring your attention to your breasts.

Become aware of your breasts. As you inhale, send your breath into your breasts. Set an intention for what you would like this practice to be.

Step 3: Massage your breasts, down on the outside, up on the inside.

Apply oil to your hands, then massage your breasts, down on the outside, up on the inside. You can massage both breasts at the same time, or one at a time.

Note: If you have larger breasts, you may consider using both hands to cup your breast.

Watch the video demonstration below👇 (Note: You may choose to do this massage clothed, in which case no massage oil is needed. When massaging directly on the skin, a body-safe massage oil is highly recommended. The videos have no audio.)

This is designed to clear out the stagnant energy in your breast and heart space and aid with lymphatic drainage. As you massage your breasts, imagine the energetic exfoliation process, releasing old stories, old hurts, beliefs that you have outgrown. Send them on their way with love.

Letting go has never felt so good.

Step 4: Switch directions, up on the outside and down on the inside.

Friendly reminder: If you have breast cancer, or had a recent surgery, consider doing this step energetically instead. Hover your hand a few inches above your breast and do the massage motion in the air so you can reap the same benefits.

This is designed to infuse your breasts with new, fresh loving energy. The direction of this massage will amplify your energy. As you massage your breasts, imagine new fresh energy coming through your hands and into your breast and heart space.

You may choose to envision a color that represents this loving energy. It could be emerald green, like the heart chakra, or a light pink like rose quartz — this crystal’s profile is self-love. So you may envision light pink energy flowing from your hands into your breasts and heart space, filling you up with love.

Step 5: Shake it out.

With both hands on your breasts, give them a little shake to help facilitate the release of stagnant energy and allow the new energy to keep a steady flow.

Step 6: Integrate in stillness.

Give your body a chance to integrate what you just experienced. You may choose to hold yourself lovingly.

Touch base with your body. What was that like for you? How do you feel? See if you can notice what you’re experiencing without judgment. What sensations are you experiencing now?

Repeat as often as you would like.

For best results, I recommend doing this massage regularly. It’s one of my favorite things to do before bed.

This is a longer post, so we recommend reading it on the app or browser so you don’t miss any juicy goodness!

Ritual 2: Somatic Journaling Practice

Licensed stock photo of woman writing on staircase

Preparation for Somatic Journaling:

In preparation, hold one or both hands over the area where you most feel your heartbeat against your hand.
- For me, this is just underneath my breasts.
Take some slower, longer breaths in and out and notice if this changes the experience of your heartbeat.
In just a moment, I’ll prompt you to close down your eyes and continue this intentional deep breathing.
By expanding your rib cage with your breath, you’re offering more space to your heart too. Bring your mind’s eye to your heart.

How does it feel to offer more space around your heart?

Close down your eyes now and practice this hands-on breathing, offering space to your heart, listening to the ‘language’ of your heart.

Journal prompts

I recommend writing through the prompts one at a time before moving then moving onto the next.

What’s alive in your heart right now?

What is the beauty that aches to take up more space in your life?

What feels vulnerable about expressing your beauty this way?

What beauty can you not bear to leave unexpressed?

When this feels complete, your practice is complete. Feel free to take a few moments to ground feel your feet on the ground before returning to the hustle and bustle of life.

How was it for you?

We would love to hear your experience with this practice, if you feel called to share how it was for you.

When is Part 3 of Woman, Uncorrupted?

In four weeks, Sarina and I will be sharing the last practice in the series.

To receive it straight to your inbox (or to get notified in the app if you have smart notifications on, make sure you’re subscribed to Fully Expressed and Sex & Style.

Behind the Scenes of this collaboration:

Fun fact – Sarina and I met on Substack and have never actually met in person, yet there’s a deep resonance and sense of sisterhood between us.

Across vast oceans and a timezone difference of 16 hours, Sarina and I shared WhatsApp messages for several months, sparking and developing ideas for how to bring something special to our readers to help you connect with the magic and wealth of their bodies, just as we both do regularly.

Recommended reading from Sarina’s work:

FEEL AS GOOD AS YOU LOOK
lOOK AS GOOD AS YOU FEEL

THE BLOG

Woman, Uncorrupted Part 2: Heart Awakening, a Somatic Journey

You’re in for a treat with a double header of rituals: a Taoist Breast Massage with Sarah and Somatic Journaling Practice with Sarina.