00:00:08 Shreya: What if the burnout so many women carry is not just too much to do, but a quiet grief of being cut off from rhythm, from season, from body, from earth. And what if your body hasn't been failing you? It's been calling you back to something older, wiser, and more honest than the pace you have been asked to keep.

00:00:29 Shreya: Welcome to the Wellness Reimagined, where we get curious about healing that feels real rooted and actually livable. I'm your host, Shreya. And tonight I'm joined by Sharon and Rose, a ceremonial author and shamanic priestess who has been spent over twenty five years guiding women through life's most profound transformation. Our topic is the vital connection between the female body and the earth, and what it might mean to return to that connection in a world that's constantly pulling us out of ourselves. If you have felt tired in a way sleep doesn't fix or successful, but oddly disconnected, this conversation is for you. Welcome, Sharon. I'm honored to have you on my show.

00:01:19 Sharon Ann Rose: Thank you Shreya, it's great to be here with you. I'm looking forward to our conversation.

00:01:25 Shreya: Thank you so much. And Sharon, before we go into like teaching or practices, what's the moment you in your own life when you felt the earth meet you? Not as an idea but as a real relationship.

00:01:39 Speaker 3: Mhm.

00:01:41 Sharon Ann Rose: Yeah. So I was born into that. It was something that she my connection to the earth, and I'll often refer to her as a she pronoun. Um, because that's how I have experienced her. Uh, she really called me from a very young age, and it was out of my own sanity. You know, I was a very, very sensitive young child. What child isn't? We come into the world so open and porous and sensitive to everyone and everything around us. And I was quickly becoming overwhelmed and and not receiving, you know, emotional support to learn how to regulate that. But I intuitively could feel the call of the earth like, come to me. And so from a very young age, I would go off, um, across from my home as a child, there was this really sweet. It's a hill now, but back then it felt like a mountain and a forest. Um, but it was a really sweet hill with a lot of trees, and I would just wander over there from from again super young age like we're talking two. And I would just sit there, I would sit with the trees, I would feel them. I would hear them in ways that I still to this day, have a hard time describing, because it doesn't actually want to fit into the the framework of our rationalized mind. Um, and then I would, would feel, you know, animals and beings seen and unseen and it it was so clear to me even then that this was a life saving gift and truly a lifeline for, for me. And it has been for the rest of my life.

00:03:25 Shreya: That's really amazing. Uh, like that, that Lance and I love, uh, that you are naming it as a relationship, not as concept. And that's that's really very beautiful.

00:03:38 Speaker 3: Um.

00:03:39 Shreya: And I think what is one big misconception you think we carry about the female body, especially in modern wellness cultures?

00:03:50 Sharon Ann Rose: Yeah. So I feel there's a lot of misconceptions, and mostly that we think we can have concepts about the female body. And often in the wellness culture, it really has come from a male dominated, you know, health and medical realm. And so one that's not going to work because the male and female body are very different. And we can even open that up. We've got non-binary, you know, bodies, we have transgender bodies. And and we can't have those who are not that proclaim they know the concept of it. So there's that to begin with. And then secondly, what I have discovered in my own journey for myself and in working really intimately with women and the female body, is that it asks again and again that we not come at her with prior constructs and that we really slow down and and ask that particular female body, like, how does it feel to be in this body? And certainly there's themes and other things that can be held as one walks with a woman in her own understanding of her female body. And it's really important to treat each one uniquely, with reverence, uh, willingness to listen. A lot of open space for personal discovery and, um, embodiment of your own body.

00:05:24 Shreya: Yes. and also also like, uh, when like when, uh, when a woman has lived years treating her body like a project, what tends to happen inside her nervous system, her decisions, her sense of self? Else.

00:05:41 Sharon Ann Rose: Yeah. Yeah. That's a powerful to to say project. Yeah. As if if we're a project. Like something to be worked on. To be fixed, to have an end result, to have some, some outcome that we can share, you know, and maybe even be research based, you know. So right there. Yeah, I mean, even just saying that you can feel the weight of that and the expectation and not that that's, you know, projects are beautiful. So it can also be a really vibrant, beautiful project. And it will require that woman to come to her female body with the more, um, curious, creative, gentle approach for the project, if that's how she wants to treat it. And even as you were just saying that, you know, also the female body is is literally hardwired to be aware of the collective body, All female bodies. I don't know any any female being body that isn't constantly feeling, sensing and moving through her own form, the collective experience or whatever other person she's with like she feels what's going on. And so that also needs to be addressed, that the female body has been hardwired to be a universal body. And so there is a bit of a pivot for this project where she learns, okay, I also need to honor that, that I'm hard wired that way. And I'm going to actually literally need to treat this as a healing project where I come to understand my own individuated, sovereign, you know, body that has boundaries and it begins and ends and it doesn't just melt into everything. So that really is actually our project. And it can be like the biggest, most monumental project and a woman's life to reclaim that.

00:07:41 Shreya: Yeah. So it's not just a bad habits. It's. It's a whole way of relating where where the body becomes something to manage instead of something to listen to. And I think that sets the stage for how we relate to art too, as a source as as and not as relationship. when women feel disconnected from the earth it can sound abstract but it shows up in very practical ways. So what do you see as the deeper root of that disconnection.

00:08:17 Sharon Ann Rose: Yeah. So it does show up in very clear and and very practical ways on each of our systems. So on our emotional system, on our mental system, on our physical system, on our relational system. And the biggest one being on our self-identity. And so when a woman feels disconnected because in all honesty, she can't be disconnected from the earth, like the earth is forever thrumming under her feet and through her womb and through her blood and beating in her heart. And that really can be absolutely clobbered out of her in the sense of she just doesn't see it anymore. She doesn't feel it anymore. She doesn't know how to value it in herself anymore, and she doesn't know how to turn towards it with, um, the level of power that it actually contains for her. She's forgotten how to value that. And so, you know, some of the things that happen are on on the nervous system as you spoke about, where it just becomes completely dysregulated, it becomes very anxious or running really high, like on massive amounts of cortisol, on anxiety and stress, on that constant need to be looking over her shoulder and and trying to get ten steps ahead of herself and feeling this immense responsibility to keep herself safe, her body safe, and everyone and everything around her safe. It also can really do a number on her mental well-being, causing her to doubt and distrust herself, and also her connection to the greater universe and nature's wisdom and the Earth's capacity to help balance and restore her. It can really take a toll on her relationships, where she suddenly doubts and distrusts people who love her dearly. But she can't, you know, see clearly what's going on and is quite fearful of taking in, um, help and support from anybody, you know. So again, and then spiritually, of course, um, and that's, you know, in her, her psyche and her spirit just she is no longer receiving the replenishment from all these things. We just spoke about the physical, the mental, emotional spirit and beyond. She's not even able then to take in the resource that is available to her, to truly nourish and regulate her whole system in being.

00:10:48 Shreya: Yes. And can we go one layer deeper? Like, how do shame and, uh, be palatable conditioning, uh, interrupt the natural instincts of the body like rest, boundaries, even pleasure.

00:11:04 Sharon Ann Rose: Yeah, yeah. And so when you feel shame, you know. And I'm glad you're bringing that in. It literally cuts you off. Again, going back to what you're you're speaking about from being nourished, from feeling pleasure, from actually feeling like your body deserves to receive care and love and adoration and, you know, cherishing and support. And so that shame literally is almost like a stranglehold where it comes in again, energetically, but then it gets passed over into literal symptoms where it's strangling out that which wants to come towards you and really rebuild, you know, really rebuild your whole nervous system and body and being to be in a constant relationship with, um, new vitality and new receptors being, you know, being receptive to literally taking in nourishment and well-being. So shame will literally it's like it cuts you off at the knees and it's as if you're literally then no longer connected, you know, to the earth for your own grounding and wellbeing and your roots.

00:12:23 Shreya: Yes. Like what I'm hearing is disconnection is not accidental. It's learned. And if it's learned, it can be unlearned, like gently over time without forcing a new perfect version of ourselves. And if someone is listening and is thinking, I want this, but I don't know how to begin. What is a simple, grounded first step to rebuild a relationship with body and with Earth?

00:12:53 Sharon Ann Rose: Yeah, I think in your beautiful statement, you just shared this gorgeous first step and and that is that it can be unlearned. And so giving us that gift, giving ourselves the compassion to know whatever we have learned, whatever has been taught to us, we can make gentle, consistent, rhythmic choices in the direction of a more vital connection with our grounding. And you know, the earth, it just provides us with literal information into our body and being that helps to reset us on a new trajectory, on a new course. And, you know, there's so much information and research now with grounding and earthing and all these, these things. But the reality is that actually, even more so than just standing on the earth, going back to how we began this conversation, it's being willing to begin your own intimate relationship with the earth, which means having gentle conversations. You know, if you're walking down the street and you see a bird, or you see a tree Opening your heart up. If you feel drawn to to just kind of receive the the information and message and blessing that that's giving you, and then also be starting to give it back and be in a reciprocal relationship. And that as with any relationship in the world, it takes time, it takes care, and it's so worth it and it's so deeply grounding.

00:14:36 Shreya: Yes, I love that because it doesn't demand a new lifestyle. It's more like a doorway, a tiny daily proof that you still belong to yourself and to something bigger than your calendar. And like, uh, sometimes when women start reconnecting, then guilt hits like this is indulgent, or I should be doing something productive. But you say to that voice.

00:15:02 Speaker 3: Mm.

00:15:04 Sharon Ann Rose: I love that. Yeah, exactly. It's like, how dare you go sit down and have tea with a tree. Like how? Who could. Who has time for that? And that's the humor I think needs to come in. Because when I say this, I say this with deep compassion and absolute sincerity. If female bodies don't take time to connect with the earth, they're literally going to die. And yes, we're all going to die. But there's a different kind of death that happens. It's as if the aging becomes faster. It's as if all the symptoms and the stressors heighten and amplify, like that kind of death where you might still continue living, but you have an internal death that is so, you know, so depleting. And so that relationship we cultivate with the earth and with nature and nature's wisdom and intelligence, which comes in many forms, it doesn't just come through the trees, etc. it comes through the moon and the sun and the plants and the animals and things that we might not even think are real and we can't see. But it comes through that more innocent willingness to say, I am going to prioritize this, because this actually helps to sustain me and really bring back that vitality and that pleasure which the whole world needs. And without women in states of pleasure, we really have no example of the new beautiful world. That's possible when we are enlivened and in connection, you know, deep, deep connection to that which is growing and and beautiful and in harmony.

00:16:53 Shreya: Yes, I think that balance really matters because we are not trying to escape life. We are trying to inhabit it. Reconnection, I think, should make you more truthful, more resourced, more grounded, and not more performative.

00:17:09 Sharon Ann Rose: Yeah, yeah. So beautifully stated. Yeah it does. It actually makes us more human, which we need. We don't need more people. Like elevated on on the mountain top, though. There's nothing wrong with that. We actually need people and women like, there's nothing like a woman who feels at home in her own skin and who feels delighted by life because she literally is then emanating what's possible for all of us. And, you know, a woman in her. When I say in her right mind, I just mean like a woman in her beautiful coherence inside. And her grounding just gives so richly with so much love and also ferocity. You know, she knows how to to set people straight, which is needed. We need women who are going to be able to talk the the hard talk and also the loving talk in these times now.

00:18:08 Shreya: Yeah. And also like for the women who listening and who feels like she has lost herself, like maybe she's numb, she's carrying silent grief. What is one sentence you would want her to hear from the earth right now?

00:18:25 Speaker 3: Hmm mm.

00:18:29 Sharon Ann Rose: Ah. The sentence that came forward from the earth was. Honey, I've got you, I've got you. Lay it down, I've got you. And I think that energy of just understanding that. Yeah, something has our back. Something literally is underneath our feet. Something is here to embrace us and our hardest time. And it's very physical. It's not just spiritual. It's not just something we can find when we sit and meditate. It's what we find when we're walking down the street, it's like she's there, under our feet, holding our hand, walking us in our day to day trials and, um, beauties.

00:19:13 Speaker 3: Yes.

00:19:15 Shreya: That's that's like a hand on the heart kind of moment. Thank you for sharing this. And if there is one core truth from today's conversation is that the female body is not meant to be conquered, it's meant to be listened to, and the art helps us remember how. And this is truly, truly an amazing conversation with you again. And if after this, my listeners want to connect with you and want to know more about you and your work, then what's the best way?

00:19:44 Sharon Ann Rose: Yes, you can find me on different social media channels and YouTube, etc. at Sharon and Rose and my website is is by the same name, Sharon and Rose comm. And you can also get my latest newly released book called faces of the mother, which really goes into depth with with exactly what we just spoke, spoken about and the implications of being in connection to the rhythms and seasons of the earth and nature's wisdom.

00:20:18 Shreya: Yes. And I will make sure to attach all these details and links below, so that the listeners can find them easily and get in touch with you and know more from you and from my listeners. As I close this episode, I want to offer a tiny invitation. Nothing dramatic. Before you go back to your day or your night. Put a hand on your body, your heart, your belly anywhere and ask, what season and am I in? No fixing, no rushing, just listening. Because wellness is not a performance. It's a relationship. One breath, one honest moment at a time. And this is the Wellness Reimagined. I'm your host, and we'll meet you again right here next time. Until then, do not forget to hit the follow button. Subscribe and feel free to share your thoughts because your ears deserve premium content. Thank you.