Motherhood as Initiation
Understanding the Passage You Are Living Through
free Class•OCTOBER 13TH
You were told that after six weeks you would feel like yourself again, and perhaps you have been waiting for that moment to arrive, quietly wondering why the woman you were seems so far away.
The truth that our grandmothers' grandmothers knew, and that modern research is only now beginning to name, is that becoming a mother is not a recovery but a passage. It is called matrescence, and it unfolds over two to three years, reshaping your body, your identity, your relationships and the way you move through the world.
In many traditional cultures this passage was held as a rite, with women gathered around the new mother to guide her through it. Today most of us walk it alone, without a map, and so we mistake the natural seasons of becoming for signs that something has gone wrong.
This free class is an invitation to see your experience differently, held within a map I have created from my work with mothers and from my own passage into motherhood.
A gathering to understand the passage you are living through, to see it held within the ancient rhythm of the seasons, and to remember that what feels like losing yourself may be the beginning of something you have always carried within you.
What We’ll Explore During This Class
Why the passage into motherhood takes years and not weeks, and why feeling lost, tender or unrecognisable to yourself is part of becoming rather than a sign of failure
In this class I will open the door to Seasons of Chrysalis, the map at the heart of my work, which I use to guide mothers through the passage of matrescence.
A first glimpse of the four seasons of the map, from the harvest of birth to the fullness of the mother who emerges, so you can begin to sense where you stand today.
What happens inside the chrysalis, and what it can teach us about the parts of ourselves that seem to dissolve after birth.
A short reflective practice to help you name the season you are living, in your own words.
An introduction to the Mother Circle, the six-week circle I will open on November 11.
Who Is This For?
This class is for you if you are a Mother in the first years after birth and you sense that something within you has shifted in ways no one prepared you for.
It is for you if you love your child deeply and still find yourself grieving the woman you were, if you no longer know quite who you are becoming, or if you long to be among women who understand without needing everything explained.
It is also for you if your children are older and you feel a part of your own passage was never witnessed, because it is never too late to return to these seasons and see them with gentler eyes.
Hi, I’m Cris
I am a postpartum specialist, a yoga and Pilates teacher and a certified health coach, and I accompany pregnant and postpartum mothers through their passage, drawing on ancestral wisdom, feminine spirituality and the intelligence of the body.
My work grew from my own passage into motherhood. While our culture offered me very little, my partner opened the door to the Asian postpartum tradition, cooking for me, caring for me and sharing the wisdom that would later become the foundation of everything I teach.
Today I hold mothers through my postpartum program, Chrysalis, my mentorship, The Sanctuary, and Seasons of Chrysalis is the map I have created so that no mother has to cross this threshold without one.
This free class is a first glimpse into what I’m teaching. For those who long to continue, the Mother Circle opens on Wednesday, November 11, six weeks of gathering together to explore the seasons of becoming a mother, to share our experiences and to be witnessed in them.
In the circle there is space to share your own story and to hear the stories of other Mothers, which is often where the deepest healing happens, in the simple experience of being witnessed by women who recognise what you are living.
Everyone who joins the free class will receive a special price for the Mother Circle.
Q&A
WILL I HAVE TO SPEAK OR SHARE?
Not at all. You are welcome to keep your camera off and simply listen, and there will be gentle moments to share for those who wish to.
I’M NOT SURE WHAT SEASON AM I IN. DOES THIS MATTER?
Not at all. Many mothers feel they stand between seasons or move through several at once, and the reflective practice during the class will help you begin to recognise where you are, in your own words.
CAN MY BABY BE WITH ME?
Babies in arms are always welcome, and so are the pauses, sounds and feeds that come with them.
WHAT IF I CANNOT JOIN LIVE?
Everyone who registers will receive the recording afterwards.
MY KIDS ARE NO LONGER SMALL. IS THIS STILL FOR ME?
Yes. Many mothers find that understanding the seasons of matrescence, even years later, brings peace to memories that were never fully held.
DO I NEED TO JOIN THE MOTHER CIRCLE AFTERWARDS?
No. The class stands on its own as a gift, and the invitation to the Mother Circle is simply there for those who feel called to continue.
Motherhood is a spiral that keeps unfolding, and wherever you stand in it today, you are not lost but in the midst of becoming.