Yoni Steaming brought me to my power. Not on its own perhaps but it was certainly a very important step on the path for me. There is a lot to say about Yoni Steaming, here I will describe how I stumbled upon it.

I was introduced to the practice when I was learning about priestess work in Glastonbury with the incredible Katinka Soetens who teaches through the lens of the Welsh/Celtic Goddess Rhiannon, she taught me that I was sacred and that alongside this comes radical self responsibility and deep pleasure. I would highly recommend connecting with her. For me the journey was strong as I came to the priestess training just as my marriage was ending, I was struggling deeply to find my way forward having spent a lifetime following others and believing that my life was to help others - what I mean by this is to facilitate their dreams and desires without ever considering what my own dreams and desires might be. One of the first lessons I learnt in this training was that I was not really there, I was not really present as myself, my voice was quiet and muted, my outlook towards everyone else and I had no connection with my own desires whatsoever. The only thing I knew was that I was in pain, deep pain and I wanted not to be. I had spent my life thus far escaping my own experiences by leaping into the experiences of others, my husband and children primarily. I believed that this was how I could be safe, how I could be a good girl, how I could keep everyone else happy. Resentment inevitably built up inside me. When the rage finally broke so did my marriage and I found myself in Glastonbury for the first time, away from my children for the first time and in a circle of 18 women for the first time. It was terrifying I felt very unsafe, my trust in other women was about zero… I was desperate, I needed answers and help plus the river and the pendulum had told me go to Rhiannon and so here I was. The story of this training is a long one and for another time. I will no doubt happily recount each of the journey’s I took in this beautiful journey that Katinka facilitates. But this piece is about Yoni Steaming.

One of the women in the circle spoke about Yoni Steaming to me briefly and matter of factly as though I would already know this practice, I did not and I was extremely curious, what was it? What did this mean? How could I do it? What herbs do I use? So many questions…

As part of my journey before the priestess training I was deeply connecting with the River Dart in Devon, this may sound mad - in fact possibly most of what I have written so far may sound mad! But the river herself had begun to call me, to communicate with me. I am sensitive to energy so I have had experiences with nature, particularly with trees. I am that classic tree hugger type. I spent long hours in my parents garden after the trees came down in the storm of 1987 building dens and living in, under and on the trees. I have such strong memories of these huge beautiful trees, how they felt and how I felt when I was with them. I have noticed that when I walk in nature it can offer me the opportunity to express my deepest feelings, or actually to just get in touch with them, at this time in my life I had little awareness of trauma processing, I was unaware that my near daily walks in the woods by the river were my body’s way to begin unlocking my soul.

One day walking with my little boy in a place I hadn’t found before I felt so drawn to the river that we found a place to swim, I was not this kind of person… I had never swum in the river regularly I had been to it, watched the kids swim and play in it, maybe paddled a bit, swam once or twice and it’s a thing here by the Dart to swim in her water daily but it had to be mega hot for me to even consider this. On this day, however, something was so clear in me that I had to get in the water right now. So I did. In my underwear (again this might seem like nothing to you but to me this was crazy behaviour, indeed anyone who knows me now would think this was normal Sam behaviour but back then…. I was really at the edge of who I thought I was… and I went home without underwear!) It was amazing, like nothing I can really express… cleansing and holding and nurturing and enlivening. I felt alive, truly in myself, I had done something that I wanted to do without getting consent from anyone else. For the first time in a long time I had done something I wanted because I wanted to without anyone else’s consent or for anyone else and openly (as in not in the kitchen guiltily eating expensive chocolate). I actually mildly inconvenienced my son! It was a big step. She (the river..) began to call to me a lot, I swam whenever I could, wading in at every opportunity no matter how cold it was and feeling so much connection and deep holding in this flowing body of water. I communicated with the river, I bought her small gifts of flowers, beautiful pieces of nature from the woods or I just offered her myself, my truth, my energy. I also offered her all my pain and asked her to bear witness to me, to heal me, to help me learn and heal myself. I picked up an energy practice in which you use your energy body to channel energy into the river or receive energy from the river as she flows. This was my daily practice and it helped me cope with my life experiences.

Back to Yoni Steaming… so when I reached the priestess journey with Katinka I was deep in this practice of worshipping the river and of taking solace in her or with her, the idea of working with water more deeply was very interesting to me. So I asked questions of the women, found out the basics and developed my at home practice which I now teach to other women and I blend herbs for their own steam practice. In a nut shell Yoni Steaming is the brewing of a large amount of herb tea and allowing the steam to flow over your vulva and labia, it travels inside the vagina a small way too depending on how you are sitting. It is a deeply nourishing practice which not only benefits your physical body but also creates an opportunity to slow down and connect with this part of your body. I believe the deeper we fall in love with our pussy/yoni/womb-space the deeper we know our own sacred nature and once I really knew I was sacred and felt sacred within this part of my body my life experience began to change fast. I was a single mum and was better able to be in that space with joy rather than the terror it previously presented me with, instead of spending all my spare brain power trying to work out how I could find another man I found deep pleasure in the freedom of choice I had.

By deepening my relationship to myself I was able to find being alone a pleasure, that I was a very fascinating book that I had been carrying around and had only just thought to read - I was 37 when I started this journey. Now at this point in my journey I am ready to share this piece of the puzzle with other women. My Yoni-Steam Guide is here and you can either book a consultation with me to discuss steaming, your needs and desires for the practice or simply order herbs from me here.