Whether you’re looking to strengthen your existing feminine energy or exploring this aspect of yourself for the first time (hello, it’s me), there are numerous ways to tap into the feminine. Especially when we focus on habits and activities that cultivate a sense of intuition and connection, our feminine energy tends to thrive.
So, what is feminine energy?
To start, when we are talking about feminine energy, and masculine energy, we are not just talking about stereotypical what it means to be a man or a woman what it means to be a boy or girl. Both men and women have feminine energy, just like both men and women have masculine energy. But if you are female, you typically operate a little bit more in your feminine energy. If you’re male, you typically operate more in your masculine energy.
Healthy relationships with yourself, and with others, are about a balance between the two of these things.
Feminine energy is all about nurture, fluidity, and creativity. Feminine energy is about faith, empathy, imagination, community, and inspiration. Your feminine side gets expressed when you move with the flow of life, embrace your creative energy, listen to your intuition, play, and embrace your childlike wonder. Feminine energy is powerful creation and communication.
Your masculine side tends to show up when you’re working toward a goal, making progress, getting things done, and pushing forward. It’s relating with others through problem solving, individuality and relying on yourself.
Masculine energy tends to lean to structure and feminine energy tends to lean towards flow.
For people (of all genders), both feminine energy and masculine energy are necessary to embody in order to feel like a complete and whole person.
Balancing Masculine and Feminine Energy
In our culture, masculine energy—since it’s often about progress, hitting all the goals, and moving forward—tends to be “valued” more than feminine energy. Personally, I’ve experienced this–it creates a feeling of being off-balance, both individually and culturally. I found myself putting in massive hours at work in the pursuit of the “grind” and found myself burnt out and depleted. I was doing all this work to get ahead, to hustle, and to succeed and don’t get me wrong–I was hitting goals. I was succeeding at work and getting published in magazines, but I didn’t feel like I was doing it as a person who was balancing both of her energies.
Overvaluing masculinity also leads us to put priorities on our devices–like our phones, ipads, and laptops–and spend less time in nature, with our friends & family, or being artistic. This imbalance can also lead to a focus on competition over collaboration, control over connection, and individualism over community.
This overly masculine and under-feminine leaves many of us searching for something else—that missing piece of the puzzle, something something that rejuvenates us, something that feels wild, something resourceful, and something spontaneous.
That something is feminine energy.
6 ways to tap into your feminine energy:
Practice self reflection
We rush around with jam packed schedules and rarely take time to listen to what’s going on inside of us. If we’re always on the go, always searching for a reaction from someone on social media, always answering emails/texts, and never taking a beat to listen to our inner knowing…..we lose touch with our deeper selves.
This is easily fixed. All you have to do carve out some intentional time to reconnect to who you are. An excellent way to do this is to journal. Journaling is a great way to explore your thoughts and feelings, you’re essentially diving into your deeper, internal, feminine side.
Pro tip: Start small. Write for 5 minutes a day. I started by bullet journaling because the thought of writing out clear, cognizant, streams of thought overwhelmed me.
Go into nature
I’ve read that places can be characterized as either masculine or feminine, depending on their overarching characteristics. The feminine is life force energy. Places like the forest, jungle, parks, and the ocean are naturally (see what I did there) abundant with feminine energy. Make time to visit there when you’re feeling out of sync and in need of revitalization.
Harness your creativity
Feminine energy is THE creative force. We aren’t just talking about creating life here though. Creation can occur in many ways—artistic expression, writing, dance, painting, pottery, sewing, or dreaming up new ideas. Envision what you want to create. Anything that expresses your flow is considered feminine. Tap back into a creative hobby that brought you joy as a kid. Did you love to color? Awesome, grab some coloring books from Hobby Lobby and get your Crayola on. Flower arranging? Organizing and labeling things? Cross Stitch? Create without any pressure to monetize (another way we lose our feminine energy)!
Hone your emotional expression
While the masculine energy is defined by logic, the feminine counterpart is expressed through emotions. We all have emotional selves, but many either haven’t been taught how to understand our feelings or don’t have the tools to manage them.
I can’t say enough about therapy to help you do this. Working with a therapist to navigate how to not only name your emotions but understand how to manage all of them is so helpful. I understand that not everyone has access or the means to do therapy so you can also grab some books to help you exercise you feminine emotional expression.
Recommended: One of my Fav Books
Value rest, spontaneity, curiosity, and play
Let’s be honest: We don’t prioritize rest, vacation, connection, curiosity, self-care, or downtime, as much as we should! We’re typically overworked, stressed out to the max, and therefore don’t often take notice of the joys of life.
Let go of the pressure to always be doing something or achieving more, and give yourself permission to slow down, do nothing, and just be. By allowing yourself to slow down and press pause, you can restore emotional equilibrium (hello, feminine energy!), lower stress, and enhance decision-making and other cognitive functions. Wrapping your head around R&R is one thing, but putting it into practice is another. For starters, determine what relaxes you, then commit to it. Is that reading a book? Taking an art class? Taking a nap? Going to watch a movie? Do that. And, remember, rest is not a luxury that you have to earn; it’s a necessity. Recharging will only make more room to channel your feminine energy.
Force yourself to transform
When I first said feminine energy, I bet a lot of you thought of it as being quiet and rejuvenating, but I think that’s only half the story. Feminine energy is bold too—it’s the force of transformation.
If things in your life are no longer working for you, it is feminine energy that surges to make a change. This can be dramatic–cutting ties with toxic people, setting a boundary, changing jobs, or even cutting your hair! Destruction comes before creation; we must say usher out the old in order to welcome in the new.
While this process of transformation can feel unruly and scary at times, it is necessary. After all, we’re evolving all the time. That’s the goal remember?
Without the powerful movement of feminine energy, equal parts soothing and unnerving, we would remain stagnant.
Remember, change is beautiful.
The takeaway
Feminine energy is an essential and valuable part of our human experience. We harness it to create a more compassionate and inclusive world as well as to take better care of our emotional and spiritual health. Personally speaking, in my never ending quest for evolution, when I allowed myself to recognize the strength in slowing down, started fostering meaningful connections more, and dreamed up big creative projects, I finally started feeling a sense of wholeness I had been missing.
It‘s been a beautiful journey of softening and, if you feel the slightest bit of curiosity, I can only encourage you to explore your feminine side.
Love and light,
Jaime
