samhain honoring the feminine fire
Samhain a time of Descent and Reclamation
“A Samhain reflection on Regulation, Rage, and Remembering”
There was a time when I thought healing meant staying calm. Soft voice, slow breath, quiteness and stillness. But the truth is real healing is not only found in stillness. It is found in movement, dance, tremors and in a ROAR!
For me healing began with my journey into Polyvagal and Trauma-informed yoga… and became something much deeper - a remembering.
This time of year has also hit a chord with me - Samhain, the descent and turning inward - when the old identity falls away and emotions are high.
We must remember to honor the feminine fire that will lead us on this path.
Throughout history women have learnt to fear their power and this death, rebirth, life cycle. We associated it with chaos, danger or a loss of control.
But what we are forgetting is that healthy sympathetic system activation allows us to fully step into our power in a grounded heart centred way.
Goddess Pose - Kali Power of death, destruction, transformation and rebirth
The Polyvagal Theory teaches us that this energy when connected to ventral vagal can be a great source of energising, expressive, creativity. Healthy activation is when your fire moves through you - not burns you out!!!
This has not always been the case for me and I had to learn the hard way as I bounced from Dorsal Shutdown to Sympathetic Burnout for a number of years.
Until eventually after my yoga teacher training and further studies into the nervous system and trauma field I was able to start regulating my nervous system.
The biggest lesson I have learned is:
ALL HEALING happens in safety
And the first step is reintroducing choice and safety into the body - a body first approach to healing.
Vental Vagal - Feeling safe and connected
Through my studies, I came to understand that the tremors and shaking I experienced - and sometimes feared - were actually a positive thing. My body was completing old cycles releasing stories and emotions I had suppressed years ago.
Once I began to understand my body’s language, everything changed. The shaking wasn’t a breakdown - it was a breakthrough.
That realisation allowed me to cultivate a deep well of self compassion and empathy - both for myself and for others. The body truly does keep the score.
Along this path I have met some incredible women who have inspired and supported me. At Festival Mná (I am now a Brand Ambassador) I met the wonderful Nikki from Spiritual But Badass (what a name right?).
Nikki showcasing Tribal Twerk at Festival Mná
This was my first introduction to Tribal Twerk, - and honestly, it didn’t take much convincing. I’ve always loved dance, music, and a bit of 90’s rap and hip hop for good measure!
Not long after, I trained in Tribal Twerk with Nikki who has since become a very special friend. This dance has awakended a new joy, sensuality and connection to feminine empowerment within me. It is, truly, my dance medicine.
Tribal Twerk at the Cocktail Climate Club, Climare Carnival Ballintubbert House, Laois
Using this sacred, intuitive dance - which originated in South Africa with the Mapouka tribe. - we awaken the sacral chakra the centre of our creativity, sensuality and power.
Through healthy sympathetic energy, we free what has been held - energy that is passionate, expressive, and fierce, yet still connected to the safety of the heart.
Through rhythm, pulse, bass and twerking, I met parts of myself I had long buried - the wild, untamed woman who knows how to move energy, not suppress it.
Most recently I had the honour of sharing this practice close to my hometown in Ballintubbert House, Laois at the Cocktail Climate Clubs, Climare Carnival.
It was a full-circle moment - a homecoming of heart, movement, and purpose.
And so, this is how my newest offering was born -
Reclamation.
A fusion of Polyvagal Inspired Yoga and Tribal Twerk, blending the grouding of nervous system regulation with the expressive fire of embodied dance.
A Samhain offering for women ready to remember who they are.
Regulation + Expression = Reclamation
This isn’t about chaos or perfection - it’s about choice.
“Reclamation is where the sacred meets the primal. Where your body becomes both temple and drum”
Samhain energy is coming and it reminds us that death is not an ending but a returning - to truth, to feminine, to power.
Join me for a Samhain Experience like no other
Reclamation is my offering for this season - a sacred space to explore the full expression of your nervous system through, yoga, movement, and dance.
To feel safe in your fire.
To hold both stillness and storm.
To remember the woman beneath the conditioning.
It’s time to reclaim your rhythm, your roar, your sovereignty.
Join me this Samahin - and let’s rise from the roots.
With warmth & gratitude
Muriel xxx
