About the Practice
Welcome to the Temple of Divine Feminine Flow.
Lie down on some soft pillows with a bowl of small fruit pieces, and make sure you are comfortable. Allow a few soft sighs and let one hand rest on your belly. Relax into whatever is here for you in this moment. Imagine a warm, red field of energy surrounding your body, as if you were wrapped in a silk sarong. Let your hand float up from your belly and gently make its way up your chest, face and hair. Make a few soft sounds. Relax deeply and have a juicy piece of fruit.
Now, imagine a women’s gathering that is a mix of an Indian Temple ceremony with ecstatically dancing women fully surrendered in devotion, a Bedouin oasis in the desert with fresh figs, cooing doves and huge marble tubs where the women bath and scrub each other clean, a contemporary meditation/inquiry group with practices guiding us into the vastness of our true nature and an African grieving ritual where the painful parts of our lives are honored, danced and celebrated. Now you begin to get a taste of the kind of feminine space we rest into in the Women’s Temple groups.
In order to live and embody feminine brilliance, for real, we are creating a conscious women’s culture which can awaken and nourish us in the deepest sense. The Women’s Temple group is a way for us to remind each other of who we are, in an on going way
Instead of enforcing the status quo by focusing on our problems and personal shortcomings, the Women’s Temple group practices connects us with truth beyond our fears and limited self-images. From this deeper place we can navigate from Presence and inner guidance instead of exhaust ourselves in trying to be leaders from a tense, competitive and ego-centered state of mind.
The Women’s temple is not a therapy or a support group. It is a space were we come to mirror, celebrate and empower each other. A space were we can drop our masks, and let the beauty of our authentic face be seen in all its glory and pain, passion and vulnerability.
In our Women’s temple, we meet beyond the personal, and in this expanded meeting the collective feminine as well as the personal feminine is healed and celebrated.
All our practice is based upon being present in the body, so we spend a lot of time dancing and moving. We also support each other in softening our bodies by touching each other in respectful and nourishing ways. This part of the practice is most women’s favorite part.
Where is the Women’s Temple?
The Women’s Temple Group meets sometimes in the homes of the women and sometimes in rented rooms. Sometimes it is a closed group, sometimes it is open for all. Sometimes the group meets weekly, sometimes less often.
We honor and treat our temple as sacred. We enter it with reverence and with the intention to be as true as we can. All superficial chit- chatting we leave outside. In our temple we explore how it is to speak from a deeper place within, and most importantly, we explore how to communicate without speaking at all
A Conscious Women’s Network
In the Nevada City Temple group we have been practicing together for six years, and through this process a remarkable tapestry has been woven between us which embraces us through our lives inside and outside of temple. We have been there for each other, when one married her beloved, another got divorced, several published books, and others started businesses. We have witnessed new houses being built, and we were together as one sister died. We have experienced wailing and raging, and dancing and celebrating. Together.
Globally we are connecting through an active Face Book page, through the interaction on the blog, and through tele classes. We will also soon be opening a virtual practice community, The Women’s Ashram, a place for accountability and awakening practices.
A Conscious Women’s Culture
The relationship we have to other women reflects the relationship we have to our own feminine essence. We take a stand for a conscious way of being women together on this planet.
Together we can heal and transform the old ways of competition and gossiping, and return to a relationship of celebration and empowerment.
The guidelines below are the back bone of our global community and we ask all Awakening Women to read them and include them into our practice.
The Awakening Women Sisterhood Manifesto
- I commit to be honest and straight with you
- I commit to take responsibility for my self.
- I will ask for support when I need it.
- I will ask for alone time when I need it, and it means nothing personal to you
- I will not try to fix you
- I will listen to you
- I will keep what you share confidential and not gossip about it
- I will not speak negatively about you to others
- I will celebrate your unique beauty and gifts
- I will not hold my self back to fit in and I will support you in doing the same
How do I start my own group?
In the Temple Group Manual you will find plenty of guidelines that will support you in creating a thriving and fabulous Women’s Temple, but here are a few pointers:
- Start with a small group of women who preferably have some embodied experience with the practice. (When we started Nevada City Temple group we were two women!)
- Make it clear that it is a Temple (a wild, feminine, fun, deep, sacred temple…) and not therapy group.
- Decide on a simple structure, like opening/ending ritual and time frame, and keep to it firmly for the first period to create a culture of focus and respect. (You will find guidelines and lots of exercises to do together in the Temple Group Manual.)
- Do as little talking as possible, give yourself the wonderful gift of connecting deeper then you can do with words. When you talk do it within a practice structure.
Temple Manuals and Sisterhood Manifesto postcards are available for bulk purchase for your groups; please contact us for pricing (info@awakeningwomen.com).
In the last six years we have seen the start of Women’s Temple groups all over the world. Some are thriving and deepening year after year, nourishing remarkable spiritual awakening and real sisterhood among the women. Other groups detoriate and fade away. Here are some observations we have made that may be helpful to you:
What makes a Temple group thrive:
- A commitment to the Temple as a spiritual practice. The level of commitment from each woman guides the depth of the practice
- The woman initiating the group has an embodied experience of the practice. Her leadership grows out of her own practice.
- The leader(s) is holding the focus on the greater good, versus egocentric ambitions
- Everybody in the group have read the Temple manual and are clear of how the group is different than a regular “sharing/support” group
- The Women’s Temple is a priority and held as the most sacred gift.
- The real teacher is the circle itself, and the leaders job is to serve and facilitate for the wisdom of the circle to do the work. (For more information on feminine leadership join one of our Leadership trainings)
What makes a Temple group die:
- We stop doing our staying in the body- practice and instead trust the judgments of our mind.
- We dilute the leadership too early, and mix too many methods into the practice
- We allow for too much chatting
- We take the temple for granted and don’t hold the space sacred
Be Inspired:
Listen to a tele-class where Chameli speaks on The Art of Leading a Woman’s group (have patience with a minute of silence in the beginning of the class)
USA
Location: Nevada City, CA, USA
Contact:
Suzan - info@awakeningwomen.com
The first group in the network. We have been practicing together weekly for more than 6 years. We rotate who leads the group. It is a closed group and we initiate new women twice a year. Temple Mama is Chameli Ardagh, founder of Awakening Women.
Location: Berkeley, California, USA
Contact:
Heather Hannigan - hchannigan@gmail.com
ph: (510)725-5641
Heather is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator Training.
She is looking for help co-founding an East Bay group. For more details, please request to join the Facebook group community at:
Location: Chatsworth, California, USA
Contact:
Josephine Gross - josephine@networkingtimes.com
ph: (818) 727 2000 ext. 15
Josephine is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
This circle gathers on the full moon each month.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:
Arlia Hoffman - atlantawomenstemple@gmail.com
770-595-4994
Arlia is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator Training.
Location: Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, USA
Contact:
Emily Levang - emilylevang@gmail.com
This group meets on Tuesday evenings.
Emily is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator Training.
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Contact:
Aja Fenn - ajafenn@gmail.com
We meet in DC once a month on either Tuesdays or Thursdays from 7pm-9pm.
Aja is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator Training.
Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
Contact:
Cyndee Greene - Co-led with Karen Halverson
Meets on the 1st & 3rd Mondays ~ 6:30 to 8:30 p.m..
Contact Cyndee with any questions: 720.883.1942 or cyndee.greene@att.net
Cyndee Greene and Karen Halverson are graduates of the Women’s Group Facilitator Training.
Location: Sebastopol, California, USA
Contact:
Dominique Youkhehpaz - Dyoukhehpaz@gmail.com
We meet every other Wednesday 7-9 pm.
Dominic is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator Training.
Location: Oakland, California, USA
Contact:
Dominique Youkhehpaz - Dyoukhehpaz@gmail.com
We meet every Sunday 7-9 p.m.
Dominic is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator Training.
Sweden
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Contact:
Anna - gudinnorna@gmail.com
Location: Gotenborg, Sweden
Contact:
Carina-Maria - carinamaria@telia.com
Location: Gotenborg, Sweden
http://itbeginswithaseed@yahoo.se
Contact:
Rebecca - rebecca@gudinnan.se
Ph: 0046768764638
or 0046(0)704851385
Location: Gotenborg, Sweden
Contact:
Bibbie - bibbief@gmail.com
(0046) 0760452290
Bibbi is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Stjarnsund, Sweden
Contact:
Lisa -
Lisa is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Contact:
Maria - maria@stockholm-one.se
Maria and Candra are a graduates of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Contact:
Mariel Roxendal - mariel@openinglotus.se
Location: Orebro, Sweden
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=114130841942703&ref=ts
Contact:
Ronja - ronja.andersson@hotmail.com
+4673-7602882
Helen - helen_sujani@hotmail.com
+4670-6166448
We meet every second Monday 19:00-21:30
Location: Malmö, Sweden
http://www.peacefulparenting.eu
Contact:
Kristina Loven - info@peacefulparenting.eu
Kristina Lovén & Anna Håkansson
Kristina is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training. We meet every Wednesday 19:00 – 21:00.
Location: Stocksund, Sweden
Contact:
Madhu - prem.madhu@glocalnet.net
Madhu is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Germany
Location: Gauting (nähe München), Germany
Contact:
Yashodhara van Vilsteren - yashovan1@hotmail.com
tel: 089-89530781
Yashodra is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Berlin, Germany
Contact:
Christina Jung - christina-jung.com
tel: +49 (0)30 280 42 197
Christina is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: 73730 Esslingen, Germany
Contact:
Ursula Kauer - u.kauer@web.de
Tel: +49 (0)7153 - 54 04 84
Ursula is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Koln, Germany
Contact:
Petra Broicher - petrabroicher@netcologne.de
Petra is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Sun-Med-Institute in Bavaria,
Neumarkt-St.Veit, Germany
http://www.praxis-goettinger.de
Contact:
Phone: 08639 70 97 74
The leader is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Aachener, Germany
Contact:
Maria Geiser-Letzel - 0241-53106390
Helena Bishoff 0241 876659
Maria is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Mainz, Germany
Contact:
Verena - verena@ganzfrau.com
Verena is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Norway
Switzerland
Location: St.Gallen, Switzerland
Contact:
Ruth - ruthmonstein@yahoo.com
www.ruthmonstein.ch
Ruth is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: Regenbogenhaus, 3377 Walliswil b. W, Switzerland
Contact:
Katharina Casanovas - info@regenbogenhaus.ch
0041 32 631 29 70
Katharina is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Location: St.Gallen, Switzerland
Contact:
Franziska Schiltknecht - info@stimmenfeuer.ch
+ + 41 78 722 78 15
Austria
Location: Salzburg, Austria
Contact:
Rotraud Huck - reuber.plotz@gmx.at
Ulrike Parnreiter-Fingerl - u.parnreiter-fingerl@sbg.at
Rotraud is a graduate of the Women’s Group Facilitator training.
Netherlands
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Contact:
Marian van Noort - marian@helder.nu
Denmark
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Contact:
Camille - camillealsted@gmail.com
Heart Women meets once a month and is open for all women.
Thailand
Australia
Location: Wentworth Falls, New South Wales (2 hours from Sydney), Australia
Please contact Mariana for the next Temple day .
Finland
Location: Pargas, Finland
http://embracingcircle.wordpress.com/ http://levandekvinnor.wordpress.com
Contact:
Alessandra Sarelin - allundst@abo.fi
See our webpage for information about the annual summer retreat.








