sex museum and ventured inside. I found a flyer advertising a vagina workshop. I
changed my plan to explore the museum, and instead walked to the place where the
vagina workshop was being held.
The setting was warm and sensual, with floor-to-ceiling mirrors, low lighting,
cubicles, a candle in each section, and sensual music playing in the background.
A beautiful, ivory-skinned woman welcomed me into the workshop and had an
amazing accent that led to an air of mystery. She walked me to the place that would
become “my section” for the duration of the session. The workshop was filled with
women of all ethnic backgrounds and the anticipation that was mirrored in their
faces matched my own.
As I settled on the floor against the pillow, an inner voice said, “Girl, what are you
doing? Get the hell out of here”. I shifted from that comfortable spot on the floor
and was ready to make a hasty exit just as the woman’s voice instructed, “Turn to the
mirrors.” Instead of making a beeline for the door, I complied. She asked us to raise
our dresses, remove the underwear and take a look at our vaginas. Then we were
asked to open our lips and allow the music to move us into a sensual energy. Our
work was to develop a relationship with our vaginas. She wanted us to “send love to
our sacred space.”
After that sensual exploration, we had to write letters of forgiveness to our sacred
space. The letters were to send forgiving energy to the vagina for allowing people in
our space who did not deserve to be there. This also led to writing about molestations
and rapes that we had experienced. Soon, the ladies were crying and the room was
heavy with the weight of so much that had transpired in our lives. The tears that
flowed came from the memories of the pain of being touched in inappropriate ways.
The body, as well as the cells, remember every hurt, every abuse, every source that
inspires it. The vagina will hold on to the fire of that pain no matter how momentary
the act. The effects are monumental. The vagina remembers the pain of the people
who have abused us.
When this exercise was over, we lit a bundle of sage (a Native American cleansing
ritual using a natural herb) the facilitator had given us, and then we “saged” (allowed
the smoke to drift in a specific direction) our sacred place while speaking “releasing”
affirmations at the same time. The vibe of liberation swept away the previous
heaviness that had permeated the room. Then we moved on to an equally powerful
experience. We were encouraged to write love letters to the vagina.