One aspect of my work which has come to the fore recently is resolving ancestral trauma through the mother line to enable clients to heal in the present.
As women, we hold energetic imprints of the difficulties and challenges that encompass us within our wombs and our womb spaces.
(Men have an energetic centre in the pelvis known as the hara, as their equivalent.)
The womb, for the greater part of our lives, is an empty space inside of us. What better place to deposit and push down everything that doesn’t serve us, everything we wish to forget, and all the unpleasant and traumatic experiences we are unable to digest and process at the time they happened?
Genetic codes passed down through our DNA can influence whether we ‘react’ in the moment to any given situation based on past experience, or are able to ‘respond’ from a place of empowerment. It is possible to clear some of these negative and unhelpful patterns at the source and break the destructive cycle that can keep us caught in a never-ending spiral of inertia.
The strong ancestral connection that women have is passed down the mother line, from one womb to the next. This means that it is possible to clear some of the past trauma held by earlier generations that now influences those living in the present day.
As the wounds are acknowledged and the wombs begin to heal, further layers of trauma become available to access. More waves may rise to the surface. These energetic blockages can then be connected with, transmuted and any residue encouraged to dissipate.
The more we are able to release from the collective inter-generational wombs, the less influence there is to be carried down through the line that can then affect us in the present. As each layer of trauma is resolved, the less we carry as a collective. It then becomes easier to transmute whatever remains.
We are all nervous systems in containers shaped in our own images.
When we remain in a state of overwhelm for too long, or something too drastic for us to cope with happens, our container can overflow. We can spill out into the next generation via the womb. For example, if our ancestors lived through times of struggle, terror or depletion, there would be constant fear, anxiety and a lack of safety. This could be passed down through their wombs to the next generation.
Along with ancestral trauma, at any point back through the generations, there could be energetic imprints from past relationships, unprocessed stress, wounding, emotional trauma, blockages and a sense of disconnection.
Working with six generations back to the great-great-great-great-grandmother, covering seven generations in total, tends to be optimal for us to heal the ancestors’ wombs and facilitate access to health and balance. From here, it is possible to clear any residual trauma or energetic imprints. We can cut unhelpful cords and ties between the generations and rebalance the womb spaces down the line to the present day. This way, we can shift the focus away from carrying inherited burdens. We can move towards embracing the positive aspects of our lineage with improved wellbeing and clarity, while healing past relationships through our mother line.
The Seven Generations principle is an indigenous philosophy, notably from the Iroquois/Haudenosaunee in North America.
It is mirrored by many other indigenous cultures worldwide. It teaches that our choices today affect not only the present but also the lineage that comes after us. The philosophy recognises that trauma can be passed down 7-14 generations. Therefore, individuals can break cycles of harm to heal both their ancestors and future generations.
Epigenetics and the Seven Generations principle connect through scientific evidence that environmental exposures in one generation can alter gene expression in descendants for multiple generations, often without altering the DNA sequence. Studies by the Natural Resources Defence Council in the US show that these epigenetic tags can pass down for generations, echoing ancestral experiences of trauma, famine, or environmental toxicity, providing a molecular basis for indigenous seven-generation thinking.
Working with ancestral trauma through the womb has the potential to open us up to new possibilities.
The burdens of traumatic energetic imprints from past generations are transmuted and released. We may sense an unfamiliar lightness or softening. We may experience more joy, freedom and optimism as old patterns dissolve and we begin to reclaim our power.
The important thing to remember is that when we have done the work, it ends with us. We can draw a line in the sand and create a new beginning. The work is not only for us, but for all those who come after us. Our ancestral womb healing is a threshold offering new possibilities for future generations to step into.
The testimonials below illustrate the depth of healing this work can offer.
Client A:
“Working with Sarah is always a lovely experience. I have had a number of challenging health issues and ongoing fatigue, brain fog and exhaustion over the past few years that we have been trying to get to the bottom of. She always meets me with kindness, understanding, and, as times often require, a shared humour. I leave the sessions feeling lighter, more balanced and more me. However, something has been consistently pulling me back that we’ve never been able to put our finger on, until now. I have often described it like someone hitting the reset button on my progress, or even a subconscious fear of healing. So I end up back where I started and deeply frustrated.
Sarah suggested working with womb healing and ancestral lineage. This could access long-held negative energy that could be blocking my growth, creating or adding to my ill-health and generally holding me back in patterns that I just wouldn’t be able to see in normal conditions or therapy techniques, mostly because they weren’t mine originally. I was open to the suggestion and intrigued by the possibilities, which have far outweighed my initial expectations.
The process itself is relaxing and restful, often with crystals held or nearby to assist the energy release and a candle burning.
My first session definitely took me by surprise. There was a lot more twitching and movement in my limbs than I normally experience with energy work – especially as Sarah was working ‘hands free’! I can usually sense or feel the energy moving or things shifting internally, as I’m quite sensitive. But the twitching was new, and something I thought was reserved for performative social media videos. It was not uncomfortable in any way. I just found it an interesting new step in the journey, and one that indicated we were on to something. Like the energy had finally been rumbled and was trying its best not to be released!
As usual, I felt dramatically lighter and more ‘put together’ on leaving the session. But unlike my past experiences, this sensation remained. I had a follow-up a fortnight later, to see if anything lingered or further energy could be discovered. While there was a shadow of the original darkness, it was a lot easier for Sarah to work her magic.
She had found the issue lay in my maternal lineage. This resonated with my understanding of my family history and, on a biological level, because Mitochondrial DNA is passed down only through the maternal line. So it would fully correspond with my energy levels, or lack thereof. Sarah found issues going back through my grandmother and great-grandmother. Both had tumultuous experiences growing up and living within an occupied city during WW2. Sarah also traced a significant amount of energy back to my three-times-great-grandmother. While her history and life story are unknown to me, Sarah was able to clear this with the help of the candle flame and release what was held there.
It has now been a month since the initial healing. To say the darkness has been lifted is an understatement, and one I’m not sure either of us was quite expecting.
Obviously, as a woman, my physicality ebbs and flows with my cycle. I am still facing challenges with my energy levels and fatigue. A body that has been unable to do most normal things for almost a decade has a reduction in capacity that is going to take some rebuilding as my energy increases. But even on the days I’m struggling, there is more joy and lightness in my day-to-day. It’s like there is a hope and optimism that I wasn’t able to access before.
Previously, the dark days would be exactly that, dark, despairing and at times scary. I felt like I had no way out, no light at the end of the tunnel and no clue how to claw my way back. That pain has lightened. I have been able to access a gentleness towards my condition and current situation, one that leaves space to breathe, for the possibility of recovery and thoughts of future planning that just felt so utterly out of reach before.
The one-step-forward, two-steps-back pattern feels like it has been broken. Even if I only take baby steps forward from this point, they are still going in the right direction without the chain at my back limiting my progress or dragging me back into the depths on repeat.
While the main focus of our work was obviously on my health issues, a secondary bonus from this modality has been seeing the effects reflected in my mother.
We have a very strong and loving relationship, but her confidence had been severely depleted in recent years, both through personal circumstances and since the pandemic. While my world got smaller due to the fatigue etc., and her love and care was gratefully received, lockdown and it’s aftermath left us both as cosy hermits and without much to draw either of us back out.
The past month has seen this shift with my Mum as well as me, with talk of travel, renewing her creativity and returning to playing music, all of which had been very much sidelined due to a melancholy we didn’t realise had taken hold and weren’t able to release.
I am excited to see how the healing continues to evolve in the coming weeks. I am hopeful this is the key to regaining my strength fully and unlocking the remaining elements of my returning health.”
Client B:
“My session with Sarah was fascinating and very powerful. From the physical sensations that changed for me with each generation she worked on, to the awareness that something deeper than the physical had also changed.
After the session, I felt lighter. My pelvic area felt more relaxed, and I found myself walking in a different rhythm. I have also started identifying patterns of response I have followed in life that felt inevitable and out of my control. Much of my life had felt weighted down by responses I made that felt instinctive, but don’t anymore. Responses to challenging situations and life in general now feel more natural and alive.
I believe I am now living my life shaped by my actual lived experiences rather than ancestral experiences. I know that the feelings of completion, liberation and resolution from that session will stay with me for a long time.
Sarah is such a gifted therapist that my body feels safe working deeply with, which is a major achievement in itself.”
Ancestral womb work is sacred, by definition.
We are connecting with the emotions and energies of the past generations of our mother line. Therefore, the very nature of the work involves our felt-sense, inasmuch as the energetic imprint of something from our past has been embodied in our nervous system in the present. During the sessions, we name any sensations and emotions that come up to the surface. We allow them to move through, as they were never ours to hold.
Both Somatic Experiencing® and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy are, by definition, trauma-attuned modalities. Used together, either online or in person, they can facilitate the resolution of embodied trauma in a very profound but gentle way, honouring the unique wishes and needs of each client.
If you think you could benefit from working with me, please get in touch. Email sarah@ytenehealing.co.uk or call me on 07747 111040.
Please remember to contact your medical practitioner in the first instance if you have any concerns regarding your health.
