The art of RECEIVING: Re.membering our feminine essence

In a world that glorifies doing, achieving, and producing, the act of receiving can feel foreign, even indulgent. Yet, receiving is not just a gift—it’s a physiologic and spiritual necessity, deeply woven into our human design. At The Feminine Re.Membering, my years of mothering, working with women and coming up against my own blocks around receiving, have taught me that receiving is an act of re-membering our body’s magic. For women especially, it’s a reclaiming of our innate capacity to thrive, but one we often resist in a productivity-driven world. In this post, I will explore what it means to receive, why it’s vital, and how women are uniquely designed for this sacred art.

What Does It Mean to Receive?

To receive is to open—to love, support, nourishment, rest, and connection—without the need to earn or reciprocate immediately. It’s the softness of accepting a warm meal prepared by a loved one, the surrender to a gentle massage, or the trust in the (sometimes tumultuous!) flow of life. Receiving is not passive; it’s an active, courageous choice to pause, breathe, and allow life’s abundance to flow in. For women, receiving aligns with our cyclical nature, mirroring the ebb and flow of our menstrual cycles, pregnancy, or postpartum seasons. It’s a practice of presence, rooted in the parasympathetic nervous system, where healing, integration, and vitality flourish.

Why Is Receiving Important?

Receiving is essential because it restores balance in a world that overemphasises output. It regulates our nervous system, reducing cortisol and fostering resilience, which is critical for fertility, postpartum recovery, and lifelong health. When we receive, we replenish our energy, allowing us to give from a place of fullness rather than depletion. For mothers, receiving during the sacred 40 days postpartum—through rest, nourishing foods, or bodywork—co-regulates their newborn’s nervous system, fostering secure attachment. By receiving, women anchor their families’ vitality, creating a ripple effect of thriving health.

Receiving also reclaims our connection to the feminine essence, which is inherently receptive. In somatic practices like yoga or dancing, we receive the wisdom of our bodies, listening to their cyclical rhythms. This act of surrender dissolves shame or guilt tied to “not doing enough,” empowering us to live in alignment with our physiology. Ultimately, receiving is an act of rebellion against a culture that demands constant productivity, inviting us to honour our worth simply by being.

The Differences Between Men and Women

While both men and women benefit from receiving, women are uniquely designed for it, rooted in our biology and energetics. Women’s bodies, governed by cyclical hormonal shifts (menstruation, pregnancy, menopause), thrive in states of receptivity—openness to rest, nourishment, and connection. Our nervous systems are wired for co-regulation, particularly in motherhood, where receiving support directly shapes a newborn’s development. In traditional cultures, women were held in the 40 days postpartum receiving communal care to restore vitality. This design reflects the feminine archetype of the vessel—receiving life, love, and energy to nurture and create.

Men, while also capable of receiving, are often socialised toward action and provision, with less cultural emphasis on cyclical rest. Their physiology, less tied to hormonal ebbs and flows, may not demand the same depth of receptivity. However, men too benefit from receiving—through touch, rest, or emotional support—especially in fatherhood, where co-regulation supports family bonding. The key difference lies in societal conditioning: men are rarely shamed for resting, while women face pressure to “do it all,” making receiving a radical act of reclamation for us.

Women’s Design to Receive in a Productivity-Driven World

Women are biologically and spiritually designed to receive, yet our productivity-driven world makes this challenging. From an early age, we’re taught to prioritise output—careers, caregiving, perfection—over rest or self-nourishment. This cultural narrative disconnects us from our receptive nature, leaving us depleted, anxious, or disconnected from our bodies. In my Somatic Sessions, I see women struggle to pause, conditioned to feel unworthy of receiving unless they’ve “earned” it.

This resistance is not our fault—it’s a product of a society that undervalues the feminine. Productivity metrics don’t measure the quiet power of receiving the healing, warm rays of the midday sun, or the profound regulation that comes when we speak from our hearts with a loving girlfriend. Yet, these acts restore our nervous system, balance hormones, and enhance fertility, preparing us for motherhood, menopause or CREATION. To receive is to trust our body’s wisdom, defying the hustle to reclaim our cyclical essence. When women receive, we thrive, and so do our families and communities.