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Woman, you are wild. As certain as the moon will wax and wane, you were born to be untameably unique. Why is it then, that we hotshot, busy and productive modern women, seem to have forgotten our roots? Can getting back to nature through solo hiking return us to a state of capable calmness and feminine strength?
Consider this simple truth: returning to our roots is crucial for us to progress. Reconnecting with the natural world that was once humanity’s guiding light is required now more than ever. Embracing nature, and our own natural rhythms has never been harder, or more needed.
I am here to show you that reconnecting with Mother Earth on a deeper level is easy, if you know how. Solo hiking gives us the time and space needed to clear our minds and clarify our thoughts. If you’ve never considered going it alone in the wild before, then hear me out: you’ll thank me later.
Solo Hiking and Why You Need It
Embracing a hectic, modern and global lifestyle brings with it all the magic and pleasures of a highly-productive, well-connected civilisation. Herein lies part of the problem. Excessive connection leads to a constant attitude of feeling as though you must be constantly achieving. That if you are not consistently being productive and achieving a tangible output, then your existence counts for nil.
Solo hiking is an rising movement. It’s becoming trendy. It’s not the realm of “crazy” older women it was once thought to be. I think those “crazy” ladies were really on to something. As we move towards becoming holistically healthy, in mind, body and spirit, we are returning to our roots. Connecting with nature is not a luxury, but a necessity in order for us, and the planet, to thrive. By coming into contact with the cycles of nature, we can recognise and embrace our own feminine cycles.
With solo hiking, you achieve without having to prove anything. You learn about nature, about yourself and about just how insignificant your current problems will be when you’re gone. Its puts everything back into perspective and reminds you of your innate strength.
Hiking by yourself allows for your mind to calm, your senses to open and for you to appreciate the beauty in the little things. You will discover a calmness and clarity that I, for one, am hard-pressed to find elsewhere.
Does the thought of heading off into the countryside fill you with trepidation, perhaps fear? Well read on and discover why taking the step to go it alone is actually the first step towards a brighter future for you…
Masculine Vs Feminine Energy
Constantly being in this mindset of constant productivity is counterproductive: let me tell you why. It all comes down to energy.
There is much to be learnt from the polarities of men and women. Polarity is needed in our worlds to create anything worth having. From our romantic relationships, to our work and play personas, a healthy balance of opposing energies makes for a productive, healthy and most importantly, happy life.
Allow me to explain…
The natural state of being for those with a masculine energy, is to achieve. To drive forwards and attack. It can be found at the deepest and purest levels of biology – testosterone is a powerful force.
This is not a bad thing, not by any means. We all need this energy in our lives. However, an opposing force is needed in order to achieve balance. Being in our feminine energy, where we are slower, more intuitive and able to find peace in simply being, is a lost art in this masculine world. Women are not any less powerful, not by any means, by naturally finding peace in the present. Measuring our strength alongside the qualities of masculine strength means we are unaware of where our true power lies.
Being in our feminine energy is to be at peace with ourselves and our femininity. Femininity as a concept encompasses everything that makes us women. And guess what? That’s a wide sphere, and one that can be loosely defined as whatever you do. Since you are a woman, surely that means that everything you are, and everything you do, is feminine? That’s surely up for debate in some circles, but accepting your femininity, however that looks, is the first step to accepting yourself fully. Allowing yourself space to process, accept and move past blockages through solo hiking is a crucial part of this journey.
The qualities that many would condemn – being a “crazy”, emotional, physically weak woman – is all a matter of simple perspective. When viewed in a different light, that “crazy” woman starts to make a lot of sense.
The way our minds and bodies work does not make us weak. It simply makes us different.
Me? I’m a contradiction. I’m not a weak woman, I’m naturally strong, physically. My current job involves heavy manual labour. My stamina is something I’m proud of, and I strength train regularly. I love make-up and getting dressed up to go to nice places. I’m equally thrilled to be covered in mud, soaked to the skin, amid a howling gale atop a mountain peak. And I’ll happily carry the heavy pack too.
We all have masculine and feminine energy within us. You can view this from a biological perspective, a spiritual perspective, or however you want to spin it. You’ll see the truth of what I say from where you stand. This is what makes us all different. We each have our own mix of energies, hormones, needs and desires.
As women, we have the ability to change ourselves often, to embrace our cyclical natures that so mimic the world around us. We have strength where others may see weakness. It’s up to our own perspectives and how we view ourselves that counts. A simple change in perspective is all it takes to achieve great things. The least of which, but most important, is the radical act of loving yourself, unconditionally.
We are different to men, and how society has evolved to be (24/7, fast-paced work). Taking time to come into your own, however many times this takes, is crucial to remain healthy, steadfast and true to yourself. Remember to find yourself amongst the noise. Slow down and embrace yourself, especially when it’s loud and busy.
How? Look to your cycles…
Embracing Your Cycles – The 4 Archetypes of Women
We all know an enlightened woman when we see her. She glows from the inside out; her radiance and innate sensuality speak to us. Some will be envious of her – she will bring to the fore all we despise about our current selves, we will sink deeper into our pit of self-loathing and despair. How does she do it?
Some will be inspired by her – we will see in her all that we can be and all that we should be. We find in her the feminine qualities that we recognise in ourselves, or wish to have. How can I be that, we ask ourselves?
She is a mirror for us, highlighting our state of mind. It is hard to see in someone what we wish for ourselves. The key is how we react to these thoughts – does she call you to rise, or do you decide it’s all too much work for you?
The difficulty in the work ahead, should you decide to rise, is knowing where to start. Embracing your unique femininity sometimes seems counterintuitive to everything you have learnt.
For me, everything changed when I came across the concept of feminine cycles. Yes, I know I have a monthly cycle, and yes I am aware my moods can change rapidly and inexplicably during this time. I discovered however, that it’s not all that unexplainable…
Jungian Cycles – Understanding Your Cycles
I’ve only just begun my own work into archetypes, or spirits. It’s been so helpful in allowing me to ease into my moods as a woman, and allow myself to hold space for them instead of fearing them or trying to hide them.
Carl Jung first propagated this notion of the archetypes women go through in their cycles, and I received this information through The Moon School site:
- The Maiden/Virgin – Waxing Moon
- The Mother Goddess – Full Moon
- Enchantress/Wild Woman – After Full Moon
- The Crone/Wise Woman – Waning Moon
If the moon can affect the tides of the planet so much, is it any wonder that it can affect us? Made up as we are of 60% water. Beginning your work in understanding your own cycle, and how it relates to the moon and season cycles, may seem intimidating, but it does not need to be. Go at your own pace and find out what you wish to. You don’t have to know everything, even the smallest amount of knowledge is powerful.
I will briefly introduce you to these phases of our cycle, which will be more prevalent in those who embrace their natural cycles. Should you wish to find out more, I will leave that up to you and your own interests. You will find there are many more archetypes, according Jung, but these 4 I consider the base personas:
The Maiden/Virgin – Coinciding with the waxing moon phase, this spirit of being we embody during our pre-ovulation phase (just after our bleeding has finished). Qualities expressed in this phase include purity, strength, independence and an uncorrupted nature. She coincides with the season of Spring. (Virgin in this instance returns to its ancient roots of meaning an independent and autonomous woman answering to nobody – oh how word meanings can be changed to suit a narrative!)
The Mother Goddess – Rising during ovulation, the corresponding cycle of the moon is after the maiden phase, at the full moon. The mother is a glowing embodiment of the goddess, alive with sensual abundance and fertility. Creative and generous, she is compassionate and receptive. She can be found embracing the summer season.
Enchantress/Wild Woman – After the full moon, and after ovulation this spirit emerges. Coming as she does, just before the menstrual cycle begins, many women find this stage of their cycle painful, and one to dread. The Wild Woman brings out our darker, more destructive shadow self. It is this part of ourselves that we must learn to love, to accept ourselves as a whole woman. Autumn best suits the wild woman.
Crone/Wise Woman – During the waning crescent, when you are bleeding in your own personal moon cycle, the wise woman emerges. Probably the least loved of all the archetypes, the crone embodies aging, loss of fertility and a decrease in external beauty and activity. However, she also stands for wisdom, the deep knowing that connects all women. She stands in winter, awaiting the return of spring, and the maiden.
As women, our cyclical state of being, and ever-changing moods is not something to be condemned. We, if no-one else, must celebrate the diversity of our being and rejoice in the gifts we have been given. If we have been tasked with embracing our cycles, it is because we are strong enough.
I bring this knowledge to you, because understanding my body in a different way – far from all the sterile, scientific and logical thinking of the age – has helped me to embrace myself better. Sometimes “logical” thought doesn’t serve as well as ancient knowledge and teachings. I find that there are deeper truths to be considered and having an emotional connection to my cycle has improved so much for me, including how I deal with the pain of ovulation.
As I was discovering all these works and teachings, I was taking a solo trip to the Wye Valley, allowing me to reconnect with nature and my true calling of photography and filming. Allowing myself the space and time alone to let these thoughts take shape in my head was a crucial part of my journey.
Make no mistake, real life certainly gets in the way, but knowing what I do now, I will always make time for myself to re-visit and re-ground myself. We are all on a journey, and this is mine. I hope there is something here that speaks to you.
The Concept of Rewilding Through Solo Hiking
Rewilding yourself back to your feminine roots is a revolutionary act. You understand yourself better, which will lead naturally on to all the good things that you yearn to embrace: self-confidence, clarity, inner peace and strength. Changing the narrative of your inner world will change your outer world immeasurably for the better.
Rewilding is a newer buzzword that has really come into its own this past year. Championed by none other than David Attenborough, this concept essentially means to return to a natural state. In nature, we save the planet by returning tracts of land to their original state of being, providing natural habitats for struggling creatures. For us, rewilding means returning yourself to your natural state of being, something you may not remember, providing the grounding for you to bring out and act on your full potential.
Rewilding yourself is a crucial, personal work. By this, I mean distilling all the commonly used language – ‘finding/creating/discovering’ yourself – into a simple truth: who are you? Who are you really? Before the world got in and muddled it all up? What did you like to do as a child? What were you good at?
Of course, like the land being rewilded, we cannot return to our original state of being, nor should we want to, knowing all that we do now. When we silence all the noise – as only an extended time alone in nature can instil – where do you want to go? What do you want to be doing? How do you wish to be living?
Solo hiking works wonders in this capacity, because it is only through being alone that the answers come to us. There is no timescale for self-revelation, some of us will have more to untangle in our minds. Hiking gives our bodies something repetitive to do, so our minds are free to wander amongst untold possibilities.
Hiking solo is also a challenge, giving you new things to learn, such as navigation and identifying trees varieties. It is simple and complex all in one, the perfect activity in which we can rediscover ourselves. It is my preferred form of meditation, with the added benefit of helping me move my body. A holistic healing ritual, with so much possibility for you.
5 Solo Hiking Immersion Rituals
Giving yourself a purpose is sometimes needed to help you take that first step outside the door. When I started my own solo hiking journey in 2019, it’s because I was training for the Welsh 3 Peaks. I discovered how liberating walking by myself really was. While it can definitely feel a little odd to be by yourself, especially when you realise nearly everyone else is coupled or grouped up, or with kids or dogs, that discomfort will soon wane when you realise how great it is to have time to yourself.
Here are some simple immersive rituals to help you open up and pay attention. Easing yourself into being in the present, wholly and unapologetically, takes practice!
- Collecting materials – whether for an altar, art, or simply to have in your home, giving yourself a small and specific focus will help calm your nerves. I love to collect feathers, and in autumn, gorgeous leaves to make art with.
- Photography – give yourself a specific object to photograph, such as trees or flowers, or simply document your walk
- Find inspiration – allow your mind to wander, taking everything in. Are you inspired to write? Draw? Paint?
- Adorn Yourself – the sacred and ancient art of feminine decoration or adornment has deep roots in our past. Create art out of yourself and practice being present as yourself – wholly and unapologetically. This could be putting on lipstick or your favourite jewellery for a walk – I do this and it feels fabulous to dress up for no one but yourself!
- Go and sit for 5, 10, 15+ minutes at a certain spot – one that calls to you, that you find beautiful or peaceful. In this hectic modern life, taking even 5 minutes to slow down and notice the beauty of Mother Earth can instil calmness, clear your mind and allow you to pay attention to and reconnect with both nature and yourself.
I would advise against going out to dwell on a specific issue or problem – by allowing your mind to wander, you will likely come up with some creative solutions or inspiration. Don’t be disappointed if nothing comes of it, it can take practice to let go and surrender. In any case, you’ll feel calmer and more grounded upon your return from the wilderness, with a sense of achievement. Alongside this, you will have honoured your body by moving it, a healthy habit worth continuing.
Inspiration and Further Exploration
For further reading and to discover the sources of my inspiration, please take the time to explore below. Pay attention to which avenue speaks to you and begin there. The road to enlightenment is never easy, but starting is the most important thing you can do.
Websites / Social Media
Elena Rossi of The Yoni Empire – Female Libido Coach
Melissa at The Pleasure Studio – Sex Educator
Iris Josephina of Cycle Seeds – Holistic Womb Health
The Moon School (.org) – Work with Cycles
Books
Women Who Run With Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Own Your Power
Owning your power and having the confidence to stand in it is life changing. I hope my article has got you thinking about who you are and where you wish to be, outside of all modern expectations of productivity and achievement. It will be a lifelong journey, but one that I hope you will slowly but surely embrace. Your journey, like your femininity, is unique to you…
Who are you as a person, and what do you like about yourself? What qualities do you have, and which do you wish to cultivate? How do you connect to yourself and others? How do you want to? What do you want?
These are big questions that will take time to answer. I hope you give yourself the gift of space and time to discover the answers for yourself. Solo hiking is your first step to freedom.
Pay attention to your yourselves, tribe. The world will thank you for it.
Remember, if nothing else, that you are a goddess. Act like it. 💋
I hope I leave you inspired my wild women!
Until next time,
Jenni
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