Amber Pearson’s “All Cycles”

All Cycles (Copyright 2012, Amber Pearson. All Rights Reserved.)

As discussed in a previous post, a strong connection to the moon’s cycles–be it actual or symbolic–may help the pregnant woman as she approaches her labor.  As the fifth largest satellite know to our solar system, the moon’s graviational pull greatly influences the earth’s tidal system.  Thus, it seems likely that the moon could also influence or regulate systems of the human body. Regardless of whether there’s actually a lunar effect on birth, however, a symbolic or mythical connection to the moon may help the pregnant woman in her own visualization of birth. We see the shape of the moon changing throughout the month as it waxes and wanes in the sky.  Similarly, the female body transforms in a cyclical manner each month.  Tapping into these cyclical activities, both of the human body and of the material world, encourage the pregnant woman to view the physiological changes that take place in her body during labor as connected to a natural order of things.  Removing fear of the sensations that take place in the body during labor and birth helps the female body to relax, allowing labor to progress; and a strong connection to nature during labor helps to remove that fear. 

In creating her artwork, Amber Pearson explains that she is expecially inspired through aspects of yoga and breathing, as well as by what mother earth has offered her.  She is specifically interested in the cycles of breathing and of the breath–the ways in which the inhalations and exhalations of every circulation act on the human body.  Eastern practices such as those related to Daoism also encourage a focus on breath in cultivating the body’s physiological activity.  See here to access a Daoist representation used in the visualization of birth.  

Amber Pearson is also a yoga teacher and aspiring doula.  To contact her or to view more of her artwork, you may also reach her through email at: Amberloopearson[at]yahoo.com.