The metaphoric connections
between flowering and women are
many and varied... In Sanskrit, the  
root language of humanity, the word
for "flowering" and Menstruation is
the same word.  In Sanskrit a
menstruating woman is called a
'Pushpavati', 'A woman in Flower'.
The Latin root of 'Menstruation
Flow' is 'Strewing of the Moon'.

The Flow of each Month is itself a
form and metaphor for a woman' s
special creativity. Thus a woman's
biological and other kinds of
creativity are symbolized by
flowering.
The Yogic attitude towards the body
in dance is that it is neither a
temptation nor a snare.  The body
beautiful is a temple and dance is a
medium of invoking the divine within.
It is regarded as the abode of the
divine, where the divine descends in
the body.

In India, dance reflects a state of being
at the highest order of spiritual
discipline (sadhana) and is hence
considered a Yoga.  It is the medium
which evokes the supreme state of
bliss (ananda) and also the vehicle of
release (moksha).

Dance is also an act of creation. As a
devotion, brings about a new situation
and summons into the dancer a new
and higher personality.
In the Indian Kamshastra text (The
Art of Lovemaking) there are four
categories of women, the most
beautiful and accomplished among
them being the Padmini or the Lotus
Lady.

As daily Yoga/sacred dance
practitioners know, a very real
radiance comes to the face, and grace
& strength come to the posture
through daily practice.
For advanced practitioners, Lotus
Pose (Padmasana) is the perfect
self-healing posture, for devoted
beginners, Half-Lotus Pose (done on
each side) is a wonderful posture of
Blooming.  Half-Lotus, Lotus Pose,
Pidgeon/Dove Pose, and Camel Pose
are asanas that realign the ovaries,
heal adhesions, and nurture optimal
fertility health.
This very rare antique painting
depicts the Lovers as a Lotus Couple.

A wonderful image for the work of
modern Conscious Partnership, both
partners are committed to full
development, thus bringing to healing
their individual childhood & cultural
wounds while also supporting each
other's healing and mutual joy.   
The multi-dimensional nature of the
mother-child intimacy is also borne out by
the fact that the pleasure afforded during
the actual act of nursing works both ways.
While it has an exalting effect on a child, it
is significant that many women also state
generally that suckling is the most delicious
physical feeling they have ever experienced.

It is not difficult to see why this normal
association of a rapturous emotion with
suckling should have come about. It is
essential for the preservation of the lives of
young mammals that the mothers should
have an adequate motive in pleasurable
sensation for enduring the troubles of
suckling.  This is another instance where the
functional creativity of nature can be
perceived as joyous, comforting, and
gratifying, all at the same time.

"Even before man cooked his food, he
sucked at the breast".
There are two significant motifs
adorning the image of Ganga, the
River Goddess of India. The first is
the full pot she holds in her hands.
This is a symbol of the sustaining
Womb, holding within itself the force
of life, carrying within women the
vital and throbbing life essence.
The overflowing pot is the grace of
nature in abundance.  In Indian
aesthetics, wherever the pot appears,
it conveys the idea of abundant life
and fertility, which nourishes and
sustains the universe.

And in the pot, a Lotus.
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