Western culture tells us to “keep it together,” yet from years of holding space for women, I know that many of us are craving connection, kindness, and a place to be truly seen.
While self-help books, and mindfulness apps can be powerful tools, there’s something deeply healing about being in a circle with other women. It could be because the origin of women’s circles date back 1000 of years, a place of community tending and healing.
This ancient tradition continues to meet a very modern need, offering space for authenticity, release, and deep connection in a world that often asks us to hold back.
At a recent Dance Temple – Women’s Circle that I held, a woman stated how free she felt to be herself and let the masks that she had to wear at work fall. Dance Temple is a place where she could expand into herself and how good it felt to be completely authentically herself. After 13 years of hosting women’s dance circles I can without a doubt say that women’s circles can be a profound form of emotional medicine.
Let’s explore why they matter now more than ever.
The Science of Emotional Safety
The nervous system is always scanning for cues of safety or danger. This process, known as neuroception, happens below our conscious awareness and influences everything from our mood to our digestion.
When we enter a women’s circle a space that is intentionally held we begin to shift out of survival mode. Eye contact, soft tones of voice, empathetic facial expressions, synchronized breath, and mirrored movement are all signals to the brain and body that it’s safe to let down our guard. This kind of co-regulation is essential for healing. It allows the parasympathetic nervous system to activate, which supports rest, repair, and emotional processing.
The Healing Power of Being Witnessed
There is something deeply transformative about being witnessed in your truth. When we share our stories and emotions in a circle, we are not asking others to solve our pain. We are inviting them to see us. And being seen in this way is healing in and of itself.
In therapeutic terms, this act of being witnessed with compassion helps to reorganize and change our internal narrative. For many women, this is a radical shift from the shame and invisibility that we can carry and reminds us that we are not too much and we are not alone in our life experiences.
Non-Judgmental Support Rewires Trauma
Trauma thrives in isolation. It’s often reinforced by silence, secrecy, and the feeling of being “othered.” But when we are met with non-judgmental presence. Being in community helps to rewrite old beliefs that say we must carry everything alone, be endlessly strong, or earn our worth through perfection.
In circle, you are enough as you are.
Come join us in the Dance Temple.
A weekly sacred space for women to move, be witnessed, and remember their wholeness together.
📍Every Tuesday 7-9pm Starting Aug 12th (yonge & st.clair), Toronto.
💌 Email lizatlizdiaz.ca to reserve your spot and for full details.