For Women
Integral Practices for Women: Movement, Meditation, and Creativity

camille-radiance-2011
Camille Maurine is a world authority on women’s creativity and self-care. She is the author of Meditation Secrets for Women: Discovering Your Passion, Pleasure, and Inner Peace, and the book/CD ensemble, Meditation 24/7: Practices to Enlighten Every Moment of the Day, both written with her husband, Dr. Lorin Roche. Camille’s innovative energy-based movement, meditation, and expressive practices have touched and inspired thousands of men and women around the globe.

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Camille is passionate about women’s spiritual empowerment and embodiment. Her global online Course based on the book, Meditation Secrets for Women, is now in its seventh yearlong journey with women around the world. Read more here.

She has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs, and her work has been featured in Self, Shape, Yoga Journal, Body and Soul, Healing Lifestyles and Spas, Fit Magazine, Spa Magazine, Crescent Magazine,

MSW Cover
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Elle, and others. Camille gives talks, performances, and seminars for groups such as The Inside Edge, C.G. Jung Institutes, and international conferences on psychology, art, somatics, and spirituality. She has been honored as the “meditation expert” for The Kali Guide: A Directory of Resources for Women, Exploring Womanhood, and The Open Grove.

A dancer trained in the performing and healing arts, Camille is the creator of kinAesthetics and Moving Theater, a transformative performance process. Based in Los Angeles, she and her co-author and husband Dr. Lorin Roche give workshops and retreats in meditation, movement, and expression worldwide. Camille is the President of Syzygy Creations, Inc.


Offerings For Women
Screen Shot Camille Maurine Q&A



ENLIVEN YOUR FULL, WILD RADIANT SELF! EMBODIED MEDITATION FOR WOMEN – 7-WEEK WEBINAR SERIES WITH AUTHOR CAMILLE MAURINE. With The Shift Network - September thru October 2018. View my Q&A video and read more about this transformative approach, go here now.


“Late Night Musing” – From the book, Meditation Secrets for Women. Though written some time ago, this is even more apt today! Read the excerpt.

Read
CALLING ALL WOMEN: A Letter to Women Around the World from Camille.



Interviews with Camille Maurine:

Camille on Life and Love Camille Maurine interviewed by Trevor Oswalt, Ten Laws and East Forest – November 2018. Listen for free here

Bio-Creativity”Interview with Camille Maurine by Teri Carter. September 2016. Listen here.

"Spark Fire" Camille Maurine Interview on Passing 4 Normal. Author Sharon Weil interviewed me and astrologer Rachel Lang in conjunction with Sharon's new fabulous book, ChangeAbility. Listen here. See below for my prior podcast with Sharon.

Divine Feminine Yoga Telesummit 2015: Birthing Ourselves into Light Camille Maurine’s Interview "The Mystery of Darkness" broadcast Wednesday, February 18th, 2015 – Hear 25 of the world’s leading experts in women’s healing and empowerment as they share their personal stories of turning challenges into opportunities to shine. Listen to my interview hosted by Laura Cornell.

“Passion, Pleasure, Inner Peace: 3 Keys to Living and Loving Fully” – Passion Starter Telesummit, October 2014 – Camille Maurine’s Interview and empowering talks with numerous women luminaries such as Arielle Ford and Sue Morter, hosted by Mary Shackelford. Listen in now
Embodiment Secrets for Women”August 7, 2014 – Camille Maurine interviewed on “Passing for Normal” with Sharon Weil. Log in to Blog Talk Radio to listen. You can also download archives of past shows to hear them again.

The Shero’s School for Revolutionaries – A Virtual Conference with Jennifer Louden. Isn’t that a fabulous title? Jen created a powerful series of video interviews with Camille Maurine and 20 other Sheros. Claim your voice, tell your story, change the world! Get the videos now.

“Sanctuary for Women” –
A One-Day Experience with Author Camille Maurine – Stay tuned for next date! Liberating and nourishing movement, meditation, expression, council, envisioning... Live the Secrets of female power and vitality... Create, move, and breathe in your own atmosphere.

“Living Shakti” with Camille Maurine – Stay tuned for next date! Camille travels to give liberating meditation trainings for women – an immersion in the luscious, life-affirming approach based on her book, Meditation Secrets for Women. Open to all women.


See below for more on women’s energy...

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MEDITATION SECRETS FOR WOMEN - the Book

Based on three decades of experience teaching meditation, and interviewing hundreds of women, Camille Maurine and Dr. Lorin Roche have elucidated a healthy, female-centered approach. The twelve Secrets provide the essential tools for you to experience more vibrancy, richness, and pleasure in both your inner and outer life.

Learn how to:
• Relax more deeply than you thought possible
• Fit meditation into a busy life
• Free up your energy for more vitality and creativity
• Discover practices that you absolutely love and want to do
• Let whatever is going on in your body, mind, and heart lead you deeper into your core
• Experience more balance, clarity, and alertness


 "Women's meditation insights and needs are very different from the traditional methods used for centuries by men in monasteries. Meditation Secrets for Women teaches you how to meditate with full access to the emotions and body wisdom that are a part of the divine." – Christiane Northrup, MD, author of "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom"

"Wise, wonderful and revolutionary. It returns the whole human being to joy, restorative serenity, and embodied, psychological and spiritual expansiveness." – Sylvia Perera, Jungian analyst, author of "Descent to the Goddess"


Some excerpts from the book:

“Come Home to Yourself”

The sensuous ebb and flow of the breath,
The warmth of the sun on the skin,
The touch of light on the eyelids, like a kiss,
The soothing sound of leaves rustling in the breeze,
The satisfying release of bodyweight into the support of the Earth –
Nothing in particular to do or be,
Just savoring the texture of life in this moment...

Relaxing, melting, softening into lusciousness.
Sinking down, letting go, deeper, deeper…
Breath spreading, massaging everywhere inside, a gentle caress…Ah…
Muscles release, a sigh of relief, all the way to the bones.
Here, now, the movement of life, touching me,
Healing me, revealing its simple truth –
I am immersed in the embrace of life.

Yes, I hear the Yes.
And my response, Yes.
I am this movement.
I am home.

From the Introduction to
Meditation Secrets for Women: Discovering Your Passion, Pleasure, and Inner Peace
By Camille Maurine and Lorin Roche, PhD, HarperOne, 2001

“Women and Stress”

We all long for healthy balance in our lives. Everyone knows now that stress is a prime factor in many health conditions. Too much stress takes us out of pleasure. Some stress is beneficial, and even pleasurable; optimal levels give us just the right degree of stimulation, and the excitement of a full and meaningful life can even strengthen the immune response. It’s the excessive and prolonged strain that causes problems.

At the biological level, the parasympathetic nervous system (that gives us the rest-and-restore mode) keeps our hearts and blood vessels open, while the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” part) constricts the heart and blood vessels, which keeps them toned. Every blood vessel in the body is filigreed with both nerve systems, because we need both modes to live fully. Finding the equilibrium between rest and action, letting go and going for it, is our contemporary challenge. In general, the mental and physical texture of daily life is too fast, dense and highly pressured, so we need to consciously cultivate the opposite tones.

Medical research is turning up some very significant information on how female biology differs from male. Most studies have been done on male subjects, and their conclusions generalized from men’s bodies (just as in the meditation field!) Thankfully, this situation is finally beginning to change. A recent report suggests that the female reaction to stress is less the typical male “fight or flight” and more “tend and befriend,” revolving around nurturing and seeking the support of others rather than aggression or escape. The study finds that this is true for both humans and animals, and is based in hormonal differences between the sexes. Aggression is an important energy for women to be able to access when necessary. But in the face of everyday stress we can also nurture each other, tend and befriend ourselves, and create a network of supportive relationships.

Many of the mental stressors that everyone contends with are not likely to go away. We are a headstrong society. Information overload, keeping up with technology, sitting at the computer for long hours a day, having to constantly strategize to maintain status or get ahead is almost a necessity of modern life. The electronic bombardment itself toys with our nervous systems. Even when people exercise, they are often reading, watching TV or under the headset, not really in the body at all. But being “in our heads” takes a serious toll, and the consequent lack of relaxation and deep pleasure is especially hazardous to women. Chronic, persistent stress weakens the immune system and plays a role in the development of heart disease. Stress also powerfully affects our mental well being. In addition, there is evidence that excessive head-centered attention may disrupt the female glandular system and hormonal balance, with far-reaching consequences to our general health.

Forgive us for bearing bad news, but taking this seriously can give us all the determination to make preventative choices. Each of us must come to terms with this conundrum in her own way. Though the situation at large is unlikely to change, there are many effective measures that we can take to care for ourselves. That’s the good news. Scientists consistently recommend these antidotes for women: exercise, expression, relaxation and self-exploration. We couldn’t agree more.

Women need exercise that they enjoy and look forward to, not just an onerous discipline. Find whatever calls you forth – walking, dance, yoga, swimming, martial arts. Challenge the temptation to make an object of your body, the notion that you must whip this lump of flesh into shape. The element of pleasure is extremely important, and if you can find exercise that pleases your soul, all the better. Dance has the added benefit of a poetic and emotional expressiveness. Some sports also facilitate a kind of expression. Women engaged in aggressive exercise like kickboxing have been shown to experience less depression and stronger immune systems. The kick-butt attitude gives a sense of power and control over their lives. In addition to dynamic forms that increase circulation, we recommend (no, insist!) that women make sure to include stretching to maintain flexibility and fluidity. Staying supple is especially crucial as the years go by; aging tends to dry us out and make us rigid – mentally and physically. This is preventable, so don’t forget to lengthen and soften those muscles, too.

As for relaxation, self-exploration and expression, the approach to meditation that we are suggesting addresses all three. Finding meditations that work for you is the ultimate in self-care and self-awareness. Nothing relaxes like the pleasure of meditation, which puts you in touch with your inner world. In that safety you can discover and support whatever needs to be expressed and embodied in your life.

From Secret #5 – "Dwell in Your Inner Sanctuary" in Meditation Secrets for Women: Discovering Your Passion, Pleasure, and Inner Peace, by Camille Maurine and Lorin Roche. Copyright 2001.

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“Meditation and Sex” – Click here to read

“Late Night Musing” – Click here to read

Videos related to MEDITATION SECRETS FOR WOMEN – Click here to view

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ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN & WOMEN – Claim Your Womanhood, Shamelessly!

I often add links to articles and other information here that support women to claim their female gifts and attributes.

This is extremely important not only for how we manifest power in the outer world, but for the dynamics of our inner world in meditation. Being connected to your deep feminine roots is essential for your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Through working with thousands of women, as well as my own journey, I have seen the pitfalls and successes up close and personal. It is imperative to know how to cultivate and embody true sovereignty – our natural, body-based source of power. Hence the existence of
Meditation Secrets for Women.

The ways that women differ from men should be a source of healthy strength and pride, not shame. There is no need to make either gender "better" – appreciate the differences! Yet fear lurks in the minds of many women. Because power and status are still defined primarily by old male values, admitting our innate differences can seem to threaten our hard won ground for equal rights. Question this assumption. Root out the fear, shame, and tyranny beneath it – the hidden, insidious disempowerment. How ironic is that?

The latest scientific research validates the biological and psychological differentiation between men and women, including brain structure and function. Here's an article about some of the medical implications that every woman should know:
READ.

More on the female
"Tend and Befriend" response to stress (beyond fight or flight).

When we wrote about this in the book, Shelley E. Taylor was just completing her research on the subject, not yet published. I had seen a note somewhere and included it in the book. Years later, lots of emails circulated as women were discovering the theory. It rings a bell for women.

Oxytocin and a number of other hormones are enhanced and cortisol is decreased. You can do a Google search for Tend and Befriend. There are lots of links and information. Here's one from the NIH:

The human stress response has been characterized, both physiologically and behaviorally, as "fight-or-flight." Although fight-or-flight may characterize the primary physiological responses to stress for both males and females, we propose that, behaviorally, females' responses are more marked by a pattern of "tend-and-befriend." Tending involves nurturant activities designed to protect the self and offspring that promote safety and reduce distress; befriending is the creation and maintenance of social networks that may aid in this process. The biobehavioral mechanism that underlies the tend-and-befriend pattern appears to draw on the attachment-caregiving system, and neuroendocrine evidence from animal and human studies suggests that oxytocin, in conjunction with female reproductive hormones and endogenous opioid peptide mechanisms, may be at its core. This previously unexplored stress regulatory system has manifold implications for the study of stress. (Click here for more articles from NIH)

I love this article by Elizabeth Debold on
"The Divine Feminine, Unveiled" – and heartily agree!

TED Talk by Jane Fonda: Life’s third act (filmed December 2011)

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If you would like to share related information and articles,
please
contact me and I will add them to this site.
– CAMILLE –