I am doing 2 posts this week with Regena Thomashauer, an author, as well as the creator/ directress of the School of Womanly Arts in NYC– so you know this woman means business. Regena is the high priestess of women/ love/ transformation and is recognized throughout many circles with great passion + fervor as Mama Gena. Regena teaches thousands upon thousands of women how to celebrate the privilege of being a woman; feel gorgeous and radiant; take pleasure from each moment; take powerful steps in the direction of their dreams and desires; and learn how to find the sacred in the mundane. And for those who know me, know that she is one of my most favorite sages walking the planet.
I asked Regena if she would share her thoughts on all-things woman… topics such as: what is it that all women are desiring/ the importance of best daily practices/ what it means to take “exquisite care” of yourself/ what we should know about men/ the art of practicing + learning sex.
I am an author, educator, creatrix and CEO of ‘Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts,’ where I teach women how to use the power of pleasure to have their way with the world. I have taught thousands and thousands of women, over the past 15 years, to truly take advantage of the privilege of being women and design their lives based on their desires.
I am now, and have always been a researcher. Before being Mama Gena, I was investigating everything I could get my hands on to understand why women (myself included) were so consistently incapable of living into the full extent their power, beauty and confidence. I wanted to understand why women put themselves down, get desperately crushed by inadequate relationships, and do not allow their voices to be heard in the world. I was researching the ancient goddess traditions, sex and sensuality, and the differences between men and women. Women are the greatest untapped natural resource in the world. We are all incredible legends- with our lids on. My job is to teach a woman to live the legend that she is- in her lifetime.
I am an expert in everything woman. I know and love her darkness, her light, her fire, her depth, her passion, her grief, her raw enthusiasm.
I seduce women to fall in love with every aspect of themselves, to stand in their feminine power, and live the privilege of what it means to be a woman in every sense of that word.
The women who are attracted to my work are women whose lives are working pretty well: They are smart, educated, accomplished- but- they long for something more. They have a sense that they are not living their full potential as women. They might want more love, more sex, more creativity, more money, more passion, more intimacy with her family, more pleasure from her life, more impact in her career, or simply a nameless longing that there is more out there for her. My clients are very diverse in age- from 18-85… Some want to get married, some want to repair their marriages, some want to change careers, some want to have a baby, some want to start dating, some want to intensify their sex lives with their partners, some want to feel happy and connected with a community of women.
- women want to feel beautiful
- live their most deeply held dreams and desires
- get paid well for their work
- live their creative voice
- experience deep intimacy with their partners and families
- have an ever-expanding sex life
- I want her to use her remarkable, unique, powerful voice in every circumstance.
- Feel hotter than she has every felt in her life, no matter her age or opinion of herself.
- Take huge radical risks in the direction of her dreams.
Women have no idea what a huge resource they have in one another. Our culture teaches women to compete rather than collaborate. What a waste of energy! The whole purpose of the School of Womanly Arts is to teach women how to support and be supported by community. Having a community of support, when you are going for big dreams is like adding jet fuel propulsion to your desires. Women will stand for you when you lose the courage to stand for yourself.
A woman who is successful with her love life and career is a woman who takes exquisite care of herself, first and foremost. There is no way to be generous with others if you have not replenished your own well, and cared for yourself.
It is not easy for a woman to prioritize herself. Women were taught to look after their husbands, families, bosses, and co-workers–pretty much everyone but themselves! So, it requires a huge paradigm shift for a woman to begin to even consider her own pleasure. But, pleasure does not have to take a lot of time. It can be as simple as dressing in clothes that make you feel pretty, even when you are tired. Or having a 5-minute hot bath with great tunes, at the end of a long day- before you cook dinner. Or it can be giving yourself a few minutes a day to read a great book, or making sure you buy yourself a bouquet of flowers for your desk, or actually sit yourself down and enjoy a healthy meal, rather than eating the kid food or the leftovers. None of these things take a lot of time- but- they are all about your quality of life and prioritizing your own pleasure.
A woman must choose at least 3 practices each day that bring her joy. Each woman is different, and she must do the research necessary to find out what it is that can create pleasure in her body, and consequently, her life. Whenever we have a pleasurable experience there is a huge internal physical consequence. Pleasure improves blood flow by the creation of nitric oxide, which turns on the production of neurotransmitters, including beta-endorphin, which dulls pain and creates euphoria, allowing you to deal more effectively with stress. Prolactin is another neurotransmitter that nitric oxide releases, which is the hormone of bonding. So, the creation of pleasure is important as a method of generating health in the human body. It is important for a woman to figure out what action steps can change her chemistry and raise her orbit, in order to not only find, but, maintain her sense of well-being.
I wake up at around 630a… I make a green tea, sit at my alter, and begin my day with 12 gratitudes. After that, I work out; I get on the phone with my spring cleaning partner, and we do some spring cleaning, followed by a holy trinity: a brag, a gratitude and a desire. This keeps me clean and clear and in the present moment for the rest of the day.
As you can probably tell, pleasure is not for the faint of heart– it is not for sissies. Why? Well, it is very easy to live a miserable life. Do nothing, and you will have a miserable life. But to live a pleasured life- an extraordinary life- requires eternal vigilance. You have to prioritize your joy above all other values, every single day. It is all about vigilance.
