You might not know it, but you have a philtrum and everyone who looks at you can see it. You might be wondering, what is a philtrum? The philtrum—that groove we all have above our upper lips—may not be a commonly-referenced body part, but in mystical traditions, it’s quite significant! And it’s said to be the result of a tap from Lailah, the angel of conception, administered the moment a baby is born.

According to legend, Lailah is a teacher to souls before their birth. Legend says that Lailah lights a candle allowing the spirit to see her entire story from birth to death, and then teaches her all of her soul lessons in this lifetime. As soon as the human infant is born, though, Lailah lightly strikes the child’s lip, and the child forgets everything. The knowledge is still there; it’s just forgotten. Lailah is a feminine angel that has mystical powers. She is said to bring souls full circle and escort humans to their death and beyond, just as she escorted them into the world.

We enter the Morning of Life, childhood until early 40s, and soon forget the soul lessons in love, embodiment and spirit that we knew long ago. We begin to feel our humanness; we have physical experiences both positive and negative. We learn habits, acquire behaviors, beliefs, vows and promises from our family of origin. Often, in the Morning of Life, we strive to fit in, to look, speak and act in ways that we are taught, and modeled by our families and our world around us. Some of us, from traumas, wounds and society in general, begin to form opinions about ourselves that are damaging, negative and necessary to function in our worlds. Many women strive for perfection: the perfect body, and an overwhelming obsession with what we eat, what we look like, and an outward focus on acceptance dependent on our looks, and the shape of our bodies. We have forgotten that we are a sacred body: a physical body having a spiritual experience on the Earth. We have forgotten that our bodies are the home for the soul. We have forgotten that we are whole, exactly the way that we are, imperfections and all.

As we enter and live in the Afternoon of Life, midlife and beyond, we begin to hear the soul whispers of Lailah the angel, nudging us to remember who we really are. She whispers to us, that hating our bodies, abandoning ourselves, betraying our bodies and believing in the old, outdated programmed messages of well-intentioned loved ones, is now a waste of our precious energy. Midlife is a calling to finally love the skin you’re in, and remember, and wake up to the soul within your body that is longing to be loved for who she is–jiggly thighs, hormonal roller coasters, illness, wrinkles, weight gain and all. Your body is your chance to be here. You are more than bones, muscles, cells and blood. You are more than what you see in the mirror and those wrinkles that stare back at you. Your body is a home for all of the traumas, emotions, wounds, joys, love and secrets you have ever had.  

I like to describe the body as a first responder to all of the life and soul lessons we acquire from living in a body here on Earth. Our bodies are the bridges between earth and spirit. As spiritual beings having a human experience, it’s vital that we get in touch with the physical vessels that are our homes. Nurturing, understanding, listening to, and getting in tune with all layers of our physicality is a vital part of spiritual growth. Real healing and wholeness are about grounding our psychological and spiritual discoveries into the raw fabric of our being–not about bypassing, shunning or ignoring this reality that we all live with. The body is just as divine and mysterious as anything else in existence. But often we treat them with disrespect, push past our boundaries, feel hatred towards them and don’t feel at home inside of our own skin.  

If you are someone that has a hard time connecting to your body, you are not alone. About 97% of women have been known to feel hatred towards their bodies, and sadly, 78% of 13-year-old girls have admitted to hating their bodies at a young age. 

Here are some ideas to connect to your own divine body wisdom and help a younger girl to see their bodies in a different light:

• Remembering You’re Whole

As we age, we find that we often have issues, illnesses, chronic illness, emotional eating, sexual disconnection, hormonal roller coasters and more. Your symptoms and illnesses are a divine message from within your body. Your body is your most accurate barometer for sacred feminine truth and intuitive wisdom. Your body also gives you signals when something is “off” in your life and out of alignment with your evolving soul energy. When you pay attention to your body’s divine whispers, you can remember that you are whole, and loved. Your body wants your attention and wants to be heard and seen.

• Radically Stop the War in Your Body

Years of hatred, forcing, comparing, jealousy and anger, stops the relationship with the one thing we were given: our bodies on this earth, a home for our souls. Habitual negativity towards the body creates alienation and disconnect. Often when we feel distant from our bodies, we are actually distant from our empowered voice. In what ways do you need to live from the body and not the head and stand for yourself in your relationships, work, family, and the world? This empowerment allows the body to stand with you, and for you to stand with her.

• Create A Body Sanctuary

Consecrate stillness and honor your inner voice by creating regular times of stillness, quiet, meditation, and contemplation. These acts of physical “quiet time” are vital components of activating divine feminine energy. You have a wise inner voice that is connected to a source of guidance wholly invested in your highest good, and how you can contribute positively to the world. Your body needs quiet to cultivate a sanctuary of divine wisdom so you can feel connected and guided in this crazy, hectic world.

If you feel compelled to dive deeper into the connection of your sacred body, I encourage you to explore my latest program Your Sacred Body.

Your Sacred Body is a unique program designed to utilize the chakras as a roadmap to navigate the journey of sacred body love and discover your body’s wisdom. The chakras are a body of wisdom inside of you that leads you to loving and discovering the sacredness of your own body.  

We are so much more than physical beings. Our bodies are spiritual in nature, and expressions of our deepest truths, beliefs, traumas, emotions, and past experiences. Every event that we have ever experienced and every emotion we’ve had, are stored in our bodies. 

This is your story. What story do you want your body to tell?