The Way of the Satisfied Woman: Reclaiming Feminine Power

Kaivalya (Myths of the Asanas), host of the Spiritual Leadership Podcast, offers an impassioned invitation for women to embrace “the power inherent in their femininity.” Contending that patriarchal societies rest on masculine paradigms of strength, reason, and courage (which falsely frame femininity as submissive), she encourages readers to celebrate virtues like grace, intuition, collaboration, and receptivity. She also calls for eschewing linear, masculine notions of success, claiming that because women’s lives are “cyclical and filled with change,” they should instead strive for a more dynamic satisfaction “derived from the fulfillment of one’s wishes or needs.” Kaivalya outlines a model for finding satisfaction by meeting four needs: safety, security, trust, and being cherished. The steps to get those needs met include cultivating an intimate relationship with a partner who “support[s] your highest good as a feminine woman” and abandoning the impulse to “overcontribute” to family, friends, workplaces, and communities. Writing with wisdom and nuance, the author perceptively dissects how invisible social standards constrain women, and how they might begin to break free. This inspires. (Nov.)