The Golden Moon is a method of radical care that helps families prepare for the first 40 days after childbirth
meet your instructor
Colette LeGarrigues (she/her) is an acupuncturist, herbalist, and practitioner of East Asian Medicine. She brings to her work over ten years of inquiry in the world’s wisdom traditions, a dedicated contemplative movement practice, and a deep love for humankind and for the earth. She is a ritualist, poet and song keeper, as well as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend.
Colette is a licensed Chinese Medicine practitioner in the states of California and Massachusetts, and she is nationally certified as a Diplomate of Oriental Medicine by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). She holds a master’s degree from the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.
a postpartum paradigm shift
What if symptoms like postpartum depression, incontinence, and back pain
were not the norm in America?
What if menopause symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia
were not the norm in America?
What if a decline in marital happiness after childbirth
was not the norm in America?
Postpartum is a time when most families in America fall through the cracks, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
This is the promise of the Golden Moon. It’s a paradigm shift. And it’s simple.
We'll show you how.
This course is meant for anyone standing at the precipice of childbirth, anyone who wants to support themselves, a loved one, a client, a patient… in calling in the Golden Month and receiving its many gifts:
deep healing, real resource, and true transformation of
body, psyche, and soul.
In seven comprehensive modules, you will learn:
- the history of postpartum care across the world’s traditional cultures
- the state of postpartum care and parental leave in America today
- how partners and dads can engage with postpartum care
- the foundational pillars of the Golden Moon method: rest, warmth & circulation, nourishment, and community
- why rest matters and how to do it in a culture that insists we never stop
- a simple at-home bodywork protocol for the postpartum person (including acupressure points)
- a simple moxibustion protocol for the postpartum person (moxibustion is the burning of mugwort / artemisia vulgaris over the body to reduce inflammation and promote internal wound healing)
- Chinese Medicine nutrition principles for postpartum and some simple recipes to stock your fridge, freezer, and pantry
- how to organize family, friends, and community to set up a safety-net of support for the time after childbirth
context
a look at postpartum across time and place: from the world's traditional cultures to the state of today's America
for Dad's & partners
an invitation to engage: for partners to assess their capacity and learn skills to support during postpartum
rest
the ancient art of rest: why it's necessary and how to practice it in a culture that tells us to "bounce back"
warmth & circulation
bodywork, acupressure, and moxibustion: how to replenish the postpartum body with warmth and passive circulation
nourishment
ancient nutrition for the modern kitchen: learn Chinese Medicine principles and some simple recipes to stock your fridge
community
a series of concentric circles: encircle the postpartum person with rings of care and community support
A Peak of Change
In traditional cultures, there is enormous emphasis on protecting the postpartum period is because the womb is held at the center of the family, the community, and all of life, so there is a collective desire to safeguard and honor where we all come from.
Chinese Medicine considers postpartum to be what’s called a “peak of change”: it is the most important time to support a woman’s overall health. It can impact her vitality in the years after birth, her capacity for life and creativity, as well as the ease or difficulty of future pregnancies and the passage of menopause. It’s an opportunity to improve lifelong health and even heal old illnesses and imbalances.
