Revisiting the Pelvis

In an era where mental health is finally being addressed with urgency, nuance, and innovation, one vital part of a woman’s anatomy remains woefully under-explored in mainstream conversations: the pelvis. While discussions about the gut-brain connection and vagus nerve stimulation have gained popularity, the pelvis—long relegated to reproductive utility or sexual taboo—is emerging as a powerful seat of emotional regulation, trauma storage, and creative force.

The dominant narrative in both Western medicine and mental health fields has long compartmentalized the female body. Historically, a woman’s mind and body were treated as separate entities—her mental health issues often framed as hormonal or hysterical, her body pathologized through fertility and reproductive function. The pelvis became a clinical object or a sexualised mystery, not a living, breathing center of somatic intelligence. The broader system of psychology bypassed the body altogether for decades, and when somatic therapy did emerge, it rarely centered women’s unique physiological and emotional experiences.

From the Creative Women’s Association (CWA) lens, this is a call to arms—and a return to wisdom. We must revisit early 20th-century somatic psychology and feminist scholarship to recover what has been lost or dismissed. Wilhelm Reich’s theory of “body armoring” identified the pelvic basin as a key storage site for trauma and emotional suppression. Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s Body-Mind Centering explored the dynamic intelligence of organs and bone. Dr. Christiane Northrup boldly named the pelvis as a source of feminine power and spiritual insight. Meanwhile, feminist historian Dr. Gerda Lerner reminded us that the stories of women’s bodies are deeply political.

Reframing the pelvis from a passive reproductive zone to a dynamic somatic powerhouse changes everything. Depression, anxiety, creative block, disconnection from pleasure—these are not disembodied phenomena. They are often linked to restriction, numbness, or tension in the pelvic area, stemming from cultural shame, birth trauma, sexual violation, or generational conditioning. When women are encouraged to move their hips, reclaim their breath, use their voice, and engage in embodied creative practices, we see measurable shifts in heart rate variability, inflammation, and emotional regulation. We see women coming back to themselves—sometimes for the first time.

This isn’t about fringe wellness or indulgent self-care. It’s about structural change—about treating women’s health, creativity, and emotional resilience as deeply interwoven systems. And that starts by giving the pelvis its due respect. As the creative economy grows and the future of health leans into prevention and integration, the pelvis must take center stage in any serious model of Creative Health.