By Arielle Giordano
“Female friendships add to our well-being. As a woman, a sisterhood can be a very powerful force!”—Jane Fonda
In ancient times, women shared a lot more than they do today. It was a beautiful age when women took care of the babies, gathered food and cooked together. Women and children shared their lives intimately and were a source of strength and comfort to each other on a regular basis.
Traditions like “The Red Tent”, where women came together during menstruation, reflected synchronized cycles, and it was a sacred time for women to nurture and share personal business and keep each other resilient and happy.
Studies have found that women respond to stress differently than men, and this fact has health implications. When people are under stress, their fight and flight response is triggered and the damaging hormone cortisol is released. However, oxytocin also is released by women. This bonding hormone’s role in childbirth is well-known, and it buffers the fight or flight response and encourages women to protect and nurture their children and to gather with other women.
Research by Drs. Laura Klein and Shelley Taylor refer to this process as “tend-and-befriend.” As they summarize in the study “Biobehavioral Responses to Stress in Females: Tend-and-Befriend, not Fight-or-Flight”: “Tending involves nurturant activities designed to protect the self and offspring that promote safety and reduce distress; befriending is the creation and maintenance of social networks that may aid in this process. The biobehavioral mechanism that underlies the tend-and-befriend pattern appears to draw on the attachment-caregiving system.”
As women, we have an ancestral connection that we can celebrate and recognize. We are designed to support each other and come together as a tribe, holding the bonds of sisterhood sacred.
Transformational Life Coach Award-Winning Author & Speaker, Professional Dancer. Arielle’s Award-Winning book for Best Self-Help Award: Dancing With Your Story From The Inside is available on http://www.Amazon.com. Her professional career includes the Lead Faculty Area Chairperson and Professor for the College of Humanities, History and the Arts at the University of Phoenix. She is a published co-author of Transform Your Life Books 1 & 2 and author for Tampa Bay Wellness, Conscious Shift & Transformation magazine. She has published her 4th book, an Instructor’s Manual for Barlow Abnormal Psychology 4th ed. and authored Psychology, A Journey 3rd.ed. Study Guide published by Nelson Education, Toronto, ON. She has also studied philosophy at the College of Integrated Philosophy with John DeRuiter for twenty years. Arielle has been a featured guest on radio and television, in newspapers, and the media across the US and Canada. She is a certified Essentrics Stretch and Dance Instructor. Arielle offers coaching sessions, classes and workshops and a free 30-minute Consultation. Arielle’s new book Dancing with Your Story from the Inside Out is now available on http://www.Amazon.com. Websites: http://www.dancingfromtheinsideout.com,
http://www.ariellegiordano.com. Email: agbeautifuldance@gmail.com
