Grof’s fourth perinatal matrix is called the “death-rebirth experience.” It is associated with the completion of the birth process, the child’s exit from the womb, and its first contact with the outside world.
This matrix is associated with experiences of liberation, relief, joy, but also with a feeling of separation, vulnerability and adaptation to a new reality.
Manifestations in massage:
1. The woman may experience deep relaxation and the release of accumulated physical tension, symbolically echoing the escape from a confined space. This may feel like liberation from “shackles,” a sense of vast, empty space.
2. Strong emotional reactions may arise, such as joy, relief, or even euphoria, associated with the experience of “being born” into a new, freer version of herself. The woman may feel a renewed connection with her femininity and body.
3. Moments of loss of bodily boundaries—dissolving into the universe—and a loss of sense of time may occur. Let her lie still. If after an hour of immobility she stills, it’s time to wake her.
4. For some women, massage can be a transformative experience associated with a sense of a “new beginning” or spiritual rebirth, which also reflects the theme of the fourth matrix—the transition to a new stage of life. This is where realizations, insights, and solutions to long-standing, unresolved problems come.
5. You may see a bright light with your eyes closed, colorful spots, or some kind of “cartoons.” Sometimes these cartoon memories. Sometimes these cartoons represent communication with higher powers or contact with various archetypes.
The manifestation of perinatal matrices in massage depends on the individual woman’s experience, her psychological state, and the depth of her breathing. The strength of each matrix’s manifestations may vary for the same woman during different sessions—each session is unique.
The only pattern that can be predicted is that over several sessions the number of painful effects gradually decreases and the amount of pleasure increases.
Other details of the massage are described in the online course about yoni massage.
