What Is a Women's Circle? Its Origins, Modern Forms, and Scientific Roots

Have you ever wondered what a women's circle really is? Actually, "women's circles" are a very old, universal human practice.

The Origins of Women's Circles

For thousands of years, women have gathered — under moonlight, around fire, in gardens, in homes — in different ways across different cultures. They knew that together, everything felt more beautiful, easier, or more meaningful. They shared both the joys and the hard days, together.

In Anatolia, the land I come from, women gathered for centuries in hamams, at günler (women's gathering days), at kına geceleri (henna nights), on postpartum visits, during imece (communal work), and while rolling out yufka (flatbread) — supporting one another, sharing knowledge, and meeting life's transitions together.

What Do Modern Women's Circles Look Like?

Really picture a circle in front of your eyes. Women are forming this circle. Each one is part of it; no leader, no authority, no teacher, no instructor. Everyone stands at an equal distance from the center. The real wisdom is held within each woman, in her body, in her story.

For me, the most essential thing in a circle is that it is created together. Beyond its visual form, it's built together within shared principles of safety; sharing heart to heart, listening and witnessing heart to heart. Experiencing and witnessing exactly as it is, without judgment. Without trying to fix, without giving or receiving advice. You know how, in yoga classes or mindfulness practices, teachers say: just notice, without judgment, observe, witness. That's exactly what we bring into this shared space and from there, into life.

In modern times, circles can take very different forms depending on their purpose and theme. This is shaped by the facilitator's experience, creativity, and the training or traditions she has studied or lived. Sometimes a circle is simply singing together; sometimes it's sharing around a single theme; sometimes it weaves in different practices: somatic work, dance, cacao, rituals, ceremonies, mindfulness practices, among others.

The Scientific Ground: Co-regulation

There's a scientific side to this too: Being together in a safe group releases oxytocin in the body, which in turn calms cortisol, the stress hormone. So sitting together, sharing, being listened to without judgment — this genuinely has a regulating effect on our nervous system. This is called "co-regulation": when we're together, we can help calm each other's nervous systems.

In fact, a nervous system that sometimes struggles to regulate itself alone remembers, in this space, that it can settle. And you, in turn, allow yourself to be yourself and witness many different lives. You remember both how unique you are, and how much we are all the same. And if a somatic practice has taken place, cherry on top :), it supports the nervous system, and it's also a doorway into the body and the voice that wants to be heard.

So what happens when you let yourself fully arrive in this experience? I'll share my own experiences in my next blog.

If you'd like to join one of our moon-cycle circles, click below to see all upcoming dates.