Magamama With Kimberly Ann Johnson: Sex, Birth And Motherhood

Sabia Wade began her birth work with incarcerated people. A full spectrum doula, she is an educator, doula trainer and activist. She says there's no separating activism and birthwork and wants all people to have access to care. She is the founder of For the Village, a non-profit setting out to address disparities in birth and provide community for birthworkers. 

What Gia Shares:      How her positive experience receiving sex education from her parents informed her path      Differences between sensuality and sexuality      What's essential for parents to know       Her favorite part of her book  What You’ll Hear:      Defining your reality through language      Approaching sex through sense-based experiences      Building relationships on the foundation of friendship      Teaching youth about the pleasures of sex so that they are able to be more at home and embodied in their sexual relationships      Doing self work around sexuality and shame to raise healthier kids      The importance of prioritizing your own erotic life      Modeling pleasure for your kids      Giving kids tools, information, and practice around consent and touch      The difference between be taught how to say ‘no’ and learning to negotiate preferences      The importance of entering sexual encounters with goal as the primary intention      Supporting your children by maintaining familial and c

Five very different women share their experiences in MotherCircle: a monthlong dive into the physical, emotional, psychological, relational, sexual and spiritual shifts of becoming a mother. 

What Azita Shares:      Her own experience with trauma and how it shaped her personal and professional path      How she received support to leave her abuser and begin treatment for her trauma      How motherhood uprooted her sense of control      Her fertility and birth journey What You’ll Hear:      Understanding that relational abuse and trauma can take many different forms   Finding the permission to be kind and compassionate to yourself   Listening to the body’s experience to finally find healing   Becoming an active participant in your healing   Giving grief time and space, without allowing it to take over forever   Navigating recovery while mothering   Softening into self compassion for mothering   The importance of pausing and allowing inner wisdom to speak   Navigating sexual trauma while trying to become pregnant      The difference between processing trauma somatically and intellectually      Finding time and space to process while caring for a child      Allowing your spiritual practice to evol

What Kendra Shares:      Her realization that there is no mythical ‘daddy’ figure that she missed out on      The parts of single parenting that work really well for her      The parts of her pregnancies that brought forward wisdom What You’ll Hear:      Allowing the relationships in your life to be what they are, without searching for perfection      When we relate to others as whole human being with histories, bodies, and experiences, we can approach relationships more fully      Allowing the people in our lives to shine in their strengths      Honoring what you’re really good at, while also expanding into new areas and roles      Examining how to embody our power as women      Holding the role of teacher while also continuing to empower others on their own inner authority      Sometimes opening ourselves to our own inner wisdom takes removing the obligation to follow it      The authentic power that can come from following your inner wisdom rather than social conditioning      Taking your own wellbeing

What She Shares:      The history of women and psychiatry      How some medical research data is currently being safely collected on pregnant women      Her intention for her new book to be a preventative guidebook to reduce postpartum depression      How her new podcast is intended for maternal health and support What You’ll Hear:      How the scare around Thalidomide affected research into women’s mental health for decades to come.      Opening research to include women’s health finally showed that men and women’s health needs often differ      The laws that aimed to reduce gender and racial discrimination in medical research      A brief discussion on the FDA approved medication for postpartum depression      Embarking on research into the causes of and prevention of postpartum depression      Making preparations and front loading investments to avoid PPMADs      Addressing diseases through the a bio-psycho-social model and a preventative lens      Being aware of a biological predisposition towards depr

Rachelle Garcia Seliga, founder of Innate Traditions,  http://www.innatetraditions.com/ancestral-grief/, shares: What is ancestral grief and how is it showing up postpartum Defining and finding community support as if your life depends on it, because it does How she found her life partner New forms, new paradigms, and new models in partnership and business Her personal story of financial health and transformation, how financial need and breadwinning has not allowed her to hide, and insisted she give her gifts.  

Five women share their stories about what changed for them after taking the Forging a Feminine Path course.    All of the women mention that understanding women's arousal was groundbreaking for them.   Molly Coeling (pronounced Cooling) was able to claim her sexuality for herself, and claim the essence of who she is, through the course. She also found that the course helped her with communication all over the board -- with her mother, with people across party lines.   Amy Daniels talks about how the course helped her land back in her body, and helped her work through shame instead of repressing it. Her capacity for pleasure increased, she was able to slow down and create ritual to create more pleasure in her life and honor her body.   Maggie Gelineau was able to honor her stories, and be able to share herself more fully with her husband. The course strengthened her relationship. She had an amazing OBGYN appt after the women's arousal class -- she was able to have a healing, present and compassionate experienc

It's possible to heal prolapse and not just "manage the symptoms." Prolapse is an increasingly common outcome of birth and postpartum practices. To work with prolapse, you need to understand the contributing factors. In this episode, Kimberly breaks down how to figure out what's contributing to your prolapse and how to deal with it. 

Jenna Furnari works as an Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula in the greater Los Angeles area. She offers phone consultations for families living elsewhere.  Jenna hosts an online course to train other doulas, and also offers in-person trainings on Abhyanga, a grounding and gentle bodywork. “The first six weeks after birth really are the foundation behind the way she’s going to show up as a human being, as a mother, as a woman.” “Birth is going to take everything and beyond that out of her. I know that you want to provide this child with every opportunity in the world; and, in order to do that, you and your partner really need to be on the same page at being strong and healthy. In order to get to that really strong and healthy place, she needs to have the care and support to get her there. She’s on going to be able to do it on her own.” Resources: www.jennafurnari.com What She Shares: ·      How she became a postpartum-specific Ayurvedic practitioner ·      How her care services are structured ·      How mothers’ exp

What She Shares:      How the birth of her son was a psycho-spiritual death experience      The rich depth of her postpartum experiences      Practicing as a Zen Monk AND parenting      About her new course “Write to the Heart of Motherhood” What You’ll Hear:      Recognizing when you need to surrender, and when you need to stand in your strength      Expanding your boundaries to build resiliency      Feeling the pain of childbirth as power      Pushing yourself out of love, not punishment      Birth and postpartum as a rite of passage, and incorporating afterward      Re-integrating with society at a new level after a rite of passage      Sharing your learning with your community      Viewing the interruptions of life as life itself      Committing to what resources you      Allowing space for creativity and inspiration to come organically      Finding ways to interrupt your habits and inner critic      Harvesting what is already happening in your mothering Brooke McNamara is a professor at Naropa Univer

What Dr. Claudia Shares:      Why the title of her book is actually backwards      Her “aha!” moment when she was studying hormones      The difference between sex hormones and stress hormones      How our spiritual and emotional choices reverberate through our physical bodies What You’ll Hear:      Understanding that your hormones don’t become imbalanced in a vacuum      How Western and Eastern medicines support each other to better understand our hormones      Viewing hormonal functions through the lens of duality      Hormones govern extremes in the body      Understanding why imbalances between sex and stress hormones occur      Learning how to decrease stress hormones through lifestyle changes      Striving for the sweet spot of balance between yin and yang      Learning your own body to understand when it needs more rest versus stimulation      Why women in their late 30’s and beyond require more rest      Becoming hormonally rearranged in menopause      Learning to balance external stressors to supp

What Christine Shares:      Her activism centered around the bodylessness present in our culture      Translating your physical experience to your social interactions      How embracing inquiry and challenges can support your well being      How her understanding of the immune system impacted how she runs her psychotherapy practice What You’ll Hear:      Incorporating somatic work in your daily life for nervous system health      Coming to a practice from pressure, pleasure, or inquiry, and how those may affect your practice      How a practice changes when you come with some form of self-regulation      Integrating mental and physical processes      Respecting the 12 different systems in the body as inherently important in their own right      Learning to listen to all systems in the body so that you get a fuller picture of your self and your health      Approaching the body from a community organizing standpoint with a non-hierarchical approach      Creating space for range and nuance rather than a stark

What Lisa Shares:      Her journey to understanding female fertility more fully after receiving incorrect information in school      How to determine when you’re actually fertile      The biology of the menstrual cycle and how different birth controls alter this      The importance of male fertility in conception and how to boost male fertility What You’ll Hear:      The recent expansion of scientific literature to more fully include the female body      Learning about the biology and physiology of the female body and basing health decisions on science      The hormonal cycle is intertwined with the rest of your biology      Embracing your body through the lens of pleasure rather than fear      Developing personal agency around your fertility decisions      The difference between the rhythm method and fertility awareness      The importance of familiarizing yourself with cervical mucus, basal body temperature, and cervical positioning      The difference between pre-ovulatory and post-ovulatory mucus      

What Bari Shares:      Her journey into perimenopause      Learning to lose her shame around money      Living through the ebbs and flows of income      The phases she guides you through in her year-long money school What You’ll Hear:      Responding to the body’s needs through intuitive eating and nourishing movement      Respecting the natural ebbs and flows of energy      Allowing yourself to expand your financial goals and comfort      Moving beyond your current money ceilings      Riding the wave of change in life      Allowing for financial lulls in order to attend to other important needs      Applying the principle of ebbs and flows to money      Balancing parenting with earning, and understanding your worth      Allowing parenting young children to be the transition it is      Working through money koans      Feelings of fight, flight, and freeze during financial stress      Defining your version of financial sustainability      Including future financial needs in your vision      The importance o

What He Shares:      Some of the golden rules of healthy relating      The important ingredients to a flourishing relationship      How to reduce drama in your relationship, regardless of structure      His shift from ‘doing’ to ‘being’ What You’ll Hear:      Moving into authenticity and vulnerability to allow a genuine unfolding within a relationship      Discerning when to be vulnerable and when to respect your communication boundaries      Finding the living sweet spot of authenticity, vulnerability, and being transparent within each relationship      Having ruthless self-awareness toward yourself and your conditioning      Following the truth of your heart in your relationship structure      Discovering alignment, or not, with your partner      Ways to proceed with changes in your relationship dynamic      Celebrating your partner in their fullness      Healing your attachment styles, wounding, and imprints to have less drama in a relationship      Expanding beyond the paradigm of dichotomy      Showin

Brigit is a licensed massage therapist, craniosacral practitioner, a trauma resolution therapist, and believes deeply in the magic of life and the wild wisdom of the body. She especially loves to work with people on boundary repair and stabilization. What She Shares:      Sensing your own boundaries for invasions and working towards repair      Working with imprints from our own conception and birth to find systemic healing      Embracing your family dynamic to foster personal expansion      Offering safe attachment with others through secure attachment with one’s self What You’ll Hear:      Discovering what in your system is an imprint from trauma or overwhelming experiences      Your individual blueprint and its potential for growth      Healing imprints so that you can flourish      Physical imprints from our own births and how they continue to manifest      How relational ruptures with your parent can imprint into your core      Honoring lost infants to help create closure and healing for other childre

What She Shares:      Her varied birth and postpartum experiences      Learning about nourishing food from her family      Becoming a single mom of three and reweaving herself What You’ll Hear:      The importance of practicing receiving and recognizing when we’re depleted      Ways to slow down and reflect on your feelings so they don’t accumulate and overwhelm      Approaching life from a point of maintaining vitality and attending to yourself      Embracing the simplicity of care      Respecting the true pace of the body and nervous system to truly be resourced      How different postpartum experiences affect your health      Caring for yourself during your menstrual cycle can help fortify your health      Finding her medicine and following it      Reconfiguring the meaning of ‘family’      Embracing passions outside of our jobs to bring fulfillment      Recognizing that we cannot attend to every need or desire      Allowing space and flow in postpartum, and knowing that re-opening takes time and patien

What He Shares: How he came into the path of intentional, sexual healing What a session in NeuroAffective Touch looks like Discovering your own preferences and those of your partner through Full Body Active Consent Working with his own mother to repair rupture in her nervous system How pleasure factors into his work What You’ll Hear: How the lack of sovereignty in our body as an adolescent shows up in our adult embodiment The opportunity to repair ruptures with male authority figure through working with male practitioners Integrating unsequenced emotions somatically Bodies often become guarded when an outside agenda is opposed on them, and ways to put the body back in charge Listening to the body to inform a loving, effective way forward The importance of pausing and finding the information there Resolving trauma so that we can reclaim the body’s sovereignty Respecting the body’s intelligence Addressing listlessness by integrating our emotional landscape Freeing unsequenced emotion through bodywork Changin

Dan Doty is the founder of Evryman, a father, and a husband. He’s constantly delving into new depths with himself, his wife, and the men in his life. Dan has found incredible liberation through his work helping men connect with each other.   What he shares:      The core mission of Evryman      His ongoing process of opening and exploration, and the feelings that arise      Changes he sees every day in men who develop awareness of others and the self      The power of the simplicity of what he offers      His journey learning to support a partner with a history of sexual trauma What you’ll hear:      How to effectively invite your partner on your journey of personal growth      Addressing the fear that embracing something deeper or more connective will ‘feminize’ men      The deep importance of recognizing both the external and internal perspective of being human      How learning to be aware can lead to increased satisfaction and fulfillment, and bring connection into life      The importance of slowing d