Magamama With Kimberly Ann Johnson: Sex, Birth And Motherhood

What Holly Shares:      Untangling hormonal birth control from feminism      Why she was on the pill as a teen even before she was sexually active      The positive effects the pill had for her      The mental health affects the pill had on her      Her journey discovering who she was without hormonal birth control What You’ll Hear:      The cultural marriage between feminism and the pill       The pushback she received against her writing criticizing synthetic hormones       How feminism has changed in the last 10 years       Various forms of feminism and what they mean for women       How the pill has become our cultural right of passage       How hormonal birth control helped manage her painful periods       Letting go of fear and embracing your teen’s sexuality      Teen pregnancy vs. side effects of hormonal birth control       The paranoia, depression, and obsessive compulsive behavior she developed while on the pill      Rediscovering her emotional landscape post synthetic hormones      The dearth o

What She Shares:      Why she believe the psoas should be considered an organ of perception      How the psoas is connected to our emotional states and our nervous system      How to find resiliency and tone the nervous system through movement and play What You’ll Hear:      Why the psoas, more than any other structure, is expressive and doesn’t fit in a biomechanical box      How the psoas relates to our sense of safety and full thriving      How a full body orgasm relates to the psoas      Why feeling safe is essential to reaching orgasmic potential      Why cathartic work is not as useful as integration and nourishment      Why it’s important to create space for the psoas rather than trying to stretch it      The psoas should not be classified as a muscle, but rather an organ of perception      How the psoas is like the body’s emotional GPS system      What “Core Integrity” means to Liz and its importance      Why turning towards yourself supports your agency      What are our O-rings and why being acqu

What She Shares: The history of eating placenta Why single CDC case-studies on eating placenta aren’t as trustworthy as are own experiences How her own postpartum period was affected by returning to work after two weeks, being alone with her baby after Day 9, and living with undiagnosed Hashimoto’s How integrated postpartum care would be a dream for new moms How her agency, Baby Caravan, matches women to birth doulas, postpartum doulas, and back-to-work coaching services   What You’ll Hear: Placenta encapsulation: Chinese medicine history and modern-day uses The connection between homeopathy, cannibalism and eating placenta The recent CDC case-study and its implications on eating placenta Jennifer’s experience with postpartum and how her plan shifted when her son was born late: she returned to work after two weeks, and how that affected her How do freelancers arrange postpartum so that we have what we need? The hard reality check of being on her own from Day 9 of postpartum Her diagnosis of Hashimoto's, an

EP48: Kimberly Seals Allers on How Medicine, Big Business and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding What She Shares: How her book, The Big Letdown, explores the connections between medicine, big business and feminism and their effects on breastfeeding women today. How the environment we are currently in sets us up for failure. The importance of using our power as consumers to start dialogues with our care providers about breastfeeding and lactation. Taking morality and guilt out of the current debate on breastfeeding and birth. The ways feminism has let mothers down. The importance of re-centering mothers in the fight for reproductive justice and freedom.  What You’ll Hear: How the field of pediatric medicine arose in conjunction with the development of infant formula. How this original alliance has shaped the pediatric field and its relationship to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and lactating management are not taught in medical school. The lack of holistic care for women after birth: “Women are broken down into

  Kim Anami is a sex and relationship coach, vaginal weightlifter, surfer and mom. With decades worth of experience in Tantra, Taoism, Osho and Transpersonal psychology, she has helped countless women and men heal and maximize their innate sexual nature.  What Kim Shares: How our sexual, emotional and psychological blocks show up in the birth experience The importance of removing these blocks in order to have an empowering birth Orgasmic birth; what it means and how to create the best conditions for having one Preparing for birth with sex; what can orgasms, exploratory sex, and even female ejaculation teach us about giving birth What You’ll Hear: Why Kim created her new course on birth “The same blocks that show up in birth…are the ones that show up in bed.” Is natural home-birth something that can be taught? How the dominant cultural messages about birth negatively effect women’s birth experiences The importance of doing “due diligence” and educating ourselves Birth injuries are being normalized Women a

In this special episode of the Magamama podcast, my right-hand woman Lynn Wolfbrandt interviews four women who have taken my course Activate Your Inner Jaguar. They share their experiences in the course, from decreased social anxiety, increased intuition and inner knowing, a more comfortable mindset around chronic illness, more congruence between what they desire and what they experience, and a newfound ability to shift from freeze during sex to a more fulfilling intimate relationship with their partner. We also interviewed the partner of one participant, to hear from him around what changed for him during the course. He experienced a profound shift in relationship and intimacy due to his wife’s experience in Jaguar. Thank you to Alysse and Dan Doty, Susie Connerley, Stephanie Sandleben and Dorie Silverman for your intimate shares. The next round of Activate Your Inner Jaguar begins Tuesday, October 9th. Register at magamama.com/jaguar

Jaiya, a sexological body-worker, educator, and prolific author, discusses the Erotic Blueprint types and the role that they play in our relationships. In this episode, Jaiya shares how own blueprint has shifted throughout her life and details the different characteristics of each of the five blueprint types. What You'll Hear: What inspired her work on postpartum health How her sexuality shifted after becoming a mom What the Erotic Blueprints are and why they’re important How she helps individuals understand, feed, and heal their blueprints through the Erotic Blueprint Breakthrough Course What She Shares: The pelvic floor trauma she endured while giving birth to her son  Pressure within the sex-positive community for postpartum sex  “We have multiple sexualities.”  Men and postpartum sexuality What led to her first session with Dr. Ellen Heed  How her Erotic Blueprint changed after having her son  What she learned from her surveys with postpartum women  Talking about sex in contemporary society The differe

Bethany Saltman drafted the nation's first "affirmative consent" policy at Antioch College in the 90s. That means she's been having the #metoo conversion and talking about the politics of pleasure for a good long time. She is now at work on a book about attachment- rejecting or revising the work that has been popularized and categorized as "attachment styles." Recorded right before the Kavanagh confirmation, we talk about the behavior during the hearings- body language and attachment style.  

In this episode, “Mindfulness mama mentor” Hunter Clarke-Fields talks about the importance of practicing mindfulness in parenting and how she helps stressed-out moms become more grounded in their daily lives. Hunter also shares about her life as an artist and the role that painting played in own pregnancy and entry into motherhood. Hunter Clarke-Fields is a yoga teacher, “mindfulness mama mentor,” podcaster, mama, and artist who teaches mothers how to implement mindfulness into their parenting. Her Mindful Parenting course helps mamas understand and transform their stress and become more grounded and centered as parents. What You'll Hear: All the different hats she balances in her professional and personal lives How she evolved from an art teacher to a mindfulness mentor What parents learn in the Mindful Parenting course What She Shares: What inspired her to begin painting [03:10] How she learned how to paint [04:00] Pregnancy, Predator vs. prey, and painting [6:41] Female bodies vs. male bodies in art [13

In this episode, we talk to astrologer Shannon Aganza for a deeper understanding of astrology: both in your own birth chart, and in the current transits (specifically Mars and Venus retrograde). Often we think that astrology is just our sun sign, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. All of the planets—Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, etc—were in a certain sign and house of your chart when you were born. Shannon will tell you how to find Venus and Mars in your own chart, and what that means for you in terms of love, intimacy and sex. Normally, people view astrology as other-worldly, but actually, it can be used as a map of the physical body as well. In this podcast, we’ll look at that in regards to relationship and sexuality. What You’ll Hear The astrological map of the body: each sign and its corresponding body part How these body parts can unlock a key to a different kind of ertocism How to interpret Mars and Venus in your own chart, and how to find them The current Venus retrograde (October 7 - Novemb

What Kimberly Shares Her work with sexuality, birth, and the postpartum time How these often misunderstood parts of our lives can lead to our healing and our soul work Practical tools to start exploring these topics in your own life today What You’ll Hear: Kimberly’s perspective on what helps heal us the most The importance of reestablishing connection and trust The fears that can come up around healing and living a life without feeling your trauma Kimberly describes her unique, multifaceted approach to helping women How often the pelvis and genitals go unattended while the rest of our body is cared for How Kimberly models how a great interaction can happen – slowly, narrated, explicitly consensual, and much more Kimberly’s three rules for intimacy How sharing your sexual “code” can build trust What are your absolute no’s and your absolute yes’s? “If meeting someone is A, kissing them is B and D, and penetration is R…what happens between D and R?” Most people are looking for “great sex” but don’t realize t

“The way to save the world is more embodiment.” “Love all of your body just the way it is.” What You’ll Hear: How somatic experiencing can help us connect to our core self The pervasiveness of “sexuality trauma” in our society The pushback against sexuality in the United States and how it has affected practitioners’ training Ariel’s unique journey to somatic experiencing and what she has learned from over 40 years of being involved in the healing arts What Ariel Shares: Sexuality trauma and its connection to disembodiment and cultural shame (2:28) Infertility and disembodiment (5:00) Why being sex-positive doesn’t necessarily mean being embodied  (5:58) “Our definition of trauma is so narrow.” (7:30) Birth as a somatic experience (9:40) We are out of touch with our organic, primitive selves (11:08) The role of fear in disembodiment (13:23) The relational aspect of trauma work (20:33) “Sexological body work...everybody needs it!” (23:10) Why is sexuality missing in somatic experience training? (24:00) The p

Marcia Lopez is the owner of Women's True Healing. Marcia is an accomplished healer serving the Los Angeles communities since 2005. https://www.womenstruehealing.com/ Marcia uses the old ways in new ways and has been achieving extraordinary results in female reproductive health dysfunction, infertility, and sexual trauma recovery. She blends her expansive knowledge and initiations with her own healing/recovery journey to create a space that is safe, profound, healing, and empowering. What You’ll Hear: How our social and political environments influence our personal health and healing The importance of healing our relationship to our wombs Her personal journey to healing and embodiment and how it has influenced her work What Marcia Shares: The intersection of personal healing and collective healing (3:15) We first experience life in-utero (4:44) We are inherently connected to our ancestors (5:40) How she knew she needed to heal her relationship with her reproductive system (7:18) What practices she implemen

What Racha Shares: -her personal story as a black midwife in the United States, her pilgrimage to South Africa and initiation into becoming a Sangoma -her insights about the systemic racism within health care -the challenges women of colour are facing on their path to becoming midwives -the sacrifices and decisions she has made to make her career work as a single mother -the need for ‘passing the baton’ and creating a ‘seat at the table’ for black women to affect change within midwifery and beyond What You’ll Hear: -her pilgrimage to South Africa and her initiation into becoming a Sangoma (healer) -her journey as a rite of passage -the revelation she had after returning from black majority population in South Africa to a white majority in the U.S -the shift in the clients who are now hiring her and the connections they are making -the current state of black midwifery & systemic racism in health care -the barriers of becoming a midwife in America as a black woman -meeting the needs of her community with

  What You’ll Hear: The inspiration for Molly’s memoir Her exploration of postpartum rage The connection between storytelling and healing Anger in our culture today, how it connects to the postpartum period and what it can teach us about ourselves What Molly Shares: The provocative title of Molly’s book and why she chose it (2:00) How Molly’s journey through birth and early motherhood inspired the book (3:45) Her exploration of and questions about rage (5:45) Childbirth as a portal to access hidden, unconscious psychic material (6:20) Even a little bit of anger is extremely threatening for many women to express (7:12) We are all dealing with anger (8:07) The necessity of questioning the integrity of the family unit in order to move forward with creative work (10:10) Molly’s relationship to her mother and how this appears in her book (10:40) Kimberly’s unique relationship with her midwife (13:20) Why Kimberly had to tell her story and the importance of knowing it’s not the only story (14:19) The struggle to

EP36: Christiane Pelmas on Menopause, Sexuality, and an Emerging Archetype of Womanhood What Christiane Shares: - her personal experiences with her cycle, abortion, perimenopause and menopause—and the intelligence of these initiations - how her experience with menopause informed major decisions in her life including her living arrangement with her partner, her pace, her work in the world - the potential for whole listening, erotic sex, generative power and a QUEEN existence from our menopausal years and its deep purpose globally What You Will Hear: - Christiane shares her own menstrual and perimenopausal cycle and the significance of discussing in our culture, her relationship to her cycle - Kimberly shares about aging and the wishing she had known the wisdom of her cycle earlier - Realizing the empowering and embodying experience of birth and breastfeeding more deeply once reaching perimenopause - Giving bleeding the respect it deserves, the products we use to disguise menstruation, and what this says to ou

What You’ll Hear: The relationship between holistic health and optimal fertility What’s missing from the current medical approach Dr. Zagone’s unique, holistic work combining environmental, physical and emotional components How the fertility journey can be a process of internal growth and maturity Success stories from her practice What Dr. Zagone Shares: Her definition of fertility (1:56) What’s missing from the current conversation about fertility (3:40) How cultivating health is cultivating fertility (4:39) Kimberly’s “foundation of okay-ness” and how it relates to fertility (6:45) Self-responsibility vs. self-care (7:56) Physiological stress and its effect on fertility (9:28) We have a built in compass for how our fertility is doing (11:40) “How much of our biology are we willing to push against?” (12:45) Age and fertility (14:20) What traditionally defines an infertility diagnosis (14:50) How genetics and epigenetics play a role (16:00) How we make a “problem” out of fertility (16:54) The role of envir

Jaguar Round Table- Five women share what changed for them from Activate your Inner Jaguar - Sex is better - Stopped picking skin on their hands (a longtime habit that had been addressed many different ways) - Learning to how to stay present with what feels good during sex (instead of what doesn't) - How to learn what her system needs and to ASK for it- changing her relationship - Sexual intimacy more open and with more possibilities - Learned better boundaries and said "no" and the person accepted it! - How to deal with introversion when you need to be social      

Nicole Coffelt, PhD is a Licensed Psychologist, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, provocateur and shamanic artist. Nikki has had the opportunity to travel and experience many diverse cultures including her own ancestral American Indian roots and brings this experience and wisdom to her healing work. Nikki has extensively worked through her own addictions and trauma and offers the gift of her capacity to transmute pain and suffering into healing energy. Nikki is the sole owner of a private psychotherapy practice in San Francisco and the artist of Emboldened Expressions:: fine art by + for the Unapologetically Savage.What She Shares: phD and post doctoral fellow at Stanford University Medical Center by 28 her personal journey with addictions and how this has contributed to her work and art a new perspective on addictions and the gifts that can come from them with embodied guidance her identification as a 'two spirit' and gender discussion her experience with ancient wisdom and what she describes as 'primal

  Ale Duarte is a somatic educator who travels around the world offering training to professionals who work in the fields of psychology, education and body-oriented therapy. What Ale Shares: How he came to work with children combining his experience teaching physical education, Rolfing, and Somatic Experiencing Trauma Therapy. Examples of Ale’s work with children and their families. The importance of using simple solutions, play, and seeing the world through the child’s eyes. The challenges facing parents in a digital age. How boundaries and protection have changed in a virtual world. Ale’s definitions of trauma and self regulation as they relate to children’s nervous systems. What You'll Hear: Ale’s background teaching physical education and psychomotor skills in Brazil. (2:30) How he moved from teaching to Rolfing and then Somatic Experiencing. (5:20) How he came to combine his many skills to help children in Thailand after the 2008 Tsunami (8:55) How he used games, play and interaction to help children