Magamama With Kimberly Ann Johnson: Sex, Birth And Motherhood

  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

“People don’t know they have the permission to mourn [a miscarriage] the same way they would for someone who had lived longer." Eileen Rosete is the founder of Our Sacred Women and a Marriage and Family Therapist. She is the mother of one daughter and has experienced two losses, which I was honored to be a part of. This episode is about honoring all kinds of births- how to do that and what that process is like. Eileen has an enormous heart of service and is infiltrating the fashion world with her message “Women Are Sacred.” What Eileen Shares: Her journey from working as a healer to owning her own business. Her company, Our Sacred Women, and its important mission in today’s world. Her two miscarriages and her intuitive, holistic approach to healing herself afterwards. How our culture does not acknowledge this event like it does with other kinds of loss. Advice to those who have had or are going through a loss.   What You’ll Hear – Eileen Rosete Eileen shares her journey from working as a healer and a c

Ellen Heed and Kimberly Johnson, co-founders of STREAM School for Postpartum Care talk about what's missing in the dialogue about sex postpartum, the biological realities of the postpartum time, and how these affect libido.  “Postpartum can be an initiation into deeper sexual potential.” What Ellen Shares What she is hearing from postpartum women in her office. How attachment, or lack thereof, between parents affects the dynamics of the family and the health of the child. What’s missing in the dialogue around sex postpartum. Biological realities of the postpartum time and how these affect libido. The need for a redefinition of a woman’s sexual self after birth. How sex can improve after the birth of a child. The four domains of pelvic health and how these affect libido, sexual function, and a woman’s overall feeling of physical wellbeing. What You’ll Hear What Ellen and Kimberly are hearing from postpartum women (1:30) The need for a new sexual definition and the challenge of finding it (2:30) Why we sho

“Birth is normal and it is biologically meant to work, it can feel incredible and you can have an incredible postpartum; but it takes a level of curiosity, courage and willingness to take responsibility for yourself that we have been hypnotized not to do.” Emilee Saldaya founder of the Free Birth Society boldly challenges the conventional birth process and refers to the ‘amnesia’ modern women embody when it comes to biological natural birth.  She discusses why birth is a feminist issue, why Free Birth has become more popular, her own birth and postpartum process and the reverence it deserves and why it’s a mother’s right to forego choosing a doctor or midwife to preserve her birth experience. What You’ll Hear: -Emilee’s journey attending births, the trauma she witnessed and how it influenced her birth preparation -How abuse, trauma and lack of consent are normalized in birth setting -What does the term ‘birthing in captivity’ mean? -The difference between an unmedicated birth and natural birth -Unnecessary su

“If you actually understood what a woman has been through: the conception journey, pregnancy, birth, the whole process—what’s happening demands full respect and a deep care. To imagine that people would just snap back into their size 0 jeans and walk out, it begs disbelief. There’s no respect for what’s arisen. And in the yoga world, we’ve fed right into that.” Uma Dinsmore-Tuli is a yoga teacher, a yoga teacher trainer, and wrote the tome Yoni Shakti: A Woman’s Guide to Power and Freedom through Yoga and Tantra, which connects feminism, blood rites, and yoga.   What You’ll Learn: The postpartum woman just did the biggest stretch there is - Birth What yoga IS appropriate for postpartum women About the yoga patriarchy About why it matters to be a woman and what stage of life you are in for yoga practice.   What You’ll Hear: -She needs stability nurture and a real sense of being mothered -Postpartum period is 5 years. -Deep inner work of breath and awareness to the pelvic floor and breastfeeding -Stability p

Amy Jo Goddard, author of bestseller Lesbian Secrets for Men and Woman on Fire hails from a Military Dad and Recovering-Catholic-Proudly-Sandra-Dee-Mom; she had no other choice but to become a sex educator just to sail the shaky waters of human experience and help her family survive.  She is an activist and that has taken many forms, including a gynecological teaching assistant, ising her body to teach pelvic exams, taking on the medical community re: power and consent in her film, At Your Cervix, to change the practice of on-consensual pelvic exams on anesthetized women, and now with her conference, Sex, Power and Leadership.   What You’ll Hear: -Amy’s feminist awakening and her definition of feminism - How can we use our power to uplift voices and people who are marginalized - What has evolved in sex education since the 80s? - How activism has changed with the internet - How can parents do better at educating their children about sex? - How doing your own work around sex and shame can help your kids - Using

This episode breaks down: what is Sexological Bodywork? What kind of people need Sexological Bodywork? Who would be a good fit to take this training.  Deej & Uma are international Sexological Bodywork teachers and teacher trainers. I traveled to Australia for them to be my guides and I cannot recommend this training, and them as teachers highly enough.  This year, they’ll be teaching the program in LA, a huge opportunity for those of us in the US! Take a look at their website to learn more about the program: www.issaustralia.com   What they share: What is sexological bodywork, and how can it help you How their friendship has evolved over the past 20 years of working together Their sexological bodywork training, and how they teach How cultural sexual histories affect trainings across the world What it’s like to witness people coming more alive & more embodied How sexological bodywork bridges the gap between therapy, physical therapy, doctors, & sex therapy Looking at “symptoms” through a positive

  Centehua shares her personal journey with her body image-- of becoming a mother at 19, taking on her mother and grandmothers' assessment of her body, and deciding to get a mommy makeover. She takes us through her journey of deciding to remove the implants at 40 as a ritual of self-love and self-reclamation. She does so without general anesthetic so that she can be fully present in the reclamation, and minimize the trauma to her system.      What Centi Shares: -How she shifted from being trained out of her body’s wisdom (by parents/culture), to living her embodied wisdom -Her journey with an eating disorder and her body -When she had a mommy makeover and what happens when you ignore your intuition & body wisdom -The fascinating and important story of how she chose to stay conscious during her breast implant removal -How important men are, and healing the masculine and feminine after #metoo -Women must embody mother consciousness & compassion to heal the planet   What You’ll Hear: -A deep connection t

This episode is a whole lot of fun. I hope that those of you with book dreams still have them by the end of it, because I hysterically laugh talking about so many parts of the my book writing process, that kind of play out like a blooper roll. But Joelle is a master. She knows how to escavate the soul of a book and make you a better writer in the process. If you want to write a book, my number one piece of advice is find an incredibly editor and stay with them from start to finish. This episode is like pulling back the curtain of the whole process from idea to publication. What Joelle Shares: The story of how Kimberly and Joelle met and how Joelle’s role in The Fourth Trimester (spoiler alert: she edited my book proposal which got me a publisher) The most successful writers that Joelle works with are the ones who understand where their book fits in their system and their world What you need to write your first book Why you need a book proposal for yourself and to be able to sell your book- your proposal is y

EP: Magamama talks about natural birth, gender roles, and exploratory sex with Carlos Marin Jr. In this episode, I share: My birth story and soul calling to write The Fourth Trimester;  the realities of postpartum care today Information for men postpartum, role of the masculine in birth, and why we’re not optimizing our biology How to reframe sex postpartum; why childbirth is the one thing that makes us reconsider the way we’re doing sex Why birth is also a death and other thoughts on rites of passage Thoughts on losing control and increasing your capacity to hold charge   Natural birth vs. hospital birth and how to choose the right care providers Tid-bits on exploratory sex, the connection between birth and sex, and sexological bodywork   You will hear: Is my pelvis going to split in two? And more from my birth story (2:52) Is postpartum depression related to a lack of information? (5:24) What’s missing from the 6-week postpartum visit (6:29) Information for men postpartum (8:09) Reframing the conversatio

“We blame the victim, and medicate her as the only offering.” Dr. Kelly Brogan is a board-certified non-prescribing psychiatrist. She is the author of NYT Bestseller, A Mind of Your Own. (Get your copy ASAP). She is revolutionizing the way that we view mental health and how people heal. She is a pioneer and a trailblazer and this interview is full of the fire that propels her. I was honored that she shared her own experience of childbirth and motherhood, and why she didn't think she was "mom material."  What You'll Hear: Kelly went into medicine to serve women The best births are natural births, according to the evidence Her postpartum period was a reckoning, which allowed her to wake up and honor herself We blame the victim, when it comes to postpartum The worst things that happen to us are moments of psycho-spiritual initiation Her tremendous masculine energy, her need to fight for others, and how she wasn’t sure she was mom material   What Kelly Shares: Why women are prescribed antidepressants at double

What Ellen Shares: Her exploration of feminism and motherhood Her new understanding of career after motherhood How the cultural standards of having to do it all, alone, sets mothers up for burnout How burnout and health issues allowed her learn how to receive help and collaborate with community Her desire to add motherhood, bodies, and intuition to the feminist conversation; plus giving women the permission and agency to do what’s right for them What You’ll Hear: How Ellen’s work shifted when she became a mother (2:30) How her feminism has shifted with motherhood (4:24) How motherhood has been seen as an oppressive institution (5:50) Is feminism about everything other than motherhood? (6:20) Feelings of disempowerment/invisibility after becoming a mother (7:53) Who am I/what is my value in the world now that I’m a mother? (8:40) The plan vs. the reality, after having a baby (9:53) “I thought I would have a child and keep going in the same direction” (11:37) Andrea O’Reilly’s books on feminism & motherh

Ellen and Kimberly Share: The inside scoop on Exiting the Shame Matrix course and why comes first in STREAM training Lots of great information about the four domains of pelvic health: the biochemical pelvis, the biomechanical pelvis, the all important scar tissue domain, and the emotional pelvis Most importantly, what the shame matrix is, how it affects access to life as a whole, and why freeing yourself from it is *essential* before helping others with their sexuality Your right to self pleasure and thoughts on radical sexual autonomy and patriarchal culture All about the next Radical Bodywork module and reclaiming the erotic as love of life The differences between touching from eros and giving erotic massage and all the things that come up in pelvic touchwork from arousal to longing to transference The role of assessment in navigating boundaries and connected relational exchange STREAM training news and how to get involved if working with sexuality is your calling   What You’ll Hear:   What is the full s

EP18: Sil Reynolds on Mothering and Daughtering “Better” (Not Easier) with More Connection and Support You are really in for a huge treat in meeting Sil Reynolds. She and I have connected intermittently over the years. Although our contacts have been brief, she has given me gems that have stuck with me over time. At a time when I felt deeply insecure about mothering and especially single mothering, she told me, a child needs ONE person to securely attach to. And she is a person you listen to and trust when she speaks. She is a wise elder, a former women’s health nurse practitioner, a coach and teacher of women and mothers and an author, together with her stellar daughter, Eliza Reynolds, of the book Mothering and Daughtering. What Sil Shares: Why it’s our job to stay at the center of our daughter’s world How mothering and daughtering can get better (not easier) during the teen years - meaning more connected, deeper, and closer. And how conflict is an opportunity for deeper connection. Her choice to mother mo

EP 18: Bern Mendez on Finding the Love You Want Bern Mendez from YourGreatLifeTV helps women find their soulmates, and it works! He believes in big epic love and helps women get there. I love inviting wonderful men on the podcast. Bern’s heart is as big as the world. I hope you love the conversation as much as I loved having it. I am proud to call Bern a dear friend. What Bern Shares: Why he works with women (hint: women will save the planet) How standards work: differentiating between what would be nice to have, vs what you need There IS sacrifice in love His view of sex on the first date How to find a good guy (yes, they’re out there, and you can find one if you get uncomfortable/do the work) What You’ll Hear: Why he works with women & not men (3:28) What is women’s #1 relationship problem? (5:30) Should women lower their standards? (6:55) What happens when we raise our own standards for how we show up in the world (8:40) Why haven’t you met The One? (11:40) How to remove obstacles to your feminine e