Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson

Cutting-edge, pioneering conversations on holistic women's health, including sex, birth, motherhood, womanhood, intimacy and trauma with doula, certified Sexological Bodyworker, Somatic Experiencing practitioner, and author of Call of the Wild and the Fourth Trimester, Kimberly Ann Johnson.

EP 224: The Case of Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, and the Responsibility of Women to Other Women with fellow Jaguar Kristin Butler 04/28/2025

EP 224: The Case of Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, and the Responsibility of Women to Other Women with fellow Jaguar Kristin Butler In this episode, Kimberly Ann Johnson is joined by journalist, and fellow Jaguar, Kristin Butler to discuss the case of Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman: a celebrity couple who are currently both facing charges around Gaiman’s ongoing sexual misconduct. Kimberly and Kristin share their own personal reactions to the case, as well as the way the reporting on the story reveals common challenges for women dealing with fallout from sexual boundary rupture, particularly fawning. They explore the complexities of boundary violations, the impact of the #BelieveSurvivors movement on men, and the psychological responses for women searching for agency and empowerment post boundary rupture. The conversation touches on the broader implications of sexual abuse, the role of social media, and the importance of Activate Your Inner Jaguar work in empowering individuals to recognize and assert their boundaries. They discuss the power of embodied consent and the challenges of navigating gray areas in sexual interactions, as well as circumstances where structural power and interpersonal power fluctuate in relationships between men and women. What They Discuss? Trigger warnings and disclaimers in journalism Fawning between young women and older men who abuse their power What is the journalistic responsibilities of storytelling and reporting around sexual boundaries An in depth consideration of Tortoise Media’s podcast series Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman Fawning when the threat is not front of you What happens when your flight response doesn’t activate? How does our nervous system respond to a boundary rupture? Tendencies to blame oneself after a sexual boundary rupture Self-Gaslighting What’s a trauma loop? What is compelling me to enter certain sexual situations? How does activate your inner jaguar empower women? What is the responsibility women have to their own nervous systems and for their behavior? The complexity of #BelieveSurvivors What is too overprotective for a parent? Is it safe to be a sex positive parent? How do highly publicized extremes impact sexual norms? How does virtual socialization impact our in person interactions? How does emotional support from AI impact our relationships It’s become normalized to for men and women to degrade/insult men The quieter forms of anti-male bias How does structural power and relative power play out between men and women? How does power play out in everyday relationships? The power of embodied boundaries Links Sign up for Activate Your Inner Jaguar: Movement, Meditation, and The Female Nervous System - Early Bird price ends May 2nd /episode/index/show/magamama/id/36332885

EP 223: On Menopause, Female Elderhood & Competition Between Women in Wellness with Kate Codrington 04/23/2025

EP 223: On Menopause, Female Elderhood & Competition Between Women in Wellness with Kate Codrington In this deep dive into menopause and elderhood, Kimberly and Kate Codrington discuss how they see their inter-generational work with women around self-care and cultural work. Kate’s book The Second Spring: The Self-Care Guide to Menopause and her more recent The Perimenopause Journal have made an indelible impact as Kimberly transitioned to the other side of the menopause hill. Two women, in their second spring, consider their responsibilities to women in various cycles of womanhood. They explore the impact of teachers, trauma, and the digital age on women, highlighting the need for resilience, play, and the ability to hold paradoxes. The discussion also touches on the importance of role models, the ever-changing dynamics of female elders, and the significance of embodied compassion in doing work in the women’s wellness and healthcare fields. Bio Kate’s mission is to change the way we regard menopause and show how we can relax into our own, inner authority through our cyclical nature, deep body intelligence and menopause process. Life around and within is always communicating with us and her passion is for the ‘soft animal body’, the magic of the liminal, and the potential of emergent processes. Kate refuses to take herself too seriously and tries to never take on anything that is not pleasurable and delicious. She is a menstrual and menopause mentor, speaker, workshop facilitator, writer, podcaster and have been a therapist for more than 30 years. She is also an artist currently weaving textiles, words, story and stitch. She’s in her second spring, which means post-menopause, and has deep gratitude for the education that the menopause process has gifted her. The Perimenopause Journal is now available at your favourite booksellers and my first book Second Spring: the self-care guide to menopause was published by HarperCollins 2022. What You’ll Hear The responsibility of female elders Accountability, compassion and intention Setting around the journey to menopause How does post-perimenopause impact mother/daughter relationships What is the purpose of elders? The power of some worldly detachment Michael Mead’s “Growing Downwards” Embracing different styles and adornments as we age, reflecting on the changes in the body and preferences. The importance of being playful and expressive in one's choices, regardless of age or societal expectations. The intersection of joy and pleasure with healing Competition between women in the wellness and healthcare field Links Website: IG: @kate_codrington Activate Your Inner Jaguar: Sex Edition - Get on the Waitlist /episode/index/show/magamama/id/36287235

EP 222: "The Body is a Doorway: A Memoir - A Journey Beyond Healing, Health, and the Human" with Sophie Strand 03/20/2025

EP 222: "The Body is a Doorway: A Memoir - A Journey Beyond Healing, Health, and the Human" with Sophie Strand In this episode, Kimberly and return guest Sophie Strand celebrate publishing week for Sophie’s extraordinary new book The Body is a Doorway: A Memoir: A Journey Beyond Healing, Hope, and the Human. They discuss where Sophie currently finds herself in a post-diagnosis reality and what writing the book taught her about the mysteries of illness. She emphasizes the complex power of doctor relationships and medical information on the body through the nocebo effect. Kimberly and Sophie talk through what it looks like to support someone dealing with illness day to day. Sophie shares her personal and social experiences with chronic illness, as well as the contemporary cultural pressures to intertwine identity with labels. She also highlights the role of community, creativity and bad story on diagnoses and treatments. This open-hearted conversation touches on the broader implications of health, identity, and the need for a more open and relational approach to care and self-understanding. Bio Sophie Strand is a poet and writer with a focus on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. Her poems and essays have appeared in numerous projects and publications, including Spirituality & Health, Atmos, Braided Way, and Art PAPERS. She is the author of The Flowering Wand and The Madonna Secret, and the creator of the popular Substack “Make Me Good Soil.” She lives in the Hudson Valley of New York. What They Share The impact of a long-awaited diagnosis The No-Cebo Effect What we pay attention to we pray towards The Mystery of Illness Bad Story in Myth and Psychotherapeutic fields Self-Diagnosis How to tell a different stories about chronic illness Performing Sickness to have invisible illness be more visible How to check in with friends having a hard time/facing health challenges End of the addiction line Chronic Sickness as it relates to sobriety Eco-cidal culture wants to turn everything into product Somatic Protest Body can’t work The miracle of GoFund Me alongside an unaffordable health care system History of oral culture Orality and Literature by anthropologist Walter Ong What is an individual? Monotheism of Psychology The impulse to classify is about control and fear Prayer is another energy that might have a better idea of what I need Vending Machine Prayer Finding book endings that aren’t fantasies How to separate negative from worse How to operate with one spoon Links IG @cosmogyny Substack Sophie's New Book: The Body is A Doorway Amazon Review page: https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review/?ie=UTF8&channel=glance-detail&asin=0762487410 Money and The Nervous System Sign-Up: https://kimberlyannjohnson.com/money-the-nervous-system/ /episode/index/show/magamama/id/35795410

EP 221: Reckon and Wonder with Stephen Jenkinson, Kimberly Ann Johnson, and Jackson Kroopf [ENCORE] 03/13/2025

EP 221: Reckon and Wonder with Stephen Jenkinson, Kimberly Ann Johnson, and Jackson Kroopf [ENCORE] This is a special re-release of an episode featuring guest host Jackson Kroopf speaking with the incomparable Kimberly Ann Johnson and Stephen Jenkinson. We’re bringing this conversation back to let you know about something special happening this weekend from Stephen Jenkinson and the Orphan Wisdom School: Sanity and Soul: Die Wise 10 Years. Taking place on March 15th and 16th at 10am Pacific, this 6-part online event is a deep dive into the wisdom of death, grief, and the soul, 10 years after the publication of Stephen's transformative book Die Wise. You’ll get to experience the depth of Stephen’s work in a pretty unique way: through 4 recorded grief counsel sessions with dying people, hearing Stephen practice, in 2025, the kind of work described in Die Wise. Plus, he’ll be joined by two brilliant colleagues—a neuroscientist studying human consciousness and a filmmaker exploring the afterlife—to discuss the lasting impact of Die Wise on grief counseling, death doulas, and the way these ideas continue to shape our world. If you want to learn more and register, visit orphanwisdom.com/events. But now, enjoy this conversation from March 2023, following Reckoning at Mt. Madonna. Please do consider gifting yourself or a loved one this upcoming offering, Sanity & Soul that promises to provide some ceremony in these troubled times in ways only Stephen and the Orphan Wisdom School can. Link: What You’ll Here in this Episode: Reflections on witness from retired birth and death workers The value of disillusionment The power of loneliness The proliferation of self pathologizing The complex politics of feelings The religion of western psychology Adolescents grabbing for pop psychology labels The respect in not offering solutions The eagerness to escape from pain while grieving Is love dead? Blessing not as approval but the emergence of something new Marriage as both celebration and loss Matrimony between cultures An only child and single parent inviting in a new husband Building an escape route as you enter a union The no-go zone of contemporary western marriage 15 minute weddings, 15 minute funerals, 15 minute births The cultural casualties of uniformity Being healthy enough to tend to home and neighbor Links ig @reckoning live Sanity & Soul Sign-Up /episode/index/show/magamama/id/35677425

EP 220: Book Proposal Academy 2025 - Writing, Publishing, and Your Audience with Joelle Hann, The Brooklyn Book Doctor 03/05/2025

EP 219: Proud Flesh - A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure with Catherine Simone Gray 02/20/2025

EP 219: Proud Flesh - A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure with Catherine Simone Gray In this episode, Kimberly dives deep into guest author Catherine Simone Gray's book Proud Flesh: A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure. With tenderness, Kimberly and Catherine share their mutual appreciation for each other’s writing and the deep impact Kimberly’s work has had on the journey that led to Catherine’s book. Catherine guides us through her journey of healing from a vaginal tear postpartum, which led to the discovery of proud flesh, a term for hypergranulation tissue. She describes the emotional and physical challenges she faced across two births (one hospital/C-Section, one home/natural), including silver nitrate treatments and the support of her husband; recounting the story of how the couple’s relationships to one another’s bodies changed when she invited him to draw her vulva daily. Catherine and Kimberly both emphasize the importance of language and writing in redefining sexuality and eroticism, and how this process can support women in reconnecting with their body. If you enjoyed this conversation be sure to sign up for their online gathering Writing as a Pathway to Pleasure on Sunday, February 23rd at Bio Catherine Simone Gray is a writer and teacher. Her writings on motherhood and healing first appeared on her blog , where her piece about teaching her son consent reached 2.5 million around the world. Featured by Roxane Gay in The Audacity’s Emerging Writer Series, her work has also appeared in The Bitter Southerner and the Michigan Quarterly Review: Mixtape. Her blog writings have been shared by respected organizations for new mothers, such as La Leche League USA, International Cesarean Awareness Network, and ImprovingBirth. Gray is the recipient of a literary arts fellowship with the Mississippi Arts Commission and has delivered three addresses at the Mississippi Women's March and Womanist rallies. With over a decade of experience as a writing teacher to people aged eight to eighty, she holds a master of arts in curriculum and instruction. She leads writing circles for women, mothers, and caregivers, exploring how writing can be an ally in our living and loving. Her debut memoir Proud Flesh: A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure was published in 2025 by North Atlantic Books. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi, with her husband and their two sons. What You’ll Hear Kimberly’s deep appreciation for the writing craft found in Catherine’s book and is moved by the way their work has intersected Catherine has been a Jaguar since 2017 and shares the way many baths listening, reading and sitting with Kimberly’s work influenced Proud Flesh Catherine recalls key moments with her doctor in making a healing plan for a natural birth injury Catherine describes how the scientific term Proud Flesh took on poetic meaning in her life Catherine discusses the difference in healing from the numbing disconnect of C-Section to the embodied pain of a natural birth. Catherine describes a profound confrontation with how her and her husband relate to each other’s bodies, which led to a durational art project in which he drew her vulva over time. Catherine and Kimberly reflect on erotic writing that doesn’t reify centering the male gaze Kimberly and Catherine talk about their own evolving relationships to their bodies and the craft of writing Links IG - @unsilencedwoman Website - Book - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771427/proud-flesh-by-catherine-simone-gray/ Online Gathering - https://kimberlyannjohnson /episode/index/show/magamama/id/35357050

EP 218: Thriving Postpartum - Embracing the Indigenous Wisdom of La Cuarentena with Pānquetzani 11/22/2024

EP 218: Thriving Postpartum - Embracing the Indigenous Wisdom of La Cuarentena with Pānquetzani In this episode, Kimberly and Pānquetzani discuss her new book Thriving Postpartum: Embracing the Indigenous Wisdom of La Cuarentena and the thirteen year process of navigating that creative act. Pānquetzani reflects on the ways her relationships with partners and her four children have impacted the journey of making a business and writing a book. Pānquetzani’s writing is inextricably linked directly to the work she has done in and for her community around postpartum care, as well as the lessons she learned around mental health and partner agreements along the way. A deep meditation on personal healing and learning how to make and hold boundaries. The episode lovingly asks: how do you listen to your intuition, your womb, and your baby? Bio Pānquetzani comes from a matriarchal family of folk healers from the valley of Mexico (Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlaxcala), La Comarca Lagunera (Durango and Coahuila), and Zacatecas. As a traditional herbalist, healer, and birthkeeper, Pānquetzani has touched over 3,000 wombs and bellies. Through her platform, Indigemama: Ancestral Healing, she has taught over 100 live, in-person intensives and trainings on womb wellness. She lives in California. What you’ll hear: The 13 year journey of writing a book Differences in how men and women are treated in public as new parents Liberation of separation and divorce The challenge of holding boundaries with mothers-in-law Creating a culture of community care in a colonial context How to navigate who you want in your cuarentena? How to work with narcissism and boundaries? Listen to your womb, listen to your intuition, ask your baby: what do you need? Pain and martyrdom’s role in parenting Respect is connected to access in a relationship A birth story that led to parent/child healing How to be in communication with your womb Resources Website: IG: @indigemama Book: /episode/index/show/magamama/id/34109171

EP 217: Ordinary Mysticism - Everyday Beauty, Grief, Sexuality and Mystical Awareness with Mirabai Starr 10/12/2024

EP 217: Ordinary Mysticism - Everyday Beauty, Grief, Sexuality and Mystical Awareness with Mirabai Starr Kimberly and Mirabai Starr engage in a rich and intimate exploration of mysticism, personal loss, spirituality, and the intersection of sexuality and the sacred. They consider how they have each found spirituality in their everyday lives while being mindful of their journeys, cultures, ancestry, and the complexities involved. They discuss Mirabai's new book, "Ordinary Mysticism," which delves into the nature of mysticism and its accessibility to everyone every day. Mirabai emphasizes that mysticism doesn't require institutionalized religion and can be found in ordinary moments. They discuss the profound impact of loss and grief in Mirabai’s life. She describes how these experiences deepened her connection to the sacred and the beauty intertwined with suffering. Bio Mirabai Starr is an award winning author of creative nonfiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught philosophy and world religions at the University of New Mexico, Taos for 20 years, and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. She has written over 15 books, and the latest is “Ordinary Mysticism.” But you'll hear her talk about “Caravan of No Despair,” “Wild Mercy,” and some of her translations from Spanish to English, “In The Mystics,” “The Great Mystics.” She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico. What you’ll hear: Mirabai's views on spiritual, literary and poetic writing. The origin story of her new book "Ordinary Mysticism" - including it’s connection to Anne Lamott The ease in finding the mystical if you are open to it. The challenges of having that openness in the everyday The intersections of grief and the sacred Cultivating mystical awareness in daily life Searching for spiritual grounding Uprootedness of being spiritual but not religious How to understand your relationship to different spiritual technologies How to tap into spiritual bounty without colonizing and appropriating Intention and attention are crucial for recognizing the sacred in the mundane. The integration of sexuality and spirituality The common split many women feel between the sexual and the sacred aspects of their lives. How healing from/through sexual abuse can lead to sacredness in intimacy What’s a responsible and mindful approach to drawing from various spiritual traditions? How does storytelling and reflecting on shared struggles lead to insights within the spiritual journey? And how ending an abusive sexual and spiritual relationship can lead to healing through new forms of intimacy. Healthy intimacy can be holy Resources https://mirabaistarr.com/ /episode/index/show/magamama/id/33433722

EP 216: Cultural Identity, Ancestry and White Privileges & Poverties with Tad Hargrave 10/08/2024

EP 216: Cultural Identity, Ancestry and White Privileges & Poverties with Tad Hargrave Fellow Orphan Wisdom Scholar, and founder of Marketing for Hippies, Tad Hargrave dives deep with Kimberly into his ever-evolving relationship to whiteness and ancestry. They discuss Tad’s journey into exploring his ancestral roots, language and cultural identity, as well as Kimberly and Tad’s shared rites of passage experiences doing anti-racism work. Tad shares how he initially felt disconnected from indigenous cultures, but found deep resonance exploring his own heritage, particularly his Scottish Gaelic ancestry. The two discuss the polarities of self-loathing and self-glorification amidst contemporary white activists of both the left and right, and the broader implications of whiteness and cultural identity for white individuals. They touch on the importance of considering both privileges and poverties when it comes to whiteness, and also consider the challenges and complexities faced by white people in navigating issues of privilege, guilt when trying to meaningfully engage with marginalized histories and communities. Overall, the conversation delves into the nuanced and often difficult process of reclaiming one's cultural heritage and identity as a white person, and ends on a consideration of how to creatively and meaningfully approach speaking the colonizer tongue of English. Bio: Tad Hargrave is a hippy who developed a knack for marketing (and then learned to be a hippy again). He spent his late teens being schooled in a mixed bag of approaches to sales and marketing – some manipulative and some not. When that career ended, he spent a decade unlearning and unpacking what he’d been through. How had he been swept up in it? Why didn’t those approaches work as well as advertised? Were there ways of marketing that both worked better and felt better to all involved? It took him time but he began to find a better way to market. By 2006, he had become one of the first, full-time ‘conscious business’ marketing coaches (for hippies) and created a business where he could share the understanding he had come to: Marketing could feel good. You didn’t have to choose between marketing that worked (but felt awful) or marketing that felt good (but got you no clients). Since 2001, he has been touring his around Canada, the United States, Europe, and online, bringing refreshing and unorthodox ideas to conscious entrepreneurs and green businesses that help them grow their organizations and businesses (without selling their souls). Instead of charging outrageous amounts, he started doing most of his events on a pay what you can basis. He is the author of sixteen books and workbooks on marketing. Tad currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta (traditionally known, in the local indigenous language of the Cree, as Amiskwaciy (Beaver Hill) and later Amiskwaciwaskihegan (Beaver Hill House) and his ancestors come primarily from Scotland with some from the Ukraine as well. He is now dedicated to spending the rest of his days preserving and fostering a more deeply respectful, beautiful and human culture. What you’ll hear: Tad’s intro to anti-racism and youth organizing work in the Bay Area Tad found himself pushing up against something in anti-racist/white supremacy trainings What is the role of self-loathing in anti-racism trainings? Tad found admiration toward indigenous rituals, but unlike some white peers, didn’t feel drawn to doing more work with indigenous cultures Something changed when Tad began learning his indigenous language Tad came to understand whiteness as a cover for something Whiteness is a kind of forgetting Can a white person participate in a indigenous ritual? Yes, but always as a guest and with consideration for the impact their presence might be having on that community Recognizing that whiteness was trouble, that it was a kind of poverty Tad found he no longer was so anxiously seeking approval from indigenous people and people of color, which he recognized as another form of taking The importance of finding rootedness in ancestral story Kim discusses her experience in urban education in Chicago and studying under Michael Eric Dyson Kim found she was often comparing her ancestor grief to Black peers Kim has found Canada’s links to the older world to be more apparent than the United States Unpacking whiteness is an empty box - there’s nothing there. Where do white people go for culture? Often Black culture in North America You can’t start with shame - you have to remind people who they came from Peter Levine’s idea that you don’t, in locating feelings in the body, rest in what’s good and stay comfortable; but you also don’t stay in the bad and turn to ash. For white people there is no “good” place to go connected to the term white- it’s discomfort all the time. A polarizing time - one end of the spectrum is MAGA which reinforces white supremacy/entitlement the other end is leftist positive reinforcement for self-loathing, guilt, and shame. White privilege gets conflated with cultural appropriation The belief that deep down you are bad is a non-indigenous worldview - it’s a Christian one. A rite of passage in a certain way to be so different than the rest of a room of people. There is privilege in white innocence, wide-eyed and curious about other worldviews, but it is not one that you come out the other side of without recognizing cultural poverty. There are double binds of contemporary identity politics discourse - despite the intention to advocate for another group of people, there is also anticipated criticism for participating in culture or movement that is not your own. After an event, there are lines of young people paralyzed by guilt about being white, male, or part of the settler-colonial class. There’s a lot of learning that can happen if you look back to why people left, further than just North American history. Self-loathing is a collapse onto oneself and self-glorification if a puffing up/posture on a very dark history of genocide, slavery, and racism - they aren’t opposites - they are two sides of the same coin. Dominant society has a tendency to co-opt, and possess everything that is holy. There is no movement that isn’t co-opted by a dominant society - BLM, Feminism, Indigeneity Corporations co-opt every movement without changing their practices - the enemy is that machine. Wendell Berry - live as a machine or live as a creature? Whiteness is a construct of empire. How do you make a living when you want to opt out of empire, late-stage capitalism and try and work on a more human scale? How to find or make the village? Leaving more than you had for the next generation. The origins of a conception of whiteness is privilege - but as you go further there are also poverties. At Orphan Wisdom School Tad saw something not just preserved, but practiced How do we not only preserve ancestral culture but also practice it? What does it mean to make culture in the times and places we are living? Resources Tad’s Substack: Tad’s Marketing Business: Tad on Whiteness: Tad’s IG: Martin Prechtel’s book: Stephanie Mackay’s website: /episode/index/show/magamama/id/33381392

EP 215: Never Land / Sever Land - Dirt, Place, Ancestry, & The Making of Culture From the New World with Stephen Jenkinson 10/01/2024

EP 215: Never Land / Sever Land - Dirt, Place, Ancestry, & The Making of Culture From the New World with Stephen Jenkinson In this episode, podcast producer Jackson Kroopf interviews Kimberly Ann Johnson and Stephen Jenkinson about their upcoming live audio series Never Land / Sever Land - Dirt, Place, Ancestry, and The Making of Culture From The New World. They discuss the impact of their recent trip to Ireland on their ongoing collaboration around culture making in the wake of a global pandemic. They reveal details about Stephen's work-in-progress manuscript and how it relates to orphan wisdom. They consider the implications of the “New World” in contemporary circumstances, the sticky territory of ancestry, and how dirt fits into all of this. A glimpse into a very special offering to come, this conversation gives you a preview into what happens when these two come together to consider the topics and work they’ve devoted so much of their respective writings and teachings to: how to consider (your) place when history is never far past. Bio Stephen Jenkinson, MTS, MSW is a worker, author, storyteller, musician and culture activist. In 2010, he founded Orphan Wisdom, a house for learning skills of deep living and making human culture that are mandatory in endangered, endangering times. It is a redemptive project that comes from where he comes from. It is rooted in knowing history, being claimed by ancestry, working for a time he won’t live to see. When not on the road, he makes books, succumbs to interviews, tends to labours on a small farm, mends broken handles and fences, and bends towards lifeways dictated by the seasons of the boreal borderlands. What you’ll here wonderings about: What it means for North Americans to visit their ancestral homeland The consequences of being cultural orphans Native culture and its relationship to whiteness What ancestry means to your travel plans The difference between making culture from and making culture for... Peter Behrens' book "The Law of Dream" Stephen's musings on Tobe Hooper and Stephen Spielberg's film Poltergeist Back to the land / farming fantasies Dirt and its layered wisdom Shifts in Stephen's teachings from warnings to descriptors The Unauthorized history of North America What it means to always feel like you're running Why its different to listen to this series live... What wellness has to do with all this... You can learn more and sign up for their upcoming class "Never Land / Sever Land: Dirt, Place, Ancestry, and The Makings of Culture From the New World" from October 20th-November 17th at: photo by Mattias Olsson /episode/index/show/magamama/id/33276537

EP 214: Finding Language, Sharing our Stories, and Creating New Worlds around Mothering with April Tierney 08/30/2024

EP 214: Finding Language, Sharing our Stories, and Creating New Worlds around Mothering with April Tierney In this episode, Kimberly and April discuss her most recent book of poetry titled Matter / Mother which shares about April’s experience of traveling through the underworld of grief, hardship, and heartbreak while mothering her young child. Together, they share their desires for a culture that makes space for the depth of mothering experiences and stories through all of the different seasons of life. They also discuss how to bear the pain and responsibility of both creating a world we want our children to live in while simultaneously inhabiting the one that currently exists. Overall, their vulnerability and honest reflections from their differing seasons of mothering offers language to those deep experiences and possibility for all mothers. Bio April Tierney is a poet, activist, craftswoman, mother, and lover of stories. Her work follows threads of ecopoetics, myth, culture, and lineage. She has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize and featured in Orion Magazine, Deep Times: A Journal of the Work that Reconnects, Clarion Poetry Magazine, and Real Ground Journal, among others. What She Shares: –”Matter / Mother” poetry and mothering –Mothering in the upper world while traversing the underworld –Creative process while mothering –Motherhood hardship and joys of different seasons –Creating the world we want our children to inhabit What You’ll Hear: –Latest book “Matter Mother” of poetry –Reading of “Birth Story” poem –Birth as animalistic and mythic –Decision behind black cover on book –Longing for more mothering stories from underworld journey –Writing a book during early mothering –Listening to experiences not from our own –Finding language for mothering experiences –Finding the right voices on mothering experiences –Birth culturally accepted as traumatic –Mothering in the underworld while raising children in the upperworld –Mothering as existential –Heartbreak of mothering in these times –Unable to talk about lived, ongoing way while holding children –Fantasy of modern motherhood –Modern living as kind of trauma we learn to cope with –Four forest fires in three days –Evacuating from home from forest fires –Pausing from writing and trusting the quiet places –Writing as torture until its tended to –Bringing forth for the world what is asking to come through –Books as living, breathing things –Creative portion of mothering in tension with energy and needs –Kimberly’s surprise of mothering young adulthood –Grieving and loving during mothering in all phases –Importance of sharing from different stages of mothering –Physical versus psychological demands of mothering –Noticing the glory spots of mothering –Sending children out into the world –Creating the world we want our children to live in Resources Website: https://www.apriltierney.com/ IG: @apriltierney11 /episode/index/show/magamama/id/32803957

EP 213: Navigating Single Motherhood, Finding Sisterhood, and Forming Kinship with Marysia Miernowska 08/23/2024

EP 213: Navigating Single Motherhood, Finding Sisterhood, and Forming Kinship with Marysia Miernowska In this episode, Kimberly and Marysia discuss how they’ve navigated the challenges and benefits of single motherhood. In many ways, their lives and stories run parallel: surprising pregnancies, marrying into another culture, becoming single mothers with babies, and living out single motherhood while being entrepreneurs. This honest, raw, and tender conversation offers vulnerable testimonies and nuggets of wisdom for other single mothers. They emphasize the difficulties but importance of building kinship and community, undoing internalized shame, and tending to community. Marysia’s School of the Sacred Wild is now open for enrollment with Kimberly as a guest teacher! Bio Marysia Miernowska is a teacher, author, Earth activist, green witch, folk herbalist and healer rooted in the Wise Woman Tradition of Healing. Born in Poland, she carries with her a lineage of European folk herbalism. Marysia honors plants as sentient beings, elders, healers and teachers. As a Plant Spirit Communicator, Marysia channels messages from the Earth spirits and guides students to connect with plant spirits through meditation and through their bodies, to receive guidance and learn about the constituents, energetics and properties of plants. Registration is now open for the School of the Sacred Wild and can be accessed through the link below. What She Shares: –Journeys into pregnancy –Trauma and shame around single mothering –Finding kinship and community What You’ll Hear: –Marysia’s surprising journey into motherhood –Managing cultural differences as a couple –Traumatic experience becoming a single mother with a baby –Kimberly’s pregnancy and divorce –Single motherhood sisterhood –Navigating single motherhood challenges and joys –Marysia entering single motherhood –Receiving judgment for divorcing –Physical manifestations of wounds and healing –Functional freeze reactions for survival –Finding the village as single mothers –Fairy godmothers and aunties –Bringing in chosen family for children –Cultural differences in background and local living –Anticipating the death of empty nest –Reviewing mothering choices –Grief and cultural isolation –Predictability and calm in hiring anticipatory help –Working through shame in asking for more help –Nervous systems and being trapped –How culture is physically organized disruptive to kinship –Spontaneous social interactions –Taking risks and extending our ways of gathering –Doing it imperfectly and letting go of shame –Tending to the ecosystem of families, parents, and single mothers –School of the Sacred Wild herbalism program –Creating kinship and a deep sense of belonging between human & non-human –Holding vitality of the Mother archetype and cutting back, releasing, and discerning –September 7th registration closes –10% off code for listeners –Kimberly to guest teach in School of Sacred Wild Resources Website: https://www.schoolofthesacredwild.com/ IG: @marysia_miernowska Course Link for Listeners: /episode/index/show/magamama/id/32707787

EP 212: Hormones to an Evolutionary Biologist - Menopause, Endometriosis, and Grandmothering with Natalie Dinsdale 07/15/2024

Episode 211: Travel, Tourism, and Home in a “Post-Pandemic” World with Chris Christou 05/31/2024

Episode 211: Travel, Tourism, and Home in a “Post-Pandemic” World with Chris Christou In this episode, Kimberly and Chris dive deep into the impact of travel on their lives and the consequences of tourism in places they call home. As two world travelers, who have each spent a decade living abroad, Kimberly and Chris consider what they have learned about home, hospitality, and culture from places far from the lands they were raised. They discuss how the pandemic impacted travel to where Chris resides in Mexico, one of two countries that kept its borders open? How Air BnB’s, second homes, and passive income have changed the real estate landscape for future generations? They wonder what it would look like to re-imagine the set of relationships and responsibilities one has if they “belong” to their neighborhood? They ask what if we imagined both our “leisure” and our “work” as connected to the place we live? And how does the question of confinement to home, so relevant to new mothers, show up in the “post-pandemic” summer of 2024? Bio Chris Christou is a writer, educational curator, and activist. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, he moved to Oaxaca, Mexico in 2015 after a decade of delirious wanderlust. In 2016, Chris began concurrently working in and writing about the tourism industry, founding Oaxaca Profundo, a deep learning organization focused on food culture and radical hospitality. In 2021, alongside friends and strangers, he organized and launched the End of Tourism Podcast. He is the author of a book of poetry entitled the Black Braid of Memory, as well as forthcoming books on the psychedelic culture, the unauthorized history of tourism, and radical hospitality. Finally, he is a student of all things chocolate and cacao-related. What You’ll Hear Being at home in other places Are places “back to normal”? Are we “post-pandemic”? Mexico as an escape route for coping with Covid culture How is a sense of home impacted by tourism? What does it mean to be forced to stay at home and the response is to get as far away as fast as possible? Wanderlust - wanting to be everywhere and by virtue of that not wanting to be anywhere How much of tourism an unwillingness to be where one is? What does it mean to consider what the place you call home needs? And what you can offer that place? I don’t think you can be responsible to a place if you’re elsewhere The history of mobility in north American Culture How to re-neighbor Seeing places as temporary makes them disposable How the pandemic led to lots of profit-driven real estate aquisitions The impact of Air Bnbs in tourist destinations Do we make our homes for ourselves or for our parents and others we want to welcome people How do locals become second class servants or mascot for Instagram world views? Dehumanization is a two way street in the tourist industry Leaving one expensive city for a less expensive city you bring the landlords with you. The un-sustainability of second homes Hospitality is complex - learning a culture to invoke hospitality with the stranger How difficult staying at home is for a new mother? Feeling confined when trying to make home with a baby Having family in and of two cultures Travel vegans vs. living it up Resources IG - @zajorino / / /episode/index/show/magamama/id/31556107

Episode 210: Restore Your Core, Healing Journeys, and Mothering Teens with Lauren Ohayon 05/25/2024

Episode 210: Restore Your Core, Healing Journeys, and Mothering Teens with Lauren Ohayon In this episode, Kimberly and Lauren discuss her teaching journey, which led to the restorative exercise techniques Lauren offers in the women’s health field. As a lifelong mover, Lauren went through several different yoga trainings and anatomical frameworks to arrive at a simple truth: there isn’t a right or wrong, good or bad when it comes to understanding your body’s needs. They discuss re-writing injury stories, and consider what leads women to medically intervene at different phases of life. In addition, Kimberly and Lauren talk about raising teenage girls. In this open hearted conversation, two somatic experiencing practitioners talk through their way of practicing what they teach. Bio Lauren Ohayon isan internationally recognized yoga + Pilates teacher specializing in core and pelvic floor issues. She has been teaching for the past two decades. Lauren creates online exercise programs that are challenging, unique, safe, sustainable and life-changing. In addition to yoga and Pilates, she is certified as a Restorative Exercise Specialist™, in Neurokinetic Therapy® and in Anatomy in Motion. The web site Holy Shift yoga was her first online baby and has since become this web site under her own name. Nothing has changed but the name. Learn more at What You’ll Hear Supporting women in training their bodies The intersection of Anatomy and the Nervous system The pelvic floor world Movement as soothing Injuries as a yoga teacher Needing to dig less healing wells, instead dig one deep well Set one on a path of a more mindful way of moving Re-writing the stories of our injuries Distinguishing anatomy and biomechanics Somatic nervous system approach to exercise Feldenkrais technique was a big influence Letting your body teach you What leads us to try and intervene in our bodies as women at different life phases Good filters for not entertaining the cult/“you should” mindset Diet and protein Being sensory following nature and desire for warmth Parenting teens A mother who was a very experimental/exploratory teen Consent communication and safety Restoring your core- a central support system that receives and transmits To be restorative is to not approach the body through good/bad right/wrong anatomical frameworks Accepting the body’s changes with aging Resources IG: @thelaurenohayon Website: /episode/index/show/magamama/id/31464832

Episode 209: The Journey to Becoming a Village Auntie and Girls Group Facilitator with Johannah Reimer 05/12/2024

Episode 209: The Journey to Becoming a Village Auntie and Girls Group Facilitator with Johannah Reimer With fellow educator and Orphan Wisdom Scholar Johannah Reimer, Kimberly discusses Johannah’s long cultivated journey with Girl Groups that work on collective rites of passage. They explore the difference between weekend and longer form rites of passage processes for girls crossing the threshold to adolescence and womanhood, as well as ways to de-emphasize soul work that doesn't center "the self." Johannah emphasizes the impact she has seen guiding Girls Groups and their families into relationships that reflect boundaries, values, and connection. Johannah talks through her passionate approach to the Matricarchical archetype, as well as their shared thoughts on being a single parent. Johanna describes her upcoming 9-month Girl Group facilitator training “Pathways to Womanhood” where she shares her elemental curriculum, which has been honed over 10 years of work with girls of all ages. Links to a free workshop and the facilitator training below. Bio Johannah Reimer is a soulcentric educator, ceremonialist, teen mentor, and an artist of many trades. Trained as a Waldorf teacher, Johannah has been working with children of all ages for over 20 years and holds a particular passion for tweens/teens striving to meet their developmental needs for mentorship and initiation in a culture that has forgotten how to do so. An apprentice of visionaries: Sage Hamilton and Melissa Michaels of SOMA Source, Johannah has worked for many years as a Waldorf teacher under the guidance of her elder Sage, and as an embodied leader for international youth in movement based Rites of Passage with Golden Bridge & Golden Girls Global. What She Shares Initiatory rites for girls crossing the threshold into adolescence Village mindedness in a Culture without village norms Severance - a death happening in rites of passage Stepping into a threshold, into a new phase of being What does it mean when girls go on a quest to leave childhood behind and then return back to their parents and community? Parents also cross a threshold when their children go on such a quest. A year long process that she does with 5th graders The conflation of big experiences with rites of passage Distinguishing between a rite of passage vs. a threshold How short-term retreats are often not living up to the term rites of passage Girls Groups are designed for a longer-term structure within a collective The power of collective work vs. over-emphasis on the self Working with teens you sometimes need an iron fist and a velvet glove The power of improvisation when working with teens The power of parents letting go of control Parents fear of their own children: important to assert boundaries/values and stay connected Parents: “Stay true. Stay the course.” As a child of divorce, the challenge of being a single parent Gathering the men around the son of a single mother She describes her upcoming free class for anyone who feels the call to be a village auntie, as well as her intimate 9-month Girl Group facilitator training. The power of the Matricarchical archetype and Village Aunties. Resources /episode/index/show/magamama/id/31251442

EP 208: Wild Mothering, Elder Mothers, and Mothering the Mothers with Tami Lynn Kent 05/04/2024

EP 208: Wild Mothering, Elder Mothers, and Mothering the Mothers with Tami Lynn Kent In this episode, Kimberly discusses wild mothering, elder mothers, and mothering from our centers with Tami Lynn Kent, returned special guest, women’s health healer, elder mother, and teacher of previous Jaguar classes. We discuss how to remain in true relationship with the feminine, unlearning how we’ve embodied patriarchy, and living and mothering from our feminine centers. She also discusses the challenges of mothering during these times, especially for mothers of teens and young adults. Ultimately, she offers deep wisdom and medicine for staying true to our centers during these fractured times. Bio Tami Lynn Kent is a women’s health physical therapist, founder of the original method of Holistic Pelvic Care™ for women, and author of “,” “,” and “.” She is passionate about the potential in our female bodies and cultivating this vibrant energy that’s meant to run through all aspects of a woman’s life. She draws upon hers daily in mothering three sons now all young adults themselves. Her previous book, “Mothering from Your Center,” is being re-released as “Wild Mothering,” which includes new elder mother wisdom. What She Shares: –Deep relationship with the feminine –Undoing internalization of patriarchy –Mothering teens during challenges –Embodied mothering during fractured times What You’ll Hear: –Walking in deep relationship with the true feminine –Boundaries around values and work –Unlearning embodied patterns of patriarchy within us –Overcompensation in business –Bodies giving out from overcompensation –Women giving up space instead of centering –Coming into truth of where energy and body are –Over-extending out of perfectionism and wanting safety –Helping children find their centers gradually –Mothering young adults with internet, pandemic, polarization, etc. –Information is not wisdom –Importance of listening to embodied wisdom and those with it –Mothering as a wild journey –Prioritizing the body and face-to-face –Embodied presence important to mothering –Weekly family facetime meetings –Going through the pandemic with males –Strain on mothers and families feels higher now –Lack of safety webs and social supports –Trends of delaying independence from youth –Determine of pandemic on isolation and young adults –Assessing nervous systems after isolating during pandemic –Embodied care versus smoothing discomfort –Creative, inspired, moving towards passion, tracking health, connection –Increase of body images issues in boys –Getting boys out of looking and more of feeling/felt sense –Fear of interacting in world –Tracking and noticing people around us is embodied mothering –Lost art of tending to home and those around us with presence –Monitoring screen time for young adults –Playing online with real peers –Encouraging children to verbalize online interactions –Rules as child-specific and season-dependent –Building trust bridges –Checking in and checking on –Creating daily embodied moments with children –Embodied mothering as the tether –Presence with children creates more presence within themselves –Stories we tell our children, stories they hear –Balancing heavy times as parents –Lack of deep containers taking toll –Energetic force pulsing through life –Reaction versus resonance –Always new medicine and new hope in true feminine –Not disassociating from deeper problems –Living in deep relationship to feminine field –Tending to our parts of the field is the mending –Using connection to mystery to do our part –Repairing a fractured web –May 11th Mini Mother’s Day Retreat! Resources Website: https://www.wildfeminine.com/ IG: @tamilynnkent /episode/index/show/magamama/id/31125933

EP 207: Finding Enjoyment and Service through Movement, Fitness, and Exercise with Ajaye of The Project PT 05/03/2024

EP 207: Finding Enjoyment and Service through Movement, Fitness, and Exercise with Ajaye of The Project PT In this episode, Kimberly interviews Ajaye, the founder of The Project PT, a fitness center creating major social change in the community of Oxford, England. They discuss Kimberly’s experience at the gym, similarities of fitness culture in the U.S. and U.K. and how it is intimidating to many kinds of people interested in exercise. They also discuss the decrease of physical movement in schools and how that motivated The Project PT’s mission of supporting teen girls in health and fitness. They also discuss other community outreach programs that The Project PT runs as well as the importance and business model of ethical bonds and balancing service-related businesses with motherhood. Bio Ajaye is the driving force behind The Project PT, a fitness center committed to ethical business standards, social justice, and community outreach. Ajaye has over 18 years of experience in the fitness industry and is a fully qualified personal trainer, crossfit coach, Olympic weightlifting coach, and a sports therapist. The Project studio runs several social work programs in the Oxford community and continues to expand. What She Shares: –Intense gym culture and The Project PT –Diversity and inclusion in fitness spaces –Supporting youth in fitness –Community outreach –Balancing business & motherhood What You’ll Hear: –Different physical needs after motherhood –Intense gym culture –Diversity at Project PT Gym –17% in UK attend gyms, 83% do not –Forming community for Project PT –Representation and informed professional development –Limited physical movement in schools –Working with fitness and teenage girls –Skateboarding, boxing, and weight-lifting for girls –Focusing on enjoyment in fitness –Long-term goals for Project PT –Forming a blueprint for other fitness centers –Policy change needed –Working with vulnerable young people –Providing confidence and skills for young people –Crime prevention program working with police –Run social impact reports to study findings –Importance of studies and representation –Fitness, business, and motherhood of 3 children –Struggling to find balance in business and parenting –Kimberly navigating perimenopause and physical/emotional changes –Accepting limitations and being open to change –Adopting children and business thriving –Ethical Bond –Ethical Exchange supporting business bonds and shares –Offering employee shares –Collaboration and community with other businesses –Ethics platform for housing, energy efficiency, etc. Resources Website: https://www.theprojectpt.com/ IG: @theprojectpt /episode/index/show/magamama/id/31096918

EP 206: Brooklyn Book Doctor, the Book Proposal Academy, and Tending to the Voice Within with Joelle Hann 03/22/2024

EP 206: Brooklyn Book Doctor, the Book Proposal Academy, and Tending to the Voice Within with Joelle Hann In this episode, Kimberly and Joelle discuss the joys, challenges, and complexities of writing a book and publishing. They met when Kimberly was pitching “The Fourth Trimester” and have connected ever since. Kimberly discusses her journey as an author in relation to her other work previous three books. They also discuss self-publishing, traditional publishing, how the publishing industry has changed because of social media, and the importance of book proposals. Joelle is currently enrolling for the Book Proposal Academy, a six month, robust course and mentorship program that supports new authors through the book proposal process. Register through the link below! Bio Joelle Hann is an award-winning writer whose essays and poems explore the nature of our deepest relationships, and whose articles have covered the highs and lows of yoga culture, as well as food, film, books and travel. She’s worked in-house as a Senior Development Editor at Bedford/St. Martin’s. A decade later she jumped ship to freelance as a . Since then, she’s developed and written many acclaimed books for authors in the realm of self-transformation, activism, spirituality, health, finance and business. Joelle is also a . Her has appeared in The New York Times, TimeOut New York, Poets & Writers, Yoga Journal, Yoga International, and other publications. Her essays NPR, YourTango, Geist, and others. Joelle is also an award-winning poet with an MFA (poetry) and an MA (English Literature) from New York University’s top-ranked program, and in journals and anthologies including McSweeney’s, Matrix, Painted Bride Quarterly, Drunken Boat, , and more. What She Shares: –Traditional versus self-publishing –Pitching your book idea –Tending to the voice within –Book Proposal Academy with Joelle begins April 17th! What You’ll Hear: –Kimberly’s process of book writing –Experiences with various kinds of publishers –Self-publishing process –Kimberly’s upcoming book deal –Five main publishing houses and politics –Differences between first-time proposing versus fourth –Lack of confidence in initial stage of process –Small advances versus large advances –The Fourth Trimester best selling back-listed book –Publicity and marketing during proposals –Making the case for your book –Author versus writer –BookTok as powerful engine for making authors –Power of readers to make best-sellers from BookTok –Hybrid publishing on the rise –Challenges of self-publishing –University publishing –Trauma angles need hope, tools, and resilience –Shorter and easy to digest are book preferences –Literary agent burnout –Soul calling towards writing –Tending to the voice within –Following and engagement from audience –Quality and marketability –Proposal is key in not getting lost in process –Proposal is a map for book –Artistry and practical vision –Joelle’s Book Proposal Academy begins April 17th! –Runs for six months through 5 phases –Early bird sign-up begins April 3rd Resources Website: https://brooklynbookdoctor.com/bpa/ IG: @@brooklynbookdoctor /episode/index/show/magamama/id/30504023

EP 205: Apprenticing the Web - Mothering, Co-Parenting, and Love as Our Compass with Kendra Cunov 03/16/2024

EP 205: Apprenticing the Web - Mothering, Co-Parenting, and Love as Our Compass with Kendra Cunov Summary In this episode, friends Kimberly and Kendra share their experiences and insights around mothering and the complex webs of care in non-traditional family structures. They discuss the beauty and challenges of single parenting, parenting young children while dating, forming new care structures, and navigating professional roles while mothering children of all ages. They also discuss their co-led upcoming retreat Apprenticing the Web taking place in Booneville, California this September 2024! Bio Kendra Cunov has been studying, facilitating, and practicing Authentic Relating, Embodiment Practices & Deep Intimacy Work for over fifteen years. Kendra has worked with thousands of men, women & couples in the areas of embodiment, intimacy, communication & full self-expression. She co-founded “Authentic World & Fierce Grace,” as well as “The Embodied Relationship Training Salon” (with John Wineland), and pioneered some of the most cutting edge relation work on the planet. Kendra has consulted for companies such as Genentech & been on staff for 4PC, an elite mastermind for the top 4% of coaches in the world. She works with organizations & leaders, as well as men, women & couples, who know that embodied presence, truth, connection & integrity are our truest access points to success – in business & in love. What She Shares: –Non-traditional family structures –Co-parenting with young children –Love as a guiding compass –Mothering and professions –Upcoming retreat with Kimberly and Kendra in September What You’ll Hear: –Apprenticing the Web Retreat September 2024 –Blended families, partnership, and parenting non-traditionally –Mothering and marriage traditionally and non-traditionally –Ease as a compass in hard situations –Kimberly’s pregnant in Brazil –Making partnerships for co-parenting –Feeling alone in single parenting –Mothering alone in marriage –Centering the child/children –Facilitating opportunities for children to connect with fathers –Inquiring in co-parenting –Love as an invitation to the co-parent –Dating while single parenting young children –Work changes through mothering –Love as a compass –Managing finances while single parenting –Wanting to be in the world sooner while parenting young children –Older children needing more mothering than younger –Traveling and working while mothering young children –Creating community as single parents and living abroad –Benefits of single parenting –Not wanting to be a buffer while co-parenting –Unpacking child at the center –Mothering the culture –Maiden-Mother-Crone transitions –Something to “keep up” with while mothering –Mothering through menopause –Accepting missing out in mothering –Responding to life in the moment –Cultivating capacity for discomfort and the unknown –Trusting self to respond in the moment –Being willing to fail relationally –Curiosity over shaming –Upcoming retreat in September, California! –Kendra buying land near Mt. Shasta –Stewarding the land before building Resources Website: https://kendracunov.com/ IG: @kendra_cunov Retreat Details: https://kendracunov.com/apprenticing-the-web/ /episode/index/show/magamama/id/30401948

EP 204: A Council on Matrimony with Stephen Jenkinson 02/19/2024

EP 203: Reflections on a Wedding Ceremony 02/13/2024

EP 202: Death Doulas and Green Burials with Bodhi Be 10/31/2023

EP 202: Death Doulas and Green Burials with Bodhi Be In this episode, Kimberly and Bodhi discuss his work as a death doula at Doorway Into Light, Hawaii’s only nonprofit green funeral home and educational resource center, The Death Store. They discuss what green burials and ocean burials are and how they are more generous and sustainable to the planet than modern burial practices. They also discuss how dominant culture fears death, responds to death, and death traditions across cultures. In light of all of the ways that people, and even babies, die, Bodhi asks us to deeply reflect on the question, “What is a full life?” P.S. His nonprofit is still taking donations for those displaced by the Maui fires; find the link below to donate! Bio Bodhi is an ordained interfaith minister and teacher in the Sufi lineage of Sufi Sam and Hazrat Inayat Khan. He is the founder and executive director of Doorway Into Light, a nonprofit organization on Maui, which provides conscious and compassionate care for the dying, their families and the grieving, and has been offering community presentations and trainings since 2006 in the fields of awakened living and dying and the care of the dying. Bodhi is a bereavement counselor and educator; a hospice volunteer; a home funeral guide; a teacher and trainer of death doulas; a speaker and workshop leader and a ceremonial guide. He hosts a weekly streaming radio show, ‘Death Tracks’, on a Maui station. Bodhi guides memorials and funerals and leads grief rituals. He facilitates grief support groups for teenagers. He has trained hundreds of doctors, nurses, hospice staff, social workers, ministers, chaplains, therapists, artists and lay people in the spiritual, psychological, emotional and logistical care of the dying and the care of the dead, and for 4 years has taken dozens through a certification program to be death doulas. Bodhi has written a column called “Ask the Death Professor” for a local Maui magazine. He is a notary public, a coffin maker and a Reiki practitioner. Bodhi and his wife Leilah lead spiritual retreats in Hawaii and around the world.For many years Bodhi collaborated with Ram Dass, a neighbor and friend, who served on Doorway Into Light’s Board of Directors. Bodhi is continuing the work Ram Dass helped birth, in the fields of conscious dying in America. What He Shares: –Death doula work –Green burials and ocean burials –Running a nonprofit funeral home and resource center –What you do (literally) when someone dies –Legalities of keeping a body with you –Generational stories of death What You’ll Hear: –How he was led to death work and spiritual counseling –Working with Ram Das –Starting the death doula movement and a ministry of death –Running a non-profit funeral home –Culture pushing away death –Green burials –Hazards of embalming –Biodegradable graves –Death and burial as another practice removed from traditions –Cultural differences around death and burial –Ocean body burial –Being with bodies after death –Generational stories after death –Lingering with the body to witness death –Healthy life includes its death –Mothers of stillborns fighting for baby body –Giving families time and space with death beyond laws –Outlaw moves –Medical rules around bodies and placentas –Navigating baby and child death –What is a full life? –Entitlement around death –Death doula trainings –Facing Death, Nourishing Life course –Showing up for life and death Resources Website: https://www.doorwayintolight.org/ IG: @thedeathstoremaui /episode/index/show/magamama/id/28477172

EP 201: Informed Pregnancy and Evidence Based Birth and Bodywork with Dr. Elliot Berlin 10/27/2023

EP 201: Informed Pregnancy and Evidence Based Birth and Bodywork with Dr. Elliot Berlin In this episode, Kimberly and Dr. Elliot Berlin discuss his informed pregnancy focused chiropractic work. He explains noticing a rise in out of hospital births post-pandemic as well as an increase in hospital restrictions and inductions in hospital births. He discusses various causes of breech positions, his chiropractic approaches to breech babies before birth, as well as the long history of cesareans and how VBACs became stigmatized in recent decades. The common thread through this whole conversation is providing education and information for pregnant people to make the best informed decisions for themselves and their birth. Bio Dr. Elliot Berlin is an award-winning pregnancy-focused chiropractor, childbirth educator, and labor doula. His innovative techniques for prenatal wellness care address tight and painful muscles and tendons utilizing specific massage techniques based on soft tissue releases. He combines this with traditional chiropractic adjustments to restore motion to restricted joints. Dr. Berlin notably works with several hundred breech babies each year, most of whom turn into the ideal pre-birth position once normal function is restored to the mother's low back and pelvis. He is also the host of Informed Pregnancy Podcast, an award winning pregnancy focused chiropractor. What He Shares: –Differences in births post-pandemic –Chiropractic approaches to breech babies –History of cesareans –Informed VBACs –Mind-Body health for fertility What You’ll Hear: –Pregnancies post-pandemic –Rise in out of hospital births –Increase in restrictions and interventions in hospitals –Guiding clients in making best choices for birth –Training for breech births –Using Webster technique to reposition breech babies –Structural reasons for breech positionings –Functional issues of mother posture –Minimizing ultrasounds –Looking at baby position at 32 weeks –Chiropractic care outside of pregnancy –Approaches to releases and maintenance –History of cesareans –Myths around VBACs –How VBAC information is portrayed –Uterine ruptures –Insurance policies and cesareans –Induction drugs causing uterine ruptures in 1980s –VBAC Facts website –Using modern technology to improve childbirth –Downsides to how interventions are applied –What led Dr. Berlin to his work –Mind-body practices leading to natural fertility after years of treatments –Informed Pregnancy podcast –Informedpregnancy.tv streaming app Resources Website: informedpregnancy.com/informedpregnancy.tv IG: @doctorberlin /episode/index/show/magamama/id/28436867

EP 200: "Birth Control" - Maternal Agency, Education, and Systems of Perinatal Care with Allison Yarrow 10/16/2023

EP 200: "Birth Control" - Maternal Agency, Education, and Systems of Perinatal Care with Allison Yarrow In this conversation, journalist Allison Yarrow and Kimberly discuss Allison's new book “Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood.” They go in depth about the culture and systems of perinatal birth care. They explore Allison’s extensive research around the differences between home birth care and hospital birth care, and go into depth about their personal experiences with each scenario. They wonder how future generations will approach their birth, as well as the deep impact of race on varying birth experience. With all of the information out there, they ask how do you prepare for birth? Bio Allisoni Yarrow is a journalist for nearly two decades (in newsrooms like NBC News, Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and Vice), a national magazine finalist, the author of (finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club Book Award), and she has written about the shortcomings of the perinatal experience in America for the , the , , , , and . Her new book , which is out July 18 and arose out of my . With the recent news that maternal mortality has risen 40 percent to the highest level in our lifetime, this subject couldn't be more important. The book draws on extensive reporting, interviews, an original survey of 1300 birthing people and mothers, and my own personal experiences, to document how women are controlled, traumatized, injured, and even killed, because of traditionalist practices of medical professionals and hospitals during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and after. What You’ll Hear How birth procedures and techniques were not developed by science by traditions? The overriding of midwives knowledge by doctors. How has birth become such a profitable medical field? Why C-sections are so prominent despite their limited need? How does home birth care differ from hospital care? What kind of mother culture do we need around birth trauma? The pressure to educate onesellf in the perinatal experience. What role does agency play in the birth experience? What needs to change about the system of birth? How will future generations experience birth care? Our bodies perceive surgery as interruption. The importance of sex education to the birth experience. The racial dimensions of birth culture. Links www.allisonyarrow.com Instagram: @aliyarrow /episode/index/show/magamama/id/28324592

EP 199: Activate Your Inner Jaguar - Feminine Sexuality and Spirituality 10/11/2023

EP 198: Take Back the Magic with Perdita Finn 10/08/2023

EP 198: Take Back the Magic with Perdita Finn In this episode, Kimberly and Perdita discuss Perdita’s latest book “Take Back the Magic,” which was inspired by the death of her father, their ambivalent relationship, and ongoing relationship to him now that he's passed. Perdita shares her experience of communicating with the dead for over thirty years and guides us in how we can do the same. They also discuss the history behind why we fear the dead and the suppression of communicating with the dead by organized religion. She shares how the dead are connected and long for the erotic and how we can return to the inner wisdom and rituals of ancestors that pre-date religion and political systems. She describes the crucial role of the this communication with dead to her key relationships with the living: as a mother, wife, and community member. Bio Perdita Finn is the co-founder, with her husband Clark Strand, of the non-denominational international fellowship The Way of the Rose, which inspired their book "The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary." For many years she supported her family writing books for children and educators like the "Time Flyers" series for Scholastic Books, "My Little Pony," and many others. She has been a ghostwriter, a book doctor, a copy editor and a writing teacher, but these days she is happy to be working primarily on her own books. She has a lively substack, "Take Back the Magic," where readers can get sneak peeks into what she's working on right now. Finn now teaches popular workshops on Collaborating with the Other Side, in which participants are empowered to activate the magic in their own lives with the help of their ancestors. She is the author of "Take Back the Magic: Conversations with the Unseen World" and lives with her family in the moss-filled shadows of the Catskill Mountains. What She Shares: –Writing “Take Back the Magic” –Why we fear the dead –Cycles of life, death, and rebirth –How to commune with the dead –Eros and the dead What You’ll Hear: –Darkness and dark matter as origin of life –Circles of entanglement and belonging –Use of letters in “Take Back the Magic” –Relationship with father and his death –Cultural fears of the dead –Long history of suppression of speaking with dead –Understanding how dead communicate –Alchemizing experiences with past monsters –Finding safety of ancestors –Starting small with communication –Assigning worries to those on the other side –Honoring the dead –Perdita and husband’s spiritual backgrounds –Spiritual experiences through birth –Spiritual community outside of empire –History of rosary –Erotic nature of the dead –Experiencing eternal return of dead and living –Trusting the long story of your soul –Everything dies and everything is reborn –Not every prayer is answered in every lifetime –What is the prayer we would carry with us beyond this lifetime? –We are all each others’ mothers Resources Website: wayoftherose.org takebackthemagic.com IG: @perditafinn /episode/index/show/magamama/id/28258655

EP 197: Erotic Seasons - Connect to Your Sensual Flow Through the Stages of Womanhood 10/07/2023

EP 196: Somatic Healing for Sex-Trafficking Survivors, Intergenerational Trauma, and Plant Medicine Integration with Atira Tan 09/28/2023

EP 196: Somatic Healing for Sex-Trafficking Survivors, Intergenerational Trauma, and Plant Medicine Integration with Atira Tan In this episode, Kimberly and Atira discuss her work as an advocate against sex-trafficking in South East Asia, how she combines art therapy and somatic practices to help survivors heal and repair, and the trauma-informed programs she offers for practitioners of plant medicine ceremonies. She describes how her own experience being an Asian woman facing compacted oppressions led her to her work. She also describes how even in some of the darkest places, she is able to see beauty and light in community and relationships. Bio Atira is a senior yoga and meditation teacher (500 E-RYT), art therapist (M.A. Expressive Art Therapy & Grad Dip. Transpersonal Art Therapy), a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), a somatic trauma specialist in sexual abuse recovery and trauma educator, TED speaker and #1 best-selling author. I’m currently completing my Ph.D. studies in Expressive Art Therapies. CEO of Art to Healing and Yoga for Freedom. She is also an Expressive Art Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Yoga Teacher, Counsellor & Coach, public speaker and author on women's health, sacred activism and leadership. You can find more about Art to Healing and her upcoming programs Somatic Plant Medicine and Integration program and a Trauma Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation program. What She Shares: –Intergenerational trauma in the body –Somatic applications for recovery from sex trafficking –Plant medicine and trauma, catharsis and integration –Upcoming program dates for facilitators What You’ll Hear: –Work supporting sex trafficked survivors –Atira’s ancestry and upbringing as an Asian woman –History of oppression of Asian female bodies –Witnessing child sex trafficking firsthand –Expressive art therapy to address complex trauma in the anti-trafficking org –Familial and religious trauma and cultural responsibility –Cervical cancer diagnosis at 26 years –Reclaiming sexual and sensual innocence -Developing a non-profit Art to Healing and train the trainer for survivors –Program in Cambodia and Nepal –Culture and place in non-profit work –First SE training for sex traffic survivors in 2019 with research –Gap in trauma-informed facilitators of ceremonies and psychedelics –Myth of catharsis and real integration –Creating app for sex trafficking for assistance, awareness, and education –Looking for tech & app development support –Upcoming Somatic Plant Medicine and Integration program –Trauma Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation program –Master classes available on differences of plant medicines –Exploring goals, resources, and intentions around using plant medicines –Staying well in midst of so much intensity and suffering Resources Website: IG: @arttohealing /episode/index/show/magamama/id/28169987

EP 195: Maui In the Fires Wake - Gathering Herbs, Making Medicine and Walking in Grief with Khadija Meghan Rashell Striegel 09/13/2023

EP 195: Maui In the Fires Wake - Gathering Herbs, Making Medicine and Walking in Grief with Khadija Meghan Rashell Striegel Summary In this episode, Kimberly and Khadija reflect on their recent mutual aid efforts in the wake of fires in Maui. Khadija shares what she has witnessed in her community and the tremendous impact of donations that have directly reached her neighbors. They reflect on destination travel and the impact of tourism on both the land and the people of Hawaii. Khadija describes what led her to invite Kimberly and Stephen Jenkinson to Reckon on the island this coming November. They wonder together about the ethics of retreats, tourism, and what it means to be an “under-the-scene” worker. To learn more about Maui Reckoning with Kimberly Ann Johnson and Stephen Jenkinson, hosted by Khadija Striegel, . This is a gathering for the Maui ‘ohana. You can contribute to the event by making a donation . Bio Khadija is an herbalist, bonesetter and farmer born, raised, and living in Maui. She’s in graduate school studying Hawaiian language and culture. Khadija works with a non-profit caring for the native plant gardens at a Heiau, an ancient Hawaiian place of prayer. She offers Lomi Lomi body work to her community, in addition to tinctures and remedies under the title Family Traditions Maui. What You’ll Hear: There are not only stories as a result of the fires in Maui - there are still ongoing lives and lived experiences. The variety of extremes that co-exist in Maui - of destination weddings, vacations, and those walking heavy with grief. These fires aren’t an isolated incident. They are part of a broader timeline of things that have taken place on Maui. The donation effort of money and herbs and medicine are no small thing. This community is making an impact. There are still areas of the island that do not have safe water. Opening care packages with kids after a disaster. Development and tourism on the island has directly impacted the land in a way that doesn’t feed the land, water, and people. The fires are inextricably linked to this. Lahaina as a special gathering place, whose streams lack water as a direct result of hotels and vacation homes and visitor rentals Land stewardship is actually simple. An act of love. Loving something not just for ourselves. Loving something by letting it be. The parallels of tourism and addiction. The addiction of going anywhere, doing anything, wherever I want. Whose job is it to teach the culture of a place? And to what audience? There is a longing to belong for many people. Many people find it in Hawaii. But at what cost? The difficulty of land and home ownership for native Hawaiians. Retreats in Hawaii. The infrequency of native Hawaiians leading sacred nature experiences? The power of a voice that doesn’t say simply “it’s all okay” when it’s clearly not “all okay. What does it mean to be under-the-scene workers? Not behind-the-scene but under-the-scene? Reckoning in November is to offer something to the residents of Maui. Resources , with Kimberly Ann Johnson and Stephen Jenkinson, hosted by Khadija Striegel, for the Maui ‘ohana You are welcome to contribute to the event. Please send your donation via PayPal to Khadija with the note “Maui Reckoning Donation”. If you would like to send herbs and materials directly to Khadija to support the community in Maui, find Khadija’s letter and list . You can connect with Khadija via /episode/index/show/magamama/id/28022670

Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson

TOPICS