Magamama With Kimberly Ann Johnson: Sex, Birth And Motherhood

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

Ellen Heed on the Four Domains of Pelvic Health- Biomechanics, Biochemistry, Trauma/Emotions and Scar Tissue What Ellen Shares: How to assess the origins of pain in the body, and the four domains of health Your unconscious mind lives in your body! How castor oil and self-massage can to help heal your scar tissue How those with elastic connective tissue are drawn toward yoga and veganism … and how that can contribute to tears and injuries during birth How diet (especially eating animal products) influences healing The differences between collagenous and elastic people Her February Touch Skills workshop with Kimberly, where you can learn to feel the difference between emotional tension, biochemical tension & scar tissue in the pelvis What You’ll Hear: The four domains of health - biochemical (inflammation), emotional (tension stuck in the body), biomechanical (posture, ergonomics, constitution), and scar tissue (1:06) Painful sex origins (1:38) Scars affect our physiology (6:10) Birth has a potential of

EP16: Deborah Claire Bagg on Same Sex Fertility and the Vulnerability of the First Year of Motherhood Today I have a guest who is going to charm you like you haven’t been charmed quite yet. She has the best accent and a very warm heart. Deborah Claire Bagg is the owner and founder of the yoga studio, LoveisJuniper in Brooklyn- which is a yoga center, flower shop and has treatment spaces. Deborah is a yoga teacher, yoga teacher trainer, doula, somatic therapist and new mom. I met her online- but we had a lot of worlds in common as she went to Naropa and I lived in Boulder for five years. She came for a session when I was working in Brooklyn and then immediately invited me to teach at her new space that opened this year. She is a wise woman, and has immersed herself in the feminine arts. We are going to talk about the journey of same sex fertility, the road to starting a non-traditional family and the vulnerability of the first year of motherhood.  What Deborah Shares: The wild and epic road of same sex fertil

**Trigger Warning** We cover sexual assault in this episode, and we go into deep grief space as Erin lost her sister in a brutal way. In this episode, we talk about breathwork as a therapeutic modality that bypasses the mind, the role of emotions, and dealing with grief. We ended up in some deep archetypal shizzle. The story of Erin's family, her mother and her sister has so many miraculous and redemptive elements for them as souls and family, but for us all. This episode took me to a place I wasn’t planning to go, and I think it is very rich. We laughed and cried a lot.  EP15: Erin Telford on Breathwork, the Role of Emotions, Grief & Redemption What You’ll Hear: Why Erin chooses Breathwork as her main healing modality. The archetypal journey of Erin’s sister (and their family) as a belly dancer and Zapatista activist in Mexico, and her mother’s response. Erin’s journey of leaving her wordly life in NYC and setting out on the road- first stop Joshua Tree Breaking the threads of aloneness How working with

EP14: Ellen Heed on STREAM School of Pelvic and Sexual Health, Sexological Bodywork, and True Health Today you will meet Ellen Heed- my mentor, the person who helped me heal my own birth injury and who paved the way for the new model of health that is culminating in our work in the STREAM school. We have taught STREAM together in England and 2018 is the first year we will bring this new radical model of pelvic and sexual health care to the US. Ellen is a Visionary Craniosacral practitioner and teacher and has taught anatomy and physiology all over the world for the past twenty years.  You are in a for a treat. Get ready to get your mindbodysoul rocked.  “Our hegemony over our own sexuality is a private matter and we have the option of taking private responsibility for that in a community peer-based support environment, which is what my vision is for STREAM to provide.” In this episode, Ellen Heed shares:  The importance of a peer model in healing modalities and relationship What contributes to healing, not m

  Spirituality and sexuality can be the same thing when trauma moves out of the way. In this episode, Jessica shares her personal story of being raised by beautiful and terrible wolves, and how she arrived at this path of being a spiritual teacher and filmmaker. What Jessica shares: How being raised by beautiful and terrible wolves shaped Jessica’s path, when she was on her own at 14 Where and how she gets the “audas” and takes authority from her experience to write a book and teach without degrees and not follow the “path” Her approached to embodied spiritual and sexual counseling What happens when you stop drinking through sex How she is able to be an actress, teacher, and an author- to do it all What You’ll Hear: When meditation causes everything you thought you wanted to fall away (8:40) How she was a sex educator since she was a kid (9:50) Her experience with and reverence for Somatic Experiencing (13:10) Post spiritual awakenings and how sexuality changed (14:30) Self-worth and sex, recognizing and g

This interview is not about offering answers, a strategy or a plan but more how to navigate deep change by embracing the unknown, dancing with mystery and meeting one-self in a tender transparent integrity every step of the way.  At the beginning of 2017, Jessica's business and marriage were falling apart, she was sinking into debt and found herself facing an identity crisis in both her personal and professional lives. She made a radical decision to embrace her resistance, step into her deepest fears, and set forth to intentionally fall apart in a wholesome way. Kimberly meets Jessica somewhere on her journey in this interview. She's rebuilding her marriage, and navigating how she "does business" from a place that's generative, collaborative and restorative. Jessica Durivage, the creator of Where is My Guru – an award winning podcast and online school for personal development and spiritual transformation has been a bridge builder for the health and wellness communities and conscious media for over 15 years. W

This podcast we discuss attachment theory and the nervous system. We talk about navigating relationships as new moms and as partners, co-dependence vs. interdependence and how mom, partner and baby’s needs can all be met allowing everyone’s cup to be full.   In this episode Ellen shares: How attachment affects our nervous systems and relationships with our children and our partners. The reality of coming from an adulthood of independence into motherhood The challenges of preparing for the unknown The kind of family we can create where everyone can get there needs met How to preserve a great relationship and couple primacy What You’ll Hear: Attachment theory 101 (2:00) What is regulation of affect emotions and feelings (4:30) How are we showing regulation of affect (7:30) Will these feelings effect my children – who’s regulating the regulator? (10:00) The unique role of single parenting and co-regulation (13:30) Coming into parenthood from an adulthood of self-reliance and independence (16:00) It’s not pers