Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson

Welcome to Jaguar Bites: new solo episodes where I break down big nervous system concepts into bite-sized pieces. Jaguar Bites are meant to clarify some of the major ideas and misconceptions in somatic experiencing, polyvagal theory, sex education, as well as the birth world. These podcast episodes are for you. They are also for anyone who you don't think will take a course or read a book; but who you really want to hear about how trauma works, how we heal from it, how the body is involved, and why it matters so much (especially right now in the world).

Welcome to Jaguar Bites: new solo episodes where I break down big nervous system concepts into bite-sized pieces. Jaguar Bites are meant to clarify some of the major ideas and misconceptions in somatic experiencing, polyvagal theory, sex education, as well as the birth world. These podcast episodes are for you. They are also for anyone who you don't think will take a course or read a book; but who you really want to hear about how trauma works, how we heal from it, how the body is involved, and why it matters so much (especially right now in the world).

Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is a researcher and professor best known as the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011), as well as several other books on Polyvagal Theory. Stephen is also the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™, which currently is used by more than 2000 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement. What He Shares: Why he wears glasses for virtual meetings Why we're still able to co-regulate when we're all wearing masks The intersection of sex hormones and polyvagal theory What You'll Hear: The subtle cues our bodies respond to during virtual contact Landing in the co-regulatory aspects of online work or classes How your openness and intention to connect impacts people you're interacting with The importance of the orbital muscles in non-verbal communication How beauty standards impact our accessibility of interpersonal regulation Cultural interpretation of facial muscles How our nervous system responds to various perceived threats, including cultural and religious teachings Locating your resources for settling Co-regulating with the natural world The importance of in-person community for parents and children Oxytocin's role in co-regulation between mother and baby Fawning vs appeasement The evolutionary value of appeasement Differentiating between an objective event and how it actually registered in your nervous system. Understanding the autonomic nature of both openness and defensive responses Being a good student of your body Being a 'good enough' co-regulator The power of authentic connections Reducing social distance, even while physically distance is important

In Jaguar Bites, Kimberly draws from her new book "Call of the Wild" to break down some big nervous concepts into bite-sized pieces. The bites clarify some of the major ideas in somatic experiencing, polyvagal theory, sexual education, and the birth world. In this bite, Kimberly talks about how yoga and meditation impacts the nervous system is not always obvious or straightforward.

Elizabeth Lesser is the author of several bestselling books, including Cassandra Speaks: When Women are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes; Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow and Marrow: Love, Loss & What Matters Most. She is the cofounder of Omega Institute, recognized internationally for its workshops and conferences in wellness, spirituality, creativity, and social change. She has given two popular TED talks, and is one of Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul 100, a collection of a hundred leaders who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity.

The Skill of Culture Building, The Making of Tribe, Spiritual Colonialism, and Grief Practice with Matthew Stillman. We dive into the big questions of where we are at in this point in time- what is community? How do we make it? Are we right to want tribe, and if so, what does that really mean? We also touch on the deepest parts of our connection from Earth and place, and how that can come to bear with "medicine," Ayahuasca and spiritual colonialism. What Matt Shares: -How the city you are from is different than the place you are from -Origin of the word "tribe" - tribe is much more than an affinity -How race + culture intersect, and the origin of culture -The history of Ayahuasca and spiritual colonialism -The need for grief practice

Luisa Muhr joins me to talk about her work in Family Constellations Therapy, including intergenerational trauma resulting from the holocaust as well as racial trauma within the United States. We talk about the importance of community space in a therapy setting, why working within an energy field is so effective, and staying somatically engaged while online. What She Shares: What Family Constellations is and how it works The importance of honoring our ancestors and those in our systems How working with the impact of the Holocaust has shaped her work in the world What You'll Hear: Working within an energy field Unwinding old patterns through ancestry work The difference between drama therapy and Family Systems Who is included in our family systems The importance of speaking a story out of secrecy The value of processing within community How working with archetypes can help us process and heal Restoring appropriate predator energy Creating space for healing intergenerational social traumas Weaving Family Constellations into your own work Processing beyond the overt narrative The importance of ritual in healing Connecting into the energy field even when separated by geographical distance Identifying what you need Using technology to continue our somatic practices in community The difference between the outer relationship and narrative, and the internal experience Centering yourself in your own healing work How your healing impacts your children Resources Website: www.familyconstellationsnyc.com Website: www.luisamuhr.com IG: @familyconstellations.nyc Luisa Muhr is a New-York-based artist and healer, specializing in Family & Systemic Constellations. As the descendant of her great-grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, Constellation work has always played an integral part in Luisa's life. She provides group workshops and one-on-one sessions.

Liz Koch rejoins me for a third interview, this time to discuss whiteness and colonization in the body. We explore how those pieces show up in the physical body and sensory systems, why it matters, and the importance of physical movement in anti-racism. What Liz Shares: The interconnection between how we use our bodies and our racialization of bodies Racialized movement patterns Recognizing racialized nervous system responses How the idealized body in fitness is not only white, but also male, and how that impacts female fitness What You'll Hear: Noticing how performative behaviors re-iterate a frozen spine Changing our view to see Body as Process, rather than Body as Object Valuing the expressivity of the human body Re-assessing the idealized human body to include expression Developing your sense of self through knowing primal responses Examining your ancestral relationship with colonization Using movement patterns to re-enforce or interrupt white body supremacy Engaging with your psoas to feel more grounded Letting go of control as decolonization Becoming available for genuine responses rather than socialized reactions Questioning what whiteness looks like in the white female body Tracking subtle whiteness Healing ancestral trauma through owning your Eros Decolonization as an ecological imperative Participating in society as a community member, not as an individual Re-membering into culture and community and out of strategy The more animal you are, the more human you become Animal body as coherence Pre-empting anti-racial work through movement and the sensory system If your body can't move, you can't feel your instincts Resources: https://coreawareness.com/ IG: @stalkingwildpsoas Liz Koch is an international teacher and author with 42 years of experience, focusing on kinesthetic intelligence and somatic awareness. She is the author of "The Psoas Book," "Unraveling Scoliosis," and "Stalking Wild Psoas: Embodying Your Core Intelligence."

-Story of the Apollo/ Artemis birth -The role of twins in mythology- two sides of a coin -Artemis is the goddess of childbirth, when she is born, she immediately midwife's her brother's birth -Artemis- Moon Goddess, darkness, untamed; Apollo- Sun God, bright, civilized -How are these archetypes helpful in birth preparation? -Ordered culture over wild nature -In an Appolonian setting (hospital,) how do you bring Artemis? -Kimberly's birth experience and handing over power in Apollonian way to midwife -Pandemic popped the Apollonian illusion of control and tossed us into Artemisian realm -Children are Artemisian -How do we compromise the Artemisian in Apollonian structure in spite of our ideals? -Parents beating themselves up in pandemic for kids falling behind -The blurring of public and private -Did birth move you to be more Apollonian or Artemisian? -The grief and loss through the pandemic Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, author of Transformed by Birth, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, relationship, and parenting. For over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as former co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, sustaining sexual vibrancy, and helping romantic partnerships thrive even during parenthood.

What Clelia Shares: Her journey with money coming from generational wealth Accepted gender roles within her community and her work with Mama Gena and Barbara Stanny Turning point in her journey about her role as a woman came with having an abortion How she came to terms with money, wanting to enter the "marble hall of the daddies," and getting there What You'll Learn: What gender roles look like in communities with generational wealth System of dependence in humanitarian aid paralleled system of dependence of being wealthy and feeling that you will be taken care of Women are outside of the worlds of money + commerce Revenue - costs = profits Assuming she would have a non-accretive job, and a virtuous, non-threatening in dating Thinking business school was a "world of benevolent daddies" Business school is 75% male, 25% female (the one professional school that remains disproportionately male) What business school is really like The shift to be motivated by money and power Interviewing women in business, and if they'd left, why had they left? Shifting structures and logistics in keeping women in workforce, but there is something much more profound than "solving" the logistical problems Generations and stages of feminism in business, the metaphor of a building Few models for feminine leadership Codeshifting women do in corporate jobs Online businesses are operating outside of the core systems of power that exist (real estate, technology, finance) The US is not a true capitalist country, it is a corporatist country We give corporations (not people ) welfare, with bailouts Market-based system, where both people come as empowered transactors What about reparations- how do we level things so people are empowered transactors? How do we level set the system? What rich people really do or think- are they Democrats or Republicans? Economy managed on merits, based on financial outcomes 2500 years of white supremacist patriarchy that we've lived in, and we are in a transition Developing a vocabulary of collective questioning Being a channel and gauging with her intuition when deciding whether to invest Why it's taboo to state your sex within business, even if that may be informing your communication style Does she look for female-run companies to invest in? Masculine as triangle, feminine as a circle