Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson

What Kim Shares: How she used the beauty of imagery to stay in the heaviness of her memoir How studying archetypes helped her art make sense to herself Navigating major transitions by being with the tensions Her experiences with miscarriage What You'll Hear: Examining all the parts of who we are and who we're expected to be Feeling the tension of duality without buckling Allowing a new creative solution to come forth from tension or difficulty Using your personal practice to get through difficult times Relating to work that you've released into the world Allowing the true emotional experience to surface Having space for the rich emotional experiences of life Tending radical simplification in your life Titrating your work to promote stabilization of the nervous system Prioritizing your sense of self over external accomplishment Resourcing yourself so that you're able to navigate the tension of duality Holding yourself through each new phase Why having a felt container is important in opening Exploring the line between personal and professional life in the era of social media Stretching your capacity for joy and connection Choosing love, sensuality, pleasure, sex, and fun during the conception journey

Ash Robinson bootstrapped two of her own startups; raised over $12M in funding; sold to a public company right before the recession and consulted with hundreds of business owners and executives- most of whom were women. Ash started a company called Purpose to Profit specifically for women entrepreneurs to more effectively lead sustainable and wealth-creating businesses. Now she consults for non-profits, corporations, and entrepreneurs, especially when they are at critical junctures or need people solutions. What Ash Shares: Where she got her experience and foundation in business How she navigated business and new motherhood Re-creating business with a model that works for women What You'll Hear: Creating safety for freelancers during the fourth trimester Allowing your postpartum experience, without needing it to be 'perfect' Culturally ingrained postpartum care How providing parental leave supports companies in the long term. Why working with your nervous system is important in building your business Why developing your business from a human-centric model might be what you need Offering your work to the world even when you've experienced failure Re-orienting around work after birth Building a career while raising young children Noticing what you want to be acknowledged for Doing better by slowing down Structuring your business to be authentic to yourself Noticed if difficulties arise from a business structure issue or for a personal reason Distinguishing between yourself and your business Determining what you're good at in your own business Recognizing the resources available within your relationships Expanding women's power through financial earning

Michel Odent, MD, is a French obstetrician trained as a general surgeon known for his tireless research on how environmental factors present during pregnancy and birth affect babies, children, and our communities. He is the founder of the Primal Health Research Centre and authored the first articles on the initiation of lactation and the use of birthing pools. He has authored 15 books and continues to publish cutting edge research. What He Shares: Why birth is an important subject not only for birth workers, but for all people interested in the future of our species. Why the period of birth is a critical period in a person's life The inability to study the long-term, non-specific affect of modern pregnancy and birth practices Exploring the changes in Homo sapiens resulting from birthing practices What You'll Hear: How birthing hormones affect our biological programing Understanding the needs of a laboring person Why the microbiome of a newborn baby affects a their lifelong health How the future of our species is being modified based on birth environments Discovering the correlation between birth choices and children's behavior Developing appropriate questions around new pregnancy and birth practices Improving research ability to answer unknowns The difficulty of understanding the long term risk factors of birthing choices Prioritizing the development of new research questions Why pregnancy is not the best time to educate yourself on these issues Expanding our view beyond the individual choices to the medical establishment Becoming bilingual in the languages of intuitive knowledge and scientific research Exploring how making birth a social event altered the fetal ejection reflex How technological advancements have altered birth

What She Shares: The relationship between slavery and modern medicine Learning to read between the lines of the medical literature produced during slavery The emotional strain of researching archives of enslaved people Her own gynecological experience as a black woman What You'll Hear: The racist background of gynecology and obstetrics How the presumption that Black bodies feel less pain is founded in slavery Understanding that the first men practicing gynecological surgeries were interested in protecting an economic system Recognizing the Mothers of gynecology while respecting their privacy Having an embodied since of history and homeland Examining the legacy of anti-blackness and xenophobia in medicine How nonviolent direct action helped fan the popularity of her book Using education to dismantle the anti-black medical system Attending to the maternal health of Indigenous women How race and class still affect how a person is treated in a medical office Allowing the present to be a part of historical studies Considering that stress responses signify a healthy, coherent system Understanding that black women face higher maternal health risks because of institutionalized anti-blackness, not because of their race Deirdre Cooper Owens is a griot, and a teacher who performs may functions in her community, especially in this 21 st century. Her practice is rooted in the West African and Gullah traditions of gathering and telling stories. She's an award-winning historian and popular public speaker as well as a Professor in the History of Medicine and Director of Humanities in Medicine Program at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. Dr. Cooper Owens is the author of "Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology."

What She Shares: How her own postpartum story inspired her to learn and teach postpartum care The history of the school and about its founder, Ysha Oakes The layout of the Ayurvedic Doula program from the School for Sacred Window Studies What You'll Hear: The lineage of the School for Sacred Window Studies Preventing postpartum mood disorders with appropriate care for mothers Why it's important to have a postpartum care provider who personalizes care Prioritizing comfort and peace during the fourth trimester How doula training has expanded outside of DONA certification Getting clear on the services you provide as a postpartum doula How having a care provider for a new mom affects the mother-baby relationship and nervous system regulation Why Ayurvedic postpartum bodywork is helpful in reducing PMADs Finding your boundaries after birth The value of hiring a postpartum care provider with training and expertise Understanding how food can impact a person's postpartum experience and healing Taking care of yourself as a postpartum care provider to avoid burnout Approaching the fourth trimester holistically and not as a form of crisis management Investing in postpartum support The professional and social benefits of a group practice Balancing your personal responsibilities with caring for others as a doula The potential effects of hiring a doula for just a few hours a week Moving the cultural dialogue on postpartum through scientific research

Cleo Stiller is a multiple award-winning journalist who is a self-identified "relationship non-expert." She is obsessed with exploring stories about health, gender, and technology among millenials. She recently authored the book "Modern Manhood: Complications Conversations on Being a Good Man Today." What She Shares: Writing a book on manhood as a woman Untangling socialized gender The process of interviewing men anonymously post #metoo on how they really feel What You'll Hear: Bringing conversations around sexuality and consent out into the open Making room for nuance in complicated topics Understanding that we all are learning about sex and boundaries together due to a lack of foundational education Finding true learning within the grey areas The societal reasons why men feel isolated Undoing the toxic binary that holds both men and women back Creating authentic space for men to get in touch with their emotions How vocabulary changes can allow men to participate in emotional work Examining the cultural and physiological differences between genders The Appeal to Nature Fallacy Expanding our interactions beyond gender expectations Learning how to be really clear with your expectations and desires Why gender equality does not exist Being ok with your own needs and dynamics Valuing men for their own capacities Mindfully raising boys Getting more of what we want in relationship through explicit communication

Jennifer Block is an award winning journalist, an advocate for women's health care, and the author of books including "Pushed: the Painful Truth about Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care" and "Everything Below the Waist: Why Health Care Needs a Feminist Revolution." She writes frequently about health, gender, and conflict of interest in medicine. What She Shares: Insight into the recent Madison Breech Birth Conference Working for 5 years to get publishers to take her first book seriously Why viewing birth through a human rights lens is so important How feminism's relationship with the medical establishment has changed What You'll Hear: How the lack of professional birth education creates 'birth refugees' How practitioners organized the Madison Breech Birth Conference to take education back into their own hands The importance of human rights in birth Taking an active role in your birth and changing the trauma response The correspondence of the rise in maternal mortality and the rise in c-sections The discrepancy of C-section rates between different communities Translating birth research into the birth room practices Understanding the actual birth potential of a breech baby Holding your power during birth Examining the health effects of hormonal birth control Separating politics from health care choices Knowing that choosing to end your cycle is not a physiologically 'neutral' choice The benefits of monthly hormone cycling Taking a long-term view of fertility Undoing the "father-doctor-god" complex and believing in your own knowledge and power The intersection of race and health care

Jenelle Marie Pierce is the Executive Director of The STI Project, the founder of the Herpes Activist Network, and is the spokesperson for Positive Singles. As an STI + Sexual Health Educator and content creator, Jenelle is dismantling STI stigma through awareness, education, and acceptance. What She Shares: The definitions of STI and STD, and how they differ Safe sex vs safer sex How many sexually active people contract STIs in their lifetime Her own journey with untangling STI stigma What You'll Hear: Understanding that you are not alone with an STI diagnosis The majority of people living with STIs are unaware of their status Untangling the stigma around genital herpes Understanding that STI stigma originated with stigma around sex How different cultures view herpes Removing the differentiation between HSV1 and HSV2 Examining your own views on promiscuity and what it means to be 'good' Understanding the impacts of a positive STI status and learning to communicate about it Identifying the reasons why we engage in sex so we can have full agency over our choices Determining how and when to disclose your STI status How having an STI can increase the authenticity of relational communication Giving yourself time and space to determine if you want to move forward in a sexual relationship with a positive partner Remembering to embrace the pleasure of sex Holding personal agency in sexual decisions Finding an STI educator that fits your needs and style

Three women share how the Activate Your Inner Jaguar course changed their lives. magamama.com/jaguar

What She Shares: What is Jing, how it is developed, and how it affects us The Three Golden Opportunities available to menstruating people Kris's personal journey as a mother of two children with autism, the effect it had on her health, and how she restored her wellness What You'll Hear: Building on the Jing or Essence you're born with Matching ancient Eastern philosophies with modern research Recognizing the key times in a menstruating person's life when they can positively affect how their health manifests Menstrual blood as the physical manifestation of Jing loss, and safeguarding your energy and Essence Menstruation as a vital sign of your health Allowing variation within the menstrual cycle based on life events and stressors Approaching your health from a felt sense Positively influencing your health through Jing restoration during menstruation and postpartum Stopping "Doing," and embracing Rest Approaching healing practices through the lens of energy management Strengthening your health in your late 30's to build reserves for menopause Removing the negative cultural connotation around 'perimenopause' and 'postpartum' Using the three Golden Opportunities to fortify your health Harvesting your newly allocated energy in menopause Embracing aging Looking at your health from a broader perspective Prioritizing the foundational parts of our health such as sleep, nutrition, and community Teaching our daughters about the magic and wisdom available in knowing their menstrual cycles Developing an intimate relationship with yourself