her Self: IFS & Spiritual Entrepreneurship

One of the (many) shadow sides of living in a patriarchal world is the idealization of motherhood. Women are expected to be– and to want to be– intrinsically all-loving, all-nurturing mothers, regardless of our circumstances or individual dispositions. The inevitable failure to live up to this ideal leads to feelings of shame, inadequacy, and wonderings of "what's wrong with me?". My conversation today with author, scholar, and speaker, Daniela F. Sieff, Ph.D., serves as a salve for these feelings. Through her studies of "The Death Mother" archetype (which she first discovered through working with the Jungian analyst Marian Woodman), Daniela helps to normalize these darker feelings that women can have towards their children- ranging anywhere from ambivalence to disgust. Daniela and I also speak about the impact this archetype has on those who are at the receiving end of it. This conversation will particularly interest you if you were adopted, felt unwanted/neglected/or unloved by your mother or caregiver, grew up with a mother who was physically or emotionally abusive or absent, if you’re struggling with cancer, an addiction, eating disorder, or autoimmune disease, or if you have had an abortion, given a child up for adoption, or have felt ambivalent, or even resentful about being a mother at times. It’s time to dispel the myth of the all-loving mother and to bring this shadow side of motherhood to the surface so we can give women the support and resources they need when they're struggling. Daniela's website: www.DanielaSieff.com Daniela's newsletter: https://sieff.pro/subscribe Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Sara's newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#newsletter Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthor Changing with Grace: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#changeMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

For this month’s meditation, I’m sharing one that I led a little bit ago in an online course I’ve been teaching this winter and spring called The Book of SHE Club (which, you guessed it is a book club for my second book, The Book of SHE). This is a meditation I led during the week when we unpacked the chapter on Unlocking the Magic in your SHE Cycles (your SHE Cycle is also your moon cycle). I lead an activation of a woman’s subtle energy body, for, as, with so many other areas of life, we’re often taught about our subtle energy anatomy through a male lens. This one lets you tap into your energy body in a more feminine and accurate way than you may have been taught through other yoga and meditation traditions. I hope you find this supportive. The Holy Mother Retreat: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#communityretreats Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Subscribe to the newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#newsletter Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthorMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

Today I’m welcoming Kimberly Ann Johnson onto the podcast to talk about her new book, “Call of the Wild: How we Heal Trauma, Awaken our Power, and Use it for Good." Kimberly’s a somatic experiencing practitioner, sexological bodyworker, birth doula, and single mother. Her new book combines all of these modalities, and more, to create a groundbreaking, accessible, comprehensive, and– above all– feminist approach to healing trauma. She believes that we women are stuck in a cycle of trauma, both collectively and individually, and presents for us a path to break it. Enjoy! Kimberly's website & book: www.KimberlyAnnJohnson.com Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com The Deep Rest Retreat: https://bit.ly/2XWyfwM Sara's newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#subscribe Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthorMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

Today, I want to talk about something that I haven’t spoken much about yet here on the podcast: health. Taking care of my health is my #1 priority in life. I know that, without my health, everything else suffers. Throughout my adult life so far, I’ve tried everything under the sun in terms of health protocols. When I was younger, some of these things worked well for me, but in recent years, they only seemed to make some inflammatory/autoimmune symptoms I have worse. Things changed when I learned of Unique Hammond. An LA-based holistic nutritionist, Bean Protocol coach, and author, Unique has been on quite a health journey. Ten years ago she was suffering from debilitating Crohn’s disease, which stripped her 5'7” frame down to 90 pounds, with countless trips to the bathroom each day. Today, at age 45, Unique is a radiant vision of health. Knowing Unique, seeing her, hearing her story, and how she lives her life, expands my vision of what's possible on my own health journey, especially as I approach my mid-forties, too. In today's conversation, Unique shares what the turning point was for her on her healing journey: The Bean Protocol. When I first heard about The Bean Protocol, it sounded very weird, to be honest. But as I learned more of the science behind it, as well as Unique's story (and those of others she’s working), I was intrigued. I've been on The Bean Protocol ever since, and, in my conversation with Unique, we speak more about all of this in-depth. If you're suffering from hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, inflammation, autoimmune symptoms, mystery illnesses, liver imbalances, gut or skin issues, mood disorders, or are simply wanting to learn how to use food as medicine to grow older with more grace and ease (including how to reverse the growth of gray hair, naturally), you'll walk away from today's conversation with new information and perspectives for your own healing journey. Unique's website: www.YoureGreat.com Unique on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/UniqueHammond Karen Hurd: www.KarenHurd.com Lacy Phillips/Expanded Podcast: www.ToBeMagnetic.com Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com The Deep Rest Retreat: https://bit.ly/2XWyfwM Newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#subscribe Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthorMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

Over the years, when I work one-on-one with women, they often share that something they want for their lives, and to gain from working together, is to establish a solid, daily meditation practice. I love that they want this for themselves and that they see the value in this. Because if you’re to pick one daily ritual to implement that will have the biggest impact on every area of your life, that is without a doubt a daily, meditation practice. To help support you with this, I’m going to start sharing some guided meditations here on the podcast. Today’s is one from a virtual retreat I led in my online spiritual practice community, Women’s House of Wisdom. In it, we take refuge in our belly centers– known in many spiritual traditions as our “true home.” It’s the seat of our intuition, our wisdom, our highest selves. May today’s guided meditation be of benefit. The Deep Rest Retreat: https://bit.ly/2XWyfwM Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#subscribe Women's House of Wisdom: www.WomensHouseofWisdom.com Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthorMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

In honor of tomorrow being the first day of Women's History Month (how did it get to be March already?!), I want to give voice to something that has afflicted nearly every woman I know at some point in her life, in some form. It's something we started grappling with when our bodies started growing from girl to woman. It's something our sisters, mothers, and grandmothers often suffered from. It's something that stays with us in subtle, yet pernicious ways. It's something that we deny, judge, and hate – but also secretly love. Above all, it's something we stay silent about. I want to talk today about our eating disorders. In the opening chapter of my second book, The Book of SHE, I recounted the story of an intense, and startling, bulimia relapse I had eleven years ago when I was overcome with self-doubt and inner criticism while writing my first book. Upon reading my story, many women reached out sharing "I, too, was bulimic in high school and sometimes have relapses as an adult. I've done so much spiritual and psychological work and these episodes seem to come out the blue. How did heal from this?" The road to healing from eating disorders is long and complex, involving deep psychological, biological, and spiritual support. What I've learned on my healing journey is so much more than I can share in a single podcast. In short, the overall attitude I found most transformative was to see my eating disorder as a friend with whom I'm in a lifelong relationship (whether or not it's active). Today on the podcast I'm sharing more about this perspective shift, as well as the therapeutic healing modality I've found most effective for healing not only eating disorders, but also all sorts of other traumas and fragmentations. This modality is called IFS (or Internal Family Systems), and it's something I've been a client of for many years, wrote about in The Book of SHE, and which I also use with my mentoring clients. Rather than demonizing and pathologizing our eating disorders (and addictions- both soft and hard), IFS teaches us how to turn towards them and befriend them. Mary Kruger– a Certified IFS Therapist and Lead Trainer who specializes in addiction, eating disorders, and trauma– is joining us today to speak about this revolutionary way to approach these things. May this conversation be of benefit. Mary's website: www.mpkruger.com IFS website: www.ifs-institute.com Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com The Book of SHE: www.indiebound.org/book/9781608682898 Women's House of Wisdom: www.WomensHouseofWisdom.com Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthor Subscribe to Sara's newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#newsletterMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

Happy Valentine’s Day, happy Galentine’s Day, for all who are celebrating. And- yay- we’re just over half-way to the equinox now. This is our final stretch in the underworld that is wintertime. Fitting for this season, today I’m sharing an excerpt from a dharma talk I gave during a retreat last month in my online women’s yoga & meditation community, Women’s House of Wisdom. In it, I speak about “The Power of Yin.” In a world that still condemns the feminine, or yin energy-- like softening, resting, being, allowing-- we still have a ways to go before really restoring this fundamental energetic balance, first within ourselves and then on the planet. Women's House of Wisdom: www.WomensHouseofWisdom.com Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Join the newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#newsletter Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthorMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

Today, I’m looking forward to sharing with you our first podcast guest of the season, Ari Honarvar. Ari is full of treasures– a woman I sense you’re going to be seeing a lot more of in the months and years ahead. She’s a wonderful female role model for these times, in so many ways. Ari Honarvar is an award-winning writer, visual artist, activist, and speaker who grew up in war-torn Iran. Today, she’s turned her childhood trauma into ecstatic service by bringing the medicine of Iranian mysticism and poetry to refugees and asylum seekers at the U.S./Mexico border. The Iranian Musical Ambassador of Peace, Ari has spearheaded the Drop Poems Not Bombs project and is also the Vice President of Gente Unida, a human rights border coalition. We speak about what it was like to grow up as a young-girl in an unstable country where women and girls were stripped of their rights, what it was like to move to the United States without her family at the age of fourteen, and all the ways mystical poetry saved her life. We also delve into the daily rituals she’s finding supportive for both herself and her family during the pandemic, as well as a deeper, more accurate understanding of the Narcissus myth, and how this can help us evolve past being such a transactional, individualistic culture. Last, we talk about her process behind writing her first novel, the forthcoming "A Girl Called Rumi." Enjoy! Ari on Instagram: www.Instragram.com/rumiwithaview Ari’s website: www.RumiwithaView.com Ari’s interview on The Shift Network: https://shiftnetwork.infusionsoft.com/go/mys21a22627/a22627 Sara’s website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthor Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover The Book of SHE Club: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#bookclubMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

We women face many challenging transitions on the pilgrimage from girlhood to womanhood: menses, love and heartbreak, motherhood, childlessness (by choice or not), menopause, illness, loss, and financial devastation (to name a few). Devoid of a central narrative, these rites of passage too often happen in shame, isolation, and secrecy, leaving women doubting their personal power, self-worth, and, at times, sanity. Yet these very thresholds– or initiations– are what’s required to expand our personalities and nervous systems to better hold the largeness of our souls. Today, I'm mapping out the three biggest dangers of undergoing a modern-day initiation– or transformational cycle of unbecoming and becoming. I'm also sharing three antidotes to best work with these inopportune societal conditions. May these words provide validation and context-making for wherever you are in your process. And, as always, blessings on your journey! For women who want to go deeper into this with me and with one another, I'm leading "The Book of SHE Club: A 13- Week Community Initiation," from February 3-May 5. Each week, I'll lead a class where I'll flesh out one of the 13 phases of the Heroine's Journey, an archetypal map for feminine initiation, as it's laid out in my second book. You can learn more and join us here: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#bookclub The Book of SHE: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781608682898 Website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthor Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStoverMentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad

As we near the end of 2020, a monumental year for us all, I called on my friend, colleague, and esteemed astrologer and success coach, Jennifer Raccioppi, to shed some light on the cosmic forecast for the month of December, and into 2021. In our conversation, we talk all about Jenn’s new book, Cosmic Health, and why, from an astrological standpoint, 2020 was so intense. She shares some interesting shifts happening in a couple of weeks– most notably the new moon eclipse on December 14, and a rare astrological conjunction on Dec. 21 that will seed a paradigm shift in 2021 and beyond. We touch on practical ways you can align with these changes, why it's imperative that you "ride your erotic edge," what her current spiritual practice consists of, her recent heartbreak and encounters with the Dark Mother, and her current growing edge. Settle in with us, and enjoy. Jennifer Racioppi's website: JenniferRacioppi.com Sara's website: SaraAvantStover.com Cosmic Health book: indiebound.org/book/9780316535298 Women's House of Wisdom: WomensHouseofWisdom.com Audre Lorde on "The Erotic as Power": youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=xFHwg6aNKy0Mentioned in this episode:her Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Adher Self CEO Early Reg Dynamic Ad