her Self: IFS & Spiritual Entrepreneurship

Summer is officially here in the northern hemisphere. Huzzah! Bike rides, swimming, hikes, picnics: this is the season of pleasure. Yet, living in a (mostly) pleasure-adverse culture–- and emerging from the underworld of the pandemic-- can make feeling good feel hard at times. Today I'm sharing an excerpt of a dharma talk I gave a couple of months ago during an online course I taught called "The Book of SHE Club." In this course, we covered one chapter of my second book (The Book of SHE) per week. I gave this particular talk when we covered chapter ten, “Turning on Your Brights.” Since The Book of SHE outlines the 13 stages of the heroine’s journey-- or a woman’s path to turning crisis into opportunity-- This chapter was the first chapter in the “ascent” portion of the heroine’s journey. I felt like this was a relevant talk to share right now given that we’re in the midst of a collective ascent. We’re coming out of the descent of the pandemic and adjusting our eyes to the light and our senses to more joy and pleasure. And, on that note, later this summer I’m hosting a free, online gathering to support us all in coming together to cultivate more pleasure, more connection, and more fun in our lives. It’s called “Women’s Summer of Celebration,” and it spans over 5 weeks, from July 21 to August 18. We’ll meet for 45 minutes via Zoom each Wednesday during that time. And, each week, a new guest teacher will join us to lead us through experiences from creative writing to sensual dance to devotional music therapy and more. You can join us (for free) at www. WomensYogaTeacherTraining.com/Summer. I’d love to see you there to celebrate with you this season! And, for now, enjoy this dharma talk on "Opening to More Pleasure." Women's Summer of Celebration: www.WomensYogaTeacherTraining.com/Summer Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Subscribe to Sara's newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#subscribe Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthorMentioned in this episode:HSCEO Regular Reg Dynamic Ad

Today I have another important conversation to share with you. It’s for women who are childless(not by choice), women who are childfree (childless by choice), and for women who DO have children, so you can better understand and empathize with women who do not. In her mid-forties, after years of trying to get pregnant, Jody Day found herself still childless– and overcome with grief and unsure how life could go on. Now, at the age of 56, Jody has found genuine happiness and embraced her life of involuntary childlessness by transforming her own suffering into service to other childless women. The British founder of Gateway Women, a global friendship and support network for childless women with a social reach of over 2-million, Jody is the author of "Living the Life Unexpected: How to Find Hope, Meaning and a Fulfilling Future Without Children." Chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2013, she’s a global thought leader on female involuntary childlessness, integrative psychotherapist, TEDx speaker, and more. We speak about the problem with living in a pronatalist culture (especially when most people don't realize that we do), the fetishization of motherhood, the unconscious bias many hold towards childless women (and the historical roots of this), and how we can come together as women to begin to bridge the divide between those of us who have children and those of us who do not. Whether you have children, don’t have children (but want/wanted them), don't want children, or still want children, this conversation is an important one to listen to and contemplate deeply. Please also share this with those who need to hear it. Enjoy! Jody Day's website: www.Gateway-Women.com Jody's upcoming "Reignite" Weekend: www.gateway-women.com/event-directory/ Jody on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/GatewayWomen Jody on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/GatewayWomenUK Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Women's Yoga & Meditation Teacher Training: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#teachertraininglist Sara's newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#subscribe Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthorMentioned in this episode:HSCEO Regular Reg Dynamic Ad

This May marks the 10-year anniversary of the publication of my first book, The Way of the Happy Woman. One of the ways I'm celebrating is to share two episodes here on the podcast, where I reflect on the ten things I've learned since then. Those of you who have been part of this community during this time know that I've been on quite a journey. A journey of tremendous heartbreak, healing, and transformation. In every sense, I've had to learn at the deepest level what I've been teaching and writing about. As a result, I'm a very different person than I was ten years ago. And, at the same time, I'm still very much– and even more of– myself. It was hard to distill all I've learned into just ten things, but I did my best! I hope you enjoy part two of this conversation. Online 200-Hour Women's Yoga & Meditation Teacher Training: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#teachertraininglist Changing with Grace: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#change Website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#newsletter Instagram: www.Instagram.com/saraavantstover Facebook: www.Facebook.com/saraavantstoverauthorMentioned in this episode:HSCEO Regular Reg Dynamic Ad

This May marks the 10-year anniversary of the publication of my first book, The Way of the Happy Woman. One of the ways I'm celebrating is to share two episodes here on the podcast, where I reflect on the ten things I've learned over this past decade. Those of you who have been part of this community during this time know that I've been on quite a journey. A journey of tremendous heartbreak, healing, and transformation. In every sense, I've had to learn at the deepest level what I've been teaching and writing about. As a result, I'm a very different person than I was ten years ago. And, at the same time, I'm still very much– and even more of– myself. It was hard to distill all I've learned into just ten things, but I did my best! I hope you enjoy part one of this conversation. Online 200-Hour Women's Yoga & Meditation Teacher Training: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#teachertraininglist Changing with Grace: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#change Website: www.SaraAvantStover.com Newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#newsletter Instagram: www.Instagram.com/saraavantstover Facebook: www.Facebook.com/saraavantstoverauthorMentioned in this episode:HSCEO Regular Reg Dynamic Ad

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:HSCEO Regular 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:HSCEO Regular 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:HSCEO Regular 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:HSCEO Regular 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:HSCEO Regular 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:HSCEO Regular Reg Dynamic Ad