motherhood

132 | Creating a Nourished Postpartum with Kerry Ingram

 

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This Fall I participated in a weekly new parent-baby group in Sebastopol, CA with Kerry Ingram. I met Kerry years ago when she found one of my self-care guide downloads and invited me to be a wise woman to visit her mom and baby groups. I remember thinking I would love to join something like that to meet other mothers and babies if I ever had a child one day… and about six years later it happened!

Kerry has been supporting new mothers, babies and families for the past decade in CA and now is sharing her curriculum to create a ripple effect of sharing more of these nourishing postpartum groups around the world.

Care for the next generation really does start with the mother, and the more we can surround families with support in early postpartum the easier it will be to interrupt harmful narratives and create networks of love, care and support when we need it most.

In this episode we discussed:

  • Kerry’s experience postpartum: the surprises, challenges and ways she found the support she needed

  • How community support impacts early parenting and is culture-making by creating space to see and interrupt harmful narratives

  • How to be a village tender and step into leadership for new parents in your community

  • The “Early Parenting Villains” and how these systems, for example, ‘consumerism’ ‘diet culture’ or ‘patriarchy’ come up so often in new motherhood, how to identify them and ways to shift our relationship with them

  • Self-care in postpartum, asking for help and building community

Links in this episode: 

Stay in Touch with Kerry:

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Kerry Ingram is the founder of Community Supported Postpartum whose mission is to build ecosystems of care one community at a time.  She contributes to this vision by teaching folks all over the world how to step into the role of Village Tender by creating local parent and baby groups that get parents out of isolation and into a web of support and care.

Kerry is a parent (both biological and foster), an early childhood educator (20 years), a postpartum doula, with additional education in women and gender studies (SUNY Oswego), and maternal mental health care (PSI). She has been facilitating local parent and baby groups for over 10 years and teaches others around the world to step into leadership with her Village Tenders Postpartum Community Care course, curriculum and business framework.

 

131 | Reclaiming Motherhood as a Rite of Passage with Becca Piastrelli

 

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It’s an honor to have Becca Piastrelli back on Rising Women Leaders. It’s been a few years (and a lot of transformation) since our last conversation (episode 10!).

We’ve both transitioned from maiden to mother, and our lives and businesses have transformed along with us. In this conversation we share the real, the raw, and the beautiful of being initiated into this new phase of life.

Becca shares of her journey of the last 2.5 years after birthing her daughter, her journey with delayed postpartum depression (and rage) at 18 months, how she has done her best to recreate the village we all long for, what it looks like to untangle from patriarchy and let go the need to always do more…

Listen to today’s show to learn more about how we can honor and ritualize this powerful rite of passage of shifting from maiden to mother.

In this episode we discussed:

  • The first two years postpartum 

  • Letting go and surrender 

  • Postpartum depression / anxiety 

  • Loneliness in new motherhood 

  • Longing for community - where to start with how to create deep & authentic connection with other women

  • Untangling patriarchy and “doing” mentality & how to slow down in such a fast paced world

  • Ritual in new motherhood 

Links in this episode: 

Stay in Touch with Becca:

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Becca Piastrelli is the author of Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community & the Self and is the host of the Belonging podcast. She teaches and speaks on the nature of belonging and runs retreats to help women reconnect with their rooted sense of self. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area (soon to be Hudson Valley, NY) with her husband, child, two cats, and five chickens, where she gardens, cooks, mothers, and gathers with the ebb and flow of the seasons. 

 

130 | Reigniting a Passion for Life with Renee Linnell

 

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It’s an honor to have Renee Linnell back on Rising Women Leaders!

In Renee’s latest book, Still on Fire, she shares stories of magic, miracles, travel and romance… from traveling over 50 countries, love affairs with men half her age, being rescued by angels, getting stranded at 22,000 feet in the Himalayas, Renee takes us on a wild adventure in her book, sharing soul-soothing wisdom she gained along the way.

Where her first book, The Burn Zone was an exploration of what happens when we don't listen to our Inner Guidance, Still on Fire is an exposition of what happens when we do.

May this conversation support you to remember who you truly are and reignite a passion for being alive on Earth at this time.

“Freedom, I have discovered, is letting go and jumping into the stream of life. Being willing to be uncomfortable and trusting that divine choreography will aways lead us to the next right unfolding. It is looking for the good in everything we gaze upon or stumble upon… finding the miracles in each moment instead of the grievances.”

In this episode we discussed:

  • How Renee shifted her mindset from victim to warrior

  • What is soul sickness? and how to realign with your soul’s truth

  • How to survive as a sensitive being on this planet

  • Renee’s wild and powerful stories of magic, travel, romance and miracles

  • Why we need to shine our light and how to navigate losing people in our life who can’t resonate at the same frequency

  • How to let go of people pleasing and caring so much of what others think of us

  • What finding our power really means

  • Listening to our intuition - and tips to realign with love and freedom when fear or self-doubt appears

Links in this episode: 

Stay in Touch with Renee:

Stay in Touch with Rising Women Leaders:

Renee Linnell is a serial entrepreneur who has founded or cofounded five companies and has an MBA from New York University; before that she was a model and professional dancer. Having an unorthodox childhood and being surrounded by death at a young age led her on a spiritual quest that took her all over the world, culminating in her ordination as a Buddhist monk (by a bi-polar guru with delusions of grandeur so she’s not 100% sure the ordination counts.) What began as writing for catharsis in 2013—as she struggled to regain her sanity after being brainwashed in a Buddhist cult—turned into her first memoir, The Burn Zone: A Memoir (She Writes Press, 2018). Still on Fire is the sequel. Her mission is to remind people Who They Truly Are and to reignite their passion for being alive. For more information, please visit https://reneelinnell.com 

 

129 | Spirituality & Love at the Center of Anti-racism with Porsha Beed

 

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It was an honor to sit down for this heart opening conversation with a personal mentor and friend of mine, Porsha Beed.

It was just before the pandemic when I first met Porsha in a song circle in Sebastopol, CA. I was touched by the songs her and co-founder Aaron Johnson shared with our group and how effortlessly they brought us into our hearts.

I attended their daylong anti-racism workshop and went on to work privately with Porsha over several months to move through my own grief around racism, look at my blind spots as a white woman with privilege and come into deeper alignment with how I show up for my work, friends and larger community.

I think a lot of white people do end up (sadly) avoiding relationships with people of other races because of the shame and guilt that often arises.

When we focus on the fear and guilt, we take the focus away from truly getting to know and caring for another human being.

Porsha is here and reaching for us to heal this divide.

May this conversation open a door for us all to look within, to heal, and to create deeper relationships and a better future for all the generations to come.

In this episode we discussed:

  • Approaching anti-racism work through song and building relationships

  • Healing and tending to grief

  • Letting go of perfectionism and embracing willingness

  • Spirituality and love at the center of anti-racism and social justice movements

  • Healing shame to let down barriers and form true relationships

  • Stories of healing from Porsha’s work

  • The importance of self-forgiveness

  • All about Porsha’s upcoming deep dive series, “Can You Hear Me?” (Links below)

  • How Porsha overcomes fear and doubt and anchors back into her roots and reasons behind this work

  • A beautiful song to remember our connection to spirit

Links in this episode: 

Join Porsha for one of her upcoming deep dives:

Stay in Touch with Rising Women Leaders:

Porsha Beed (she/her) is a co-founder of Holistic Resistance and Grief to Action. Porsha is a practitioner of love, grief work, and deep heart/soul work. She is a mentor, love prophet, poet, spiritual healer and facilitator who pulls from a spiritual ancestral lineage and the earth as guides to support and hold her as she works towards a vision of healing work that aids in the dismantling of racism and oppression. She weaves her African heritage and queer experiences into seeds that she sows in her authentic creative expressions through facilitation, ritual practices, poetry, and song.

 

 

128 | Meredith & Ella's Birth Story

 

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This week I sat down with dear friend Jane Mayer to share the story of my daughter's birth. She was born March 15, 2022 at our home in Boulder, Colorado. In this story I share about everything from unexpected emotions during pregnancy, what I did to prepare for birth, practices to help baby be in the most optimal position for labor, the story of the birth itself as well as lessons from the first six weeks postpartum. 

After spending years preparing for motherhood and holding space for women to heal their womb and their own birth stories it's such an honor to share our birth story with you today. 

Links in this episode: 

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Reflections on New Motherhood

 

It’s now been almost two weeks since my husband and I welcomed our daughter Ella Sariah Rose to this world. 

Birth was a powerful and empowering experience - something I will most likely reflect on in a later letter. 

But for now I wanted to send you an insight in a quick moment I have between nursing, changing diapers and resting…

The night my milk came in I was feeling tender, emotional, had sore nipples (as I learned the ins and outs of breastfeeding) and pain in my pelvic floor (as I heal from a vaginal birth). 

It was the middle of the night, and I was being faced with my first really difficult moment, where Ella was crying, and all the things I tried were not consoling her, and it was feeling impossible to get her to latch to nurse. 

I noticed my energy in it all - tired, my desire to escape, to not be there, to want someone else to do it for me, the desire for it all to be easier. A “How did I get myself into this…” kind of moment. 

I was alone with her in that moment and I was feeling at a loss of what to do next.

As I sat, trying different positions, trying to put my sore nipple in her mouth, I remembered a quote I had read earlier that day in one of my books about Indian philosophy:

“The root cause of suffering is a desire for pleasure and a fear of pain.”

I reflected on all the times in my life I ran away from things that were hard. Like quitting the tennis team in high school when I didn’t make varsity. Or complained and wanted “someone else to do it for me,” when I didn't know how to start a retirement account.

I thought of all the moments I quit or gave up, or simply desired my life to just be easier, all the moments I found ways to avoid pain and difficulty altogether flashed before my eyes. 

Then I thought about the times I went all in - to a hard conversation I was intimidated to have, or to set a boundary with someone I was scared to stand up to, or when I recommitted again and again to publish my book, or put myself out there to promote something I really cared about, or the times I called upon my inner strength to break through a physical limitation, like being on a long run.

I don’t think our souls come to Earth for things to be easy. 

I think our souls really come here, to this planet for the challenge. 

Deep down we want to grow. We want to find the edges of our limits. 

We want to move beyond them. 

And while there has been so much beauty, there have been challenges along the way of bringing Ella into the world. Almost as if she has been inviting me to commit to her again and again, “Do you really want this?” Do you really want me here?” 

I remember the moments of almost throwing up walking by the seafood in the grocery store, or the end of our labor when I screamed and pushed her out, or that moment waiting for her to take her first breath… 

As if she was silently asking each step of the way, “Do you really want this?….” 

Yes.

I found that inner commitment, once again, looking into her eyes in the dark room holding my breast. My energy shifted and I anchored back into my inner strength. 

Yes. 

I’m here. 

I want this. 

I am showing up.

Again.

100%. 

I commit.

And as soon as I shifted my energy and those words crossed my mind, she latched. 

The rest of the night continued gently.  We found a flow between sleep, diaper changes and nursing, and the next morning I awoke feeling rested. 

I’ve been reflecting on that moment, and how in motherhood (and in so many parts of life) we are brought to our edge, and asked to recommit. 

To go deeper.  

I’ve been reflecting on how much easier it all is, when we go all in, and eradicate the victim from our consciousness, the voices that tell us it’s too much and we need to complain or escape from it all.

Again, we are brought to an opportunity to see where we are at as a sacred choice, an opportunity to commit again, to say yes, to let go of all the small voices and find out how strong we are.

So whatever challenge you may be facing in your life right now, I invite you to remember yourself as a soul. 

Remember we didn’t just come here for everything to be easy, but instead we wanted the challenge, to find our inner strength and to rise above the smallness…

And fortunately life, and motherhood is not all challenge.

I write this as I look down at Ella’s peaceful face sleeping next to me. I am filled with deep love, tenderness, and a deeper level of purpose than I’ve ever felt before. 

With love,

Meredith 

 

102 | Mysteries of the Womb, the Rose & the Holy Grail with Shona Keeli Rose

 
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Have you been yearning to honor your divine feminine essence? The power of your womb? The blessing of your heart?

Our latest podcast episode is full with feminine mystery. I sat down with Shona Keeli Rose of the Rose Lineage Mystery School to hear her powerful story of healing her womb, and remembering her path as a Priestess and Womb oracle in preparation of this time of global awakening.

We also talk about the path of becoming a mother, conception, pregnancy and birth as a sacred path of service, and how we can honor the path of the Priestess in times of great change.

In this episode we discussed:

  • Shona’s journey healing cervical cancer and receiving direct guidance on how to heal her womb

  • The journey of pregnancy and birth (she is now pregnant with her second child)

  • The power of the rose and the what the rose lineage is

  • Mary Magdalene and The Trinity of the Holy Grail 

  • The invitation of the Priestess in these times

  • Embracing our sexuality and womb wisdom

 

Stay in Touch with Shona & The Rose Lineage:

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Shona Keeli Rose is the founder The Rose Lineage Mystery School, A Mystery School for The Venusian Rose Temple Arts; She is a Mother Priestess, Rose Empress Initiator, and Gifted Womb Oracle.

Shona is present in this time of awakening to support the budding, blossoming, and blooming of the divine feminine expression and exploration of the inner power through The Trinity of the Holy Grail. The sacred heart, the holy womb center, and the yoni ( vagina ) – these three spaces are the birthplace of all creation, and they carry the most pristine untapped erotic energy available to women. By supporting women to remember how to practice and embody supreme self-love,  thus opening the temple gates for a magical manifestation of the most pleasurable and authentic life.

She is here to support women awaken to the throne of their inner Queendom. Shona is a light bearer and energetic midwife to the wave of Rose Consciousness, that The Sophia Christ healing is bringing back to the planet at this time.  Holding an impeccable space for exquisite hands-on healings, supporting women to surrender into self-love, and revelation, she assists the rebirthing of women ready to become a natural authority of their body wisdom to access their fullest, creative and magnetic potential. Her wisdom is drawn from ancient womb religions and practices spanning thousands of years including Lemurian, Gnostic, Egyptian, Mayan, and Tantric traditions.

056 | Angel Guides, Motherhood & The Modern Magdalene with Lisa Devine

 
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For all the women feeling called to rise and honor the sacred feminine within themselves, this episode is for you.

Lisa gives us beautiful reminders around seeing the sacredness of life in every moment... She helps us remember to ask for help from the higher forces, to embrace the magic in life, and find the gifts in our challenges. 

I learned so much from her powerful story of motherhood, a near death experience, and her connection to Mary Magdalene. I'm honored to be sharing her wisdom with you all today...

In this episode we discussed:

  • Lisa's story of healing from childhood trauma ~ letting go of victimhood, and spiritual awakening
  • Instantaneous healing ~ how the time we are in now it is possible!
  • Angel channeling and how to connect with our personal angels
  • How the angels respect our free will and what we can do to invite in the support of these higher forces
  • Embodying the Priestess in our daily lives ~ how we can make the mundane sacred
  • Mary Magdalene ~ who she is and how she is supporting us at this time
  • The journey of being a mother and the challenges Lisa has faced in motherhood
“Our children also need us to fail… a part of mothering is not doing it perfectly because if they see you perfect all the time they will wonder if something is wrong with themselves…”

Stay in touch with Lisa:

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Lisa Devine is a wife, mother, spiritual counselor, and owner of The Modern Magdalene. She offers angel intuitive readings and past life regression sessions for clients around the globe. She considers it her great honor to assist those who are ready to birth the next chapters of their lives, and to awaken their natural gifts of prophecy, healing, and supreme manifestation.

 

012 | Mantra, Sound & Motherhood with Noelani Love

 
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When I imagine a woman fully empowered in her voice, I think of Noelani Love.  

I first met Noelani in Hawaii when dear friend Erica Jago and I led a workshop at her studio.  Since then I've watched Noelani come more and more into her voice as a mantra singer, teacher and retreat leader. 

I've seen Noelani go for her dreams, speak up for her needs and stand for her beliefs.  When we reunited in Bali, Indonesia last May for the Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat, I wasn't even surprised when she took the floor at Ecstatic Dance at the Yoga Barn to sing the closing song with her ukulele.  I watched in amazement as she gathered over a hundred of us to sing along with her that day.

On today's episode of the Rising Women Leaders Podcast, I asked Noelani if she would share about her experiences of finding her voice and how her unique experiences of motherhood and childbirth have shaped her into the woman she is today.

In this episode you'll discover:

  • Noelani's empowering experience of having a home birth 
  • How she found her voice as a singer
  • The vision she holds for new mamas and their babies
  • Practices for tapping into more pleasure through sound
  • Details about Noelani's upcoming album, Lakshmi Lullabies

Links in this episode:

What did you take away from today's show?  and How will you add more pleasure to your life with sound?  I'd love to hear in the comments below.

With love, 
Meredith

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A note from Noelani:

As a mother, designer and yogini, I create to inspire.  I believe in the healing power of our intentions along with the gifts of this earth. As a daughter of the Mother Earth, I realize that we all have the potential to teach, to heal and empower others through our offerings, as we navigate our way to fulfill our true purpose: LOVE.

Living in Hawaii, with a love for traditional Hawaiian 'oli (chanting) as well as Sanskrit mantra, I began my musical adventure by sharing my original ukulele compositions of mantras in my yoga classes.  I have many passions that allow me to share my light with others and empower them along the way:  jewelry design, teaching yoga, birth education, tantra, and inspiring self love.  I love surfing, singing, writing and spending time with my 'ohana on the North Shore of Oahu. 

We are all human beings that deserve to give and receive love. Share your medicine.

Learn more about my latest mantra album project on my Indiegogo campaign. 

Did you enjoy today's episode?  If so, let us know by leaving an iTunes Review for us right Here!

 
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