All You Gotta Do Is Say "Yes"!
03/16/22 • 57 min
"This body does not bare destruction well.
This body likes warm drops of rain and bare feet. Toes grounding in rich soil, and having my scalp greased. To move and to stretch just a little beyond reach, There is glory over there, a hallelujah in my feet.
This body likes hot sun on bare shoulders, summer rain and not running inside. This body likes first morning light in her arms, new day sun streaming through open windows.
This body likes warm fingers on the dip of my back. Lips brushing the hollow between collar and neck. This body clings to warm embraces, wishing and praying, praying and wishing that I never have to let go.
This body likes mango juice dripping down onto my flesh. This body likes letting the current guide my steps and the moment of release."
Collective Sun Reshape the Mo(u)rning, SpiritHouse, Inc.
Menopause, if anything, is an opportunity to listen to your body. It is a time when your body is recalibrating it's navigational system and will send you new messages around what it needs to be healthy, vibrant, safe and satisfied. It is also an invitation to more deeply understand who you are as you are evolving (again) and what that might mean for your relationship to your body and to the people in your life. In this first episode of SEASON 4 of the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, we had the great fortune to interview Syd Yang and M'kali-Hashiki (see bios below). We were able to explore "what flows and what fits' in this menopausal journey which is deeply connected to who you are in all your intersectional identities. We unearthed the notions of menopause that were formed or informed by our race, ethnicity, gender identify, sexual expression and lived experiences. We also talked about the connective tissue between menopause and internalized agism. Such a rich conversation unfolded around wanting to genuinely love and know our bodies better that allowed us to explore...
- Sex, pleasure and the menopausal body
- Queerness and menopause
- Decolonizing menopause
- Embodiment
Enjoy this journeying together.
Episode Notes:
Syd Yang, IG: @bluejaguarlove
www.bluejaguarhealingarts.com
Syd Yang (they/them) is a mixed race/Taiwanese American queer trans/non-binary healer, intuitive counselor and writer who weaves together magic, possibility and intention as an energy healer and spiritual coach in the world through their practice, Blue Jaguar Healing Arts. Syd's work finds its resonance in the stories we each hold at the intersection of memory, body, sexuality and mental health. Syd works primarily with queer and trans BIPOC as well as regularly leads workshops, community healing circles and has been a group facilitator for over two decades, with a specific focus on grief, healing ancestral trauma, sexuality + spirituality, body liberation and eating disorder recovery
M'kali-Hashiki, IG: @fierce_passions
www.FiercePassions.com
M'kali-Hashiki is a Somatic Sacred Storyteller & Erotic Ritualist. Her Divine Purpose is helping folx heal their erotic wounds, deepen their erotic relationship with their body & The Divine, and move further along in their path to individual & collective erotic liberation. She offers group intensives, rituals, individual sessions, instructional videos, guided visualizations; as well as private events for companies & organizations. Her lived experiences as a fat, Black, queer, femme, trauma-survivor inform every aspect of her work.
-----
www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com
https://www.patreon.com/blackgirlsguidetomenopause
Produced by Mariah M.
Hosted by Omisade Burney-Scott
Theme Music by Taj Cullen Scott
"This body does not bare destruction well.
This body likes warm drops of rain and bare feet. Toes grounding in rich soil, and having my scalp greased. To move and to stretch just a little beyond reach, There is glory over there, a hallelujah in my feet.
This body likes hot sun on bare shoulders, summer rain and not running inside. This body likes first morning light in her arms, new day sun streaming through open windows.
This body likes warm fingers on the dip of my back. Lips brushing the hollow between collar and neck. This body clings to warm embraces, wishing and praying, praying and wishing that I never have to let go.
This body likes mango juice dripping down onto my flesh. This body likes letting the current guide my steps and the moment of release."
Collective Sun Reshape the Mo(u)rning, SpiritHouse, Inc.
Menopause, if anything, is an opportunity to listen to your body. It is a time when your body is recalibrating it's navigational system and will send you new messages around what it needs to be healthy, vibrant, safe and satisfied. It is also an invitation to more deeply understand who you are as you are evolving (again) and what that might mean for your relationship to your body and to the people in your life. In this first episode of SEASON 4 of the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, we had the great fortune to interview Syd Yang and M'kali-Hashiki (see bios below). We were able to explore "what flows and what fits' in this menopausal journey which is deeply connected to who you are in all your intersectional identities. We unearthed the notions of menopause that were formed or informed by our race, ethnicity, gender identify, sexual expression and lived experiences. We also talked about the connective tissue between menopause and internalized agism. Such a rich conversation unfolded around wanting to genuinely love and know our bodies better that allowed us to explore...
- Sex, pleasure and the menopausal body
- Queerness and menopause
- Decolonizing menopause
- Embodiment
Enjoy this journeying together.
Episode Notes:
Syd Yang, IG: @bluejaguarlove
www.bluejaguarhealingarts.com
Syd Yang (they/them) is a mixed race/Taiwanese American queer trans/non-binary healer, intuitive counselor and writer who weaves together magic, possibility and intention as an energy healer and spiritual coach in the world through their practice, Blue Jaguar Healing Arts. Syd's work finds its resonance in the stories we each hold at the intersection of memory, body, sexuality and mental health. Syd works primarily with queer and trans BIPOC as well as regularly leads workshops, community healing circles and has been a group facilitator for over two decades, with a specific focus on grief, healing ancestral trauma, sexuality + spirituality, body liberation and eating disorder recovery
M'kali-Hashiki, IG: @fierce_passions
www.FiercePassions.com
M'kali-Hashiki is a Somatic Sacred Storyteller & Erotic Ritualist. Her Divine Purpose is helping folx heal their erotic wounds, deepen their erotic relationship with their body & The Divine, and move further along in their path to individual & collective erotic liberation. She offers group intensives, rituals, individual sessions, instructional videos, guided visualizations; as well as private events for companies & organizations. Her lived experiences as a fat, Black, queer, femme, trauma-survivor inform every aspect of her work.
-----
www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com
https://www.patreon.com/blackgirlsguidetomenopause
Produced by Mariah M.
Hosted by Omisade Burney-Scott
Theme Music by Taj Cullen Scott
Previous Episode
Menopausal Multiverse Dispatch: Season 3 Recap!
At the end of each podcast episode, I close by saying, "we will see you again on the dark side of the moon". I chose this language because of the way moon phases have been divinely associated with menstruation throughout antiquity. The dark side of the moon is under the dominion of the crone, the wise one, the astrological sign of Scorpio, the goddess Hecate, and Orisa Oya. It is a place of power, ancient magic, healing, ancestral connection and transformation. The idea of the dark side of the moon may also illicit an image of place that is cold, barren, volatile and inhabitable. If I'm honest, the latter imagery has also come to mind for me more than I wanted to acknowledge and I felt conflicted about wanting to intentionally explore a space that felt like a distant dark outpost---uninviting, isolating and possibly dangerous. How would I reconcile these feelings and step more fully into this unknown?
It sounds simplistic, but I decided to trust my gut because my wisdom and the ancient wisdom of the people who have come before me lives there. I had a hunch that there had to be more to the dark side of the moon. I had a hunch that in the place ripe for the deep shadow work of unlearning the hard wiring we have received around the evolving and aging bodies of women, women identified and gender expansive people, there would be evidence of life flourishing in a new form.
Much like the deeper depths of the ocean, the dark side of the moon, menopause and aging has been woefully unexplored leading to cultural and societal assumptions and norms that problematize and pathologizes this transformation. I decided to focus on the dark side of the moon, for people navigating menopause and aging, as a potent place of liminality and rites of passage. An in betweenness and a pathway of exploration in need of illumination. A place where we could re-write the story menopause and aging together honoring ALL our voices.
Welcome to our first recap! In this dispatch from our basecamp on the dark side of the moon, you will hear some of the voices, narratives, questions and wisdom offered to our podcast during Season 3. As we prepare to launch Season 4 of the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, the entire team wants to thank you for joining us on this journey. We also hope to continue to carve a wide and well lit path for other folks finding their way and we are eager to learn more about the rich experiences of people navigating menopause at the intersections of their personhood, truths, hopes and dreams.
See you soon!
PS
THANK YOU Season 3 guest: Cherizar Crippen, Aja Taylor, Makani Themba, Paris Hatcher, Chass Grissom, Shannon Houston, Aunjanue Ellis, Dr. Sunyatta Amen, Goody Howard, Dr. Cindy Duke, Dr. Arianna Sholes-Douglas, Luenell, Stacy London and Dr. Jennifer Mullan!!
To LEARN MORE about the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, click www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com
FOLLOW US on IG @blackgirlsguidetomenopause and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BlackgirlsguidetoMenopause
Become a PATRON https://www.patreon.com/blackgirlsguidetomenopause
Credits:
Produced by Mariah M.
Narration by Omisade Burney-Scott and Mariah M.
New Opening Theme Music by Taj Scott
Youtube (opensource) sounds effects provided by:
Q Suay's channel | UI Sound Design by Erik
z3n pnk's channel
Universe (Serge)'s channel
Next Episode
Made with Love...
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
-- Toni Morrison
When I was a kid in the 1970s, School House Rock, short educational cartoon vignettes put to music, were ubiquitous on Saturday mornings. We learned about grammar, math and how the government work (kind of) all with a catchy tune. There was a particular School House Rock titled Mother Necessity" and it extolled "with Mother Necessity and where would we be without the inventions of your progeny"? Where would we be indeed! The Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause was born out of both a desire and need to create a safe and sacred space for conversation around menopause, midlife and aging for Black women women-identified and gender expansive people. We knew there was a conversation, a story and some good wisdom waiting to be found, illuminated and shared. Jamyla Bennu, of Oyin Handmade, knew the same thing about the products available to Black people on their natural hair journey in a society that told us our hair is a problem that needs to be solved. She saw the need and got into her lab (also known initially as her kitchen) to create products that are all natural and made for us, by us. In this episode of the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, we explore:
- Creating new realities and new medicine
- Entrepreneurship
- Offerings to our community
- Intergenerational stories and throughlines
- Our menopausal journeys and being more than one thing
We also did a deep dive into her menopausal journey at the intersection of her multiple identities, roles and paths. Enjoy this walk down memory lane and future building between an Aries and an Aquarius!
Episode Notes:
Jamyla Bennu https://www.instagram.com/heyjamyla/
https://oyinhandmade.com/about-us/
Jamyla Bennu is the creator of Oyin Handmade, a line of natural, unisex personal care products formulated for the moisture needs of highly textured hair and dry skin. She is a maker, a mixtress, a lover of laughter & dance, a voracious reader, a gregarious introvert, and a self-described nerd. She is an advocate for independent small business, work-life balance, and making things.
Her interests include nutritional density in both food and hair products, joy and delight as a facet of intergenerational justice, neurological diversity as a key to human potential, and the power of creativity as a form of self care and world shaping.
She lives and builds in Baltimore with her partner, artist Pierre Bennu, and their two sons. To access a 20% discount on Oyin Handmade products, use, "BGG2SM"
References:
The Crown Act, https://www.thecrownact.com/
Our Bodies, Ourselves, https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/
Daughters of the Moon Tarot Deck, https://www.abebooks.com/Daughters-Moon-Tarot-Book-Morgan-Ffiona/31060777668/bd?cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_Shopp_Trade_20to50-_-product_id=COM9781880130018USED-_-keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmf2G7uCyCjulU3E_B08xcG4eTe4eqpc7v3QDV3cKGUA7BWNI0bTpDUxoCBRQQAvD_BwE
----
www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com
https://www.patreon.com/blackgirlsguidetomenopause
Produced by Mariah M.
Hosted by Omisade Burney-Scott
Theme Music by Taj Cullen Scott
We are excited to have our local NPR station, WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio, as a sponsor for Season 4 of the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause
https://www.wunc.org/
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