Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson

Welcome to Jaguar Bites: new solo episodes where I break down big nervous system concepts into bite-sized pieces. Jaguar Bites are meant to clarify some of the major ideas and misconceptions in somatic experiencing, polyvagal theory, sex education, as well as the birth world. These podcast episodes are for you. They are also for anyone who you don't think will take a course or read a book; but who you really want to hear about how trauma works, how we heal from it, how the body is involved, and why it matters so much (especially right now in the world).

In this episode, Kimberly and Livia discuss Livia’s latest book “The Somatic Therapy Workbook” and how it came to be during a difficult marital separation. Livia shares how writing her book was an anchor in the midst of relationship chaos, all while mothering and how to co-regulate with children at developmentally appropriate ages. Livia walks us through her ultimate decision to separate from her ex-partner as healthy self-preservation, as well as the difficulties of doing so within a family unit.

Bio

Livia Shapiro is a mother, long time yoga practitioner and teacher, somatic psychotherapist and author. Livia writes on the intersection of yoga, somatics, and psychology. She is the author of “The Somatic Therapy Workbook: stress-relieving exercises for strengthening the mind-body connection and sparking emotional and physical healing.” Her article “Yoga-Based Body Psychotherapy” is published in the International Journal of Body Psychotherapy and is a tool for weaving yoga and psychotherapy into a seamless psychotherapeutic model. As a Somatic Psychotherapist Livia works holistically, helping women reorient and repair their nervous systems to live more vibrantly and powerfully.

What They Share

— Betrayal and infidelity in a marriage while mothering

— How to co-regulate with children verbally and physically during crises

— Separating and single parenting/co-parenting

— Living with actual reality vs. desired reality

— Preserving Oneself as ultimate act of Mothering

What You’ll Hear

— Livia shares writing “The Somatic Therapy Workbook” during a life crisis

— Dealing with difficult pregnancy physically and emotionally

— Experiencing miscarriage as grace

— Livia’s “Fully incarnate” soul into body as a woman, therapist, mother, human

— Blighted ovum miscarriage

— Break-up of relationship with ex-partner and daughter’s father

— Family secrets and developmentally appropriate honesty with children

— Boundaries, privacy, and protection with children

— Betrayal and shock during marital crisis and mothering

— Repairing after marital arguments in front of children

— Spousal separation while parenting

— Giving children language during difficult times

— Single parenting

— Co-regulation as acknowledging difficult emotions for children

— Confirming realities instead of hiding for children

— Lack of confirmation leading to cultism, narcissism, binary thinking

— Growing up without honest conversations between parents and children

— Teaching verbal and bodily ways to shake out a tense situation

— Sharing space both individually and together with children

— Needing individual and emotional space from children

— Healing, repairing, and recalibrating from infidelity

— Infidelity as a power struggle

— Self-preservation within a family dynamic

— Discovery trauma occurs when told of betrayal

— Grieving future sibling loss with same parents as a result of separation

— Difficulty accepting potentially new parents in child’s life after separation

— Family in-tact doesn’t necessitate individual being in-tact

— Kimberly’s desire for marriage and leaving relationship with child’s father and Brazil

— Being first person in lineage to divorce

— Evaluating relationship difficulty vs. needing to leave traumatic situation

— Leaving unhealthy environments as necessity and self-preservation

— Accepting what is true and not what wished was true

— Claiming self as mother, wife (ex-wife), author

— Need for Applied Psychology for all body-workers and somatic professionals

— Yoga teachers as somatic practitioners

— “The Somatic Therapy Workbook” for all practitioners (yoga, birth, therapists)

— “The Somatic Therapy Workbook” complimenting and pairing with “Call of the Wild”

Resources

Website: http://ecstaticunfoldment.com/

IG: @liviashapiro

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, Katie and Kimberly discuss their evolving relationship to trauma and spiritual work. After serving clients one-on-one for over 20 years, they consider the importance of community and creativity to healing. In the wake of so many people sharing their trauma stories online, they consider the tools we need for spiritual fortification to find resolution. They introduce Katie’s upcoming 4-week course “Source Regulation: Connect to Source Energy through Your Fluid Nervous System,” which begins July 12th.

Bio

Katie Dove is a somatic therapist, intuitive guide, healer, and mystic with over two decades of experience working with individuals and groups. She is a keeper of ancient wisdom, exploring new paths for the preservation of human nature through connection to mother nature. Her methods weave a mixture of experiences she has collected over time, modalities she has personally cultivated, and extensive studies in transpersonal psychology and craniosacral therapy. With exploration in voice, touch, sound and movement, she guides her clients and students to investigate habits, freedom of choice, expressiveness, and the wealth of sensory information within and around them. Her upcoming course “Inhabit the Heart” is a four week journey into deep relationship with self and soul.

What You’ll Hear

—Combining Trauma and the Spiritual Path

—Healing and Trauma Re-negotiation

—From Trauma Therapist to Resilience Coach to a Release of All Titles

—Beyond Individual Repair:

—Repairing the Continuum of Self, Soul And Source

—Sharing your trauma on Social Media and then what? —The value of short, sweet, simple ceremonies

—Seeing people who have experienced trauma in their wholeness

—How sexual boundary rupture differs from other kinds of trauma

—The conflation of worth and virginity

—The connection between rupture and creation

—Psyche vs. Soul

—The value of Source Regulation and Regeneration through the fluid system

—The power of spiritual assistance and fortification in trauma repair

Website

https://www.katiedove.love/source-regulation

IG: @divineportals

Bio

Devi Ward Erickson is the Founder of The Institute of Authentic Tantra Education – the first and only government accredited professional training institute using the Tibetan Five Element Tantric practices for holistic sexual healing. She is also an ACS Certified Sexologist, Certified Tantric Healer, Certified Reiki Practitioner, Certified Meditation Instructor, and accomplished practitioner of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. She specializes in using Authentic Tantra® and “pleasure as medicine” to awaken more joy, more pleasure, more connection, more love in every area of life.

What She Shares:

—Growing up as a biracial woman

—Journey from stripping to becoming a monk

—Tibetan Tantra practices

—Sexual and non-sexual practices for healing trauma

—Repairing trauma cellularly through Tantra

What You’ll Hear:

–Neo-tantra, adaptation and appropriation ancient spiritual science from India thousands of years ago

–Tantra originally a system of healing rooted in Africa then travelled to India

–Devi shares her background as a biracial woman experiencing racial trauma and violence

–Survivor of childhood domestic violence and other traumas

–Tantra as path of healing and reclamation of humanity

–Authentic tantra vs. neo-tantra

–Regulate nervous systems through tantra, meditation, breath, and awareness

–Tantra tool-kit for healing trauma with benefits of sexual pleasure

–First practice of tantra is mindfulness, creating presence of body

–Stigma and glorification of sex work

–Serious suicide attempt as rock bottom

–Devoted self to spiritual studies, herbal medicine, reiki, meditation, crystal healing, etc.

–Moved to NC, took vows to become monk in Ishaya Order

–Observing celibacy as part of vows

–Sexuality during spiritual and yoga trainings

–Describes addiction to dissociative form of meditation

–Turned to Tibetan five element tantra after experiencing health issue

–”Running the elements” meditation practice as a powerful experience

–Non-sexual and sexual Tibetan five element tantra

–Had to confront trauma directly for first time

–Healing trauma through meditative sexual practices

–Genital healing massage techniques

–Boundaries in sexological body work and sexual healing traditions

–Couples to be sexual healers for each other- sex with intention, focus and purpose

–Intergenerational trauma, collective trauma

–Creating spaciousness in body and mind to repair cells and trauma

–Holding multiple truths with nervous system awareness and tantra practices

–Greater capacity to hold apparent, contradictory opposites and serving others

Resources

Website: https://deviwardtantra.com/

IG: @deviwardtantra

In this conversation, journalist Allison Yarrow and Kimberly discuss Allison's new book “Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood.” They go in depth about the culture and systems of perinatal birth care. They explore Allison’s extensive research around the differences between home birth care and hospital birth care, and go into depth about their personal experiences with each scenario. They wonder how future generations will approach their birth, as well as the deep impact of race on varying birth experience. With all of the information out there, they ask how do you prepare for birth?

Bio

Allisoni Yarrow is a journalist for nearly two decades (in newsrooms like NBC News, Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and Vice), a national magazine finalist, the author of 90s Bitch (finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club Book Award), and she has written about the shortcomings of the perinatal experience in America for the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, Vox, Harper's Bazaar, and Insider. Her new book Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood, which is out July 18 and arose out of my TED Talk. With the recent news that maternal mortality has risen 40 percent to the highest level in our lifetime, this subject couldn't be more important. The book draws on extensive reporting, interviews, an original survey of 1300 birthing people and mothers, and my own personal experiences, to document how women are controlled, traumatized, injured, and even killed, because of traditionalist practices of medical professionals and hospitals during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and after.

What You’ll Hear

How birth procedures and techniques were not developed by science by traditions?

The overriding of midwives knowledge by doctors.

How has birth become such a profitable medical field?

Why C-sections are so prominent despite their limited need?

How does home birth care differ from hospital care?

What kind of mother culture do we need around birth trauma?

The pressure to educate onesellf in the perinatal experience.

What role does agency play in the birth experience?

What needs to change about the system of birth?

How will future generations experience birth care?

Our bodies perceive surgery as interruption.

The importance of sex education to the birth experience.

The racial dimensions of birth culture.

Links

www.allisonyarrow.com

Instagram: @aliyarrow