This week Cat chats with Zaina Budayr (she/her), the founder of Electric Culture and a New York City-based meditation and yoga teacher. Her passion is helping people in major cityscapes learn nurturing practices that can become tools to manage the stressors of every day life. She is driven to help local communities find tangible tools to use in the processing of trauma and grief. By merging her background in the fashion and branding industries alongside her current work in the mental health field, Zaina brings Electric Culture to life by amplifying the voices of women everywhere that have suffered in silence with their experience of digital abuse.

Digital Abuse is the use of technologies such as texting and social networking to bully, harass, stalk or intimidate a partner. Often this behavior is a form of verbal or emotional abuse perpetrated online.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What is digital abuse?

• Zaina’s personal experience with digital abuse 

• The mental affects of digital abuse/relationship abuse 

• The limited resources and protections for those who are victim to this form of verbal/emotional abuse

Important Note:

If you or someone you know is experiencing any form of relationship abuse there are resources like loveisrespect.org. Offering confidential support for teens, young adults, and their loved ones seeking help, resources, or information related to healthy relationships and dating abuse in the US. They are available 24/7 by text (“LOVEIS” to 22522), call (866.331.9474), or live chat online.

You can find Zaina here: @_yogaplant | @electric__culture | electric-culture.com

Please support Zaina’s foundation of choice: Mauj is a foundation developed by a group of Arab women who wanted to break free from misinformation, shame, and stigma surrounding the female body. Mauj is a resource for education and a judgement-free space for women to learn about, explore, and discuss their sexual and reproductive health, wherever they are on their journey.

Our guest on this episode is Dr. Abby Paloma (she/her), an acupuncturist, herbalist, women’s health expert, yoga and meditation teacher, and gardener.

Cat and Abby discuss a variety of topics and myths around reproductive health and menstruation education, informed consent, and providing patients with all the vital information they need to make critical decisions about their bodies.

A technical note: we had to record on an alternative platform so some of the audio quality isn’t as clear as we would’ve liked. We apologize and appreciate your patience as we are learning and improving. 

Thank you all for listening and it would be greatly appreciated if you like, subscribe, and leave a review and rating.

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• Sex education

• What is the menstrual cycle?

• Reproductive education

• Women not understanding their menstrual cycle and the normal functions of their bodies

• Empowering and educating people about their menstrual cycle

• Hormonal birth control being prescribed as a cure-all rather than a contraceptive

You can find Abby here: @abbypaloma | abbypaloma.com

Please support Abby’s foundation of choice: 

Yellowhammer Fund is an abortion advocacy and reproductive justice organization dedicated to ensuring that all people can make autonomous decisions about their needs and access necessary resources regardless of race, income, location, age, marriage status, documentation, gender, or ability.

Originally from Texas, Crystal Sneden (she/her) came to NYC to perform and study dance and she just needed a job, which is how she got into lingerie. She’s been working in the luxury lingerie retail market for 15+ years now from sales to management. She spends about 80% of her time working in lingerie. She is also currently studying contract law.

Cat and Crystal discuss lingerie and how it differs from functional underwear based on how it makes us feel. Lingerie is a personal expression that evokes emotions while underwear provides form and function. Crystal shares her own experiences with bra fitting.

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• What is Lingerie? Who is lingerie for? 

• Undergarments for all genders

• Soft vs. hard undergarments

• Lingerie, its perception, and what it evokes in us

• Vulnerability and body image

• Creating a safe space for exploration with her clientele

You can find Crystal here: @fulltimelingerie

Please support Crystal’s foundation of choice, Every Mother Counts. They work to achieve quality, respectful, and equitable maternity care for all by giving grants and working with partners and thought leaders to increase awareness and mobilize communities to take action.

March is endometriosis awareness month. 1 in 10 menstruating humans have endometriosis. Endometriosis is a debilitating condition causing excessive bleeding, inflammation, and severe pain.The condition can significantly impact a person’s quality of life and their ability to work, study, or engage in everyday activities. Despite the prevalence of endometriosis, effective research and treatment options for the condition remain very limited. 

If you think you may have endometriosis, finding an endometriosis specialist is crucial to getting proper treatment for the condition.

In this episode:Cat shares her experience with endometriosis 

You can find Cat Meyer here: @kittycatmeyer

Please support Cat’s foundation of choice, The Endometriosis Foundation of America (EndoFound). EndoFound strives to increase disease recognition, provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research.

Hunter Moore is a professional confidante and certified clinical hypnotherapist. She is an advocate for the role that hypnosis can play in our ability to be free of guilt, trauma and shame surrounding sexual issues. From 1996 to 2012 Hunter’s practice focused on the areas of self-esteem and self-expression. Over the last decade, her confidante practice has expanded globally, and specializes in the areas of sex, sensuality, intimacy and relationships. 

Prior to the recording, Cat had a session with Hunter to work through her own issues around trust, guilt, trauma, and intimacy. On today’s episode, Cat shares a bit about her own experience in session with Hunter and the positive impact it has had on her. Hunter explains what a confidant is and how it differs from being a therapist, the clientele she works with and what that experience is like, and the joy and sense of true purpose she finds working as a confidante. 

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• What is a professional confidante?

• How Hunter uses the different therapeutics modalities and hypnotic techniques in session

• How she facilitates a safe, judgment free environment

• Cat’s personal experience working with Hunter and finding her voice.

You can find Hunter here: @talkingtohunter | talkingtohunter.com

Please support Hunter’s foundation of choice, Postpartum Support International. The mission of Postpartum Support International is to promote awareness, prevention and treatment of mental health issues related to childbearing in every country worldwide.

Abby Soule (she/her) is an LGBTQ+ affirming sexuality educator and full spectrum doula based in Brooklyn, NY. Abby’s work is centered on oft-marginalized conversations — gender, non-monogamy, sexuality, and pregnancy — that informs the sex-positive lens through which she views the world. On today’s episode, Abby discusses her work with early-childhood sex education and her work as a full spectrum doula and how she helps couples through new parenthood. 

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• Sexuality as it spans our entire lifetime

• Raising sexually healthy and empowered children

• Educating parents and adults on how to educate children about their body parts without shame, understanding consent, respecting their choices, and allowing them to set boundaries. 

• Insight into her work as a full spectrum doula

• Prenatal and postpartum care

• Working with pregnant people and new parents during all stages of pregnancy and birth and educating any partner(s) or people who will be supporting the mother or birthing parent and the baby/babies.

• Sexuality postpartum 

You can find Abby here:

abbysoule.com

Please support Abby’s foundation of choice: 

Tommy Lucas (they/them) is a function movement/yoga teacher based in LA. Their practice is a study of anatomy, Eastern Medicine, and yoga philosophy. Tommy and Cat attended a queer kink rope-tying class with Liv of @freaksnotcreeps. This episode is an exchange of their shared experience, their newfound appreciation for the art of rope and the liberation one feels through bondage and boundaries.

This episode contains adult-related content. Please be advised when listening that it is not intended for younger audiences.

We are not experts and we want to clarify that this conversation is about our personal experience and not in any way an intro or tutorial to Bondage, Rope, BDSM, Kinbaku, or Shibari. We will be talking to guests in the future regarding kink education including but not limited to rope tying. 

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• Kink rope tying workshop

• Feelings or expectations they had prior to going

• Insights and takeaways they had after taking the workshop

• Have they continued to play with rope since taking the class?

• Would they recommend this workshop or exploration to others?

• Liberation in bondage – a meditative state

You can find Tommy here: www.ohtomtom.com | @ohtomtom

Please support Tommy’s foundation of choice: The Marsha P. Johnson Institute

The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. We do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power.

Our first guest is Deb Valentin. She is the founder of Sage Wellness, a holistic acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine health practice located in downtown Manhattan. With over 17 years in clinical practice, she is dedicated, intuitive, and compassionate in helping others in their quest for health. Her practice specializes in women’s health, fertility, and reproductive education.  Cat and Deb discuss fertility awareness, the history of birth control, and the importance of knowing all of your birth control options to make educated decisions about your body. Deb offers advice for listeners or patients who aren’t familiar with their reproductive cycle because of a lack of education or from being on birth control.

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• Fertility awareness

• The history of birth control

• Who is responsible for teaching fertility awareness?

• How can we better educate the younger generation regarding their reproductive cycle, fertility, and hormones?

• The lack of understanding in education – only 39 states have sexual education courses. The district determines how that is taught.

• Advice for listeners or patients who aren’t familiar with their reproductive cycle because of lack of education or from being on birth control.

In this episode, we get to know our host Cat Meyer (she/her) a little bit more. Head South Radio was born from Cat’s desire to learn more about her own sexual journey and to understand the experiences of those around her. She believes that no matter what stage of life, our sexual health is an important part of our overall well-being. 

In addition to her new venture as sexual wellness podcast host, Cat is a yoga teacher and hairdresser. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Interviewed by Gina Schiappacasse

You can find Cat here: @KittyCatMeyer

Please support Cat’s foundation of choice: The Cupcake Girls

The Cupcake Girls provides confidential support to those involved in the sex industry, as well as trauma-informed outreach, advocacy, holistic resources, and referral services to provide prevention and aftercare to those affected by sex trafficking.