Midlife Magic & Mayhem

It’s uncommon conversations like this one that inspired me to start this show. Today I speak to Sexological Bodyworker and Sex and Intimacy Coach Connie Eberhart. 

I first met Connie in 2019 at an event in Costa Rica when I was working with world-renowned somatic sex educator Jaiya as a private client for that entire year. Jaiya was one of the facilitators in the Netflix series sex, love and goop. If you haven’t seen it…watch it. Connie is a Master Trainer for Jaiya and was a facilitator at that Costa Rica event.

In this discussion, Connie and I explore many areas of pleasure, sexuality, presence, the nervous system, sexuality and spirituality  and WHY all of this is important. What does sex have to do with anything anyway right? It’s just sex. Wrong.

Oh…there is SO much more available. 

Connie offers Somatic Sex Education and Intimacy Coaching to curious, courageous explorers who wish to deepen and expand their capacity for pleasure.

It is Connie’s belief, that when we step into our true power as humans and reclaim our sexual energy - the true source of creativity and vitality - it benefits not only ourselves, but those around us and the world at large. As an Erotic Embodiment Educator, Certified Sexological Bodyworker and Sex & Intimacy Coach, Connie offers body-based education and coaching designed to help to clients become more present in their bodies and to courageously explore all their exciting choices when it comes to pleasure and intimacy. Connie skillfully guides her clients to move beyond shame, clarify their desires and boundaries, live emotionally connected and erotically embodied lives, and experience the joy and satisfaction of authentic intimacy and juicy, playful sex.

With the groundwork of over 25 years in the fields of team building, personal and leadership development, and experiential education - beginning in 2013 Connie had the great fortune of working and mentoring with Jaiya Ma, award-winning Sexologist and creator of the Erotic Blueprints™️, with whom she has also traveled internationally as a master bodywork practitioner, serving her VIP clients and immersion retreats. Connie has had a full-time practice as a Sexological Bodyworker since 2016, has studied scar tissue remediation with Ellen Heed since 2018, and is currently one of five Lead Coach Trainers for the Erotic Blueprints™️. As a Bondassage™️ Practitioner and Trainer, she is also very passionate about guiding individuals and couples who desire to explore and expand into the Kinky Blueprint™️!

Connie works with clients virtually, and offers in-person bodywork sessions or extended Immersion Retreats in the beautiful foothills of Boulder, Colorado. 

Trailer for the Netflix series sex, love and goop and watch the series on Netflix. See for yourself a small slice of the work that Jaiya and Connie do with clients and the powerful transformations that are possible.

Connect with Connie:

Website| www.embodypleasure.org

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

Ok y’all. Get ready. This one is FIRE. 🔥

On January 16th, I made a request. The day before I saw an Instagram post, a “word anthem” describing the now very famous photograph of Jamie Lee Curtis unabashedly celebrating Michelle Yeoh’s win for best actress in the movie Everything, Everywhere All at Once at the Golden Globes on January 10th. Erin Gallagher wrote a post on LinkedIn about the image of the two famous actresses in that moment. (Go read that post here.) It starts…”Ladies, this is your vibe for 2023: unabashed hype woman. Full on. Full out. Full force.”

That post from Erin went everywhere. It became the very definition of viral. A friend of Jamie Lee’s sent it to her, where JLC herself reposted it and coined the term “word anthem.” 

The hashtag #hypewomen is now being used all over social media as a flag, or more like a torch, to gather women in solidarity to the flame of lifting each other. To overcome and disavow any disempowering systems that keep women feeling in competition with each other, instead of holding each other in support…and accountability.

Erin Gallagher is the Founder and CEO of Ella, an inclusive network unlocking women's access to human and financial capital. Ella recognizes women’s value, and increases their valuation. The ethos: change is inevitable, growth is optional, true metamorphosis requires both. Ella provides connection, coaching and consulting to support your transformation.

Erin brings almost 20 years experience leading global marketing, business development, media relations, branding, communications and  organizational and culture change to the many roles she currently plays: small business owner, disruptor, entrepreneur, system-challenger and mother to two young boys.

She has counseled C-suite and senior leaders at some of the world’s biggest and best brands and companies — from LinkedIn to United Airlines to Carhartt to McDonald’s — and forged relationships with change makers and leaders who believe in the power of diversity, equity, inclusion and access.

Early that morning of January 16th, 2023, in the midst of what I can only imagine was a true boatload of incoming media requests (she was contacted by major media outlets instantly…) I sent her a message asking her to be on my brand new podcast.

And she said yes. With enthusiasm. 

This woman walks her talk. She is out to be a disruptor. A changemaker. And she supported a complete stranger with a bit of her time to share with us her vision of a future where women have the human, and financial resources to create a world that works for all of us.

For us, by us.

My hand is added to that torch. 

This podcast is my way of gathering all our flames, so we can see a new way from our deep wellness, wildness and wisdom. Because that’s what is needed now.

LFG. 🔥

Connect with Erin:

Website| www.ellaforall.com

LinkedIn| https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinfgallagher

Instagram| https://www.instagram.com/erin.gallag.her

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

Oh boy are you in for a treat. This episode with Alli Kirk is about making aging a process of evolution, not of deterioration.

Alli is a personal growth specialist, Reiki Master and Teacher and gifted energy worker. I have worked many times with Alli over the past several years and she is the real thing. I consider her part of my Magic Tribe.

Alli came to the world of Spirituality, Energy, and Reiki in 2012, through a daily meditation practice that totally transformed her life. Her personal growth journey was sudden, spontaneous, and quite unexpected. As she rounded the corner to 40, the life she created for myself all of a sudden felt constricting, suffocating, and soul-sucking. She awakened to realize that the life she was living (a 20-year marriage, 2 beautiful children, and a successful business) wasn’t one of her own choosing, but one that was subtly thrust upon her by the rigid expectations of her conservative Christian upbringing. It was a life created, not to make HER happy, but to provide her family with the life THEY thought she should have. Her daily meditation and Reiki practice became powerful tools that assist her in creating the life she lives now: a life built upon unconditional self-love, radical self-acceptance, and the awareness of her Divinity, even in her humanness. Both practices continue to steer the course of her personal evolution every day.

By curating what she learned about directing psycho-spirituality towards self-actualization and personal empowerment, she is passionate about helping others build a plan for personal growth that resonates with them, so they can feel inspired and empowered to create their own deeply fulfilling lives. 

We talk about emotions – where they come from, where they are stored and how to clear them. Her practices that moved her with Wellness through menopause and beyond. How thoughts create our reality. The Triple Goddess (maiden, mother, crone) and how she shows up in our lives. We talk about yin/yang : feminine and masculine energies and how they play through every human.

And a BRILLIANT 2-step process for handling upsets, stress and clearing emotions that you will NOT want to miss. I will be using this myself for sure.

And finally, what magic means to her and how she creates it in her life.

Related links:

Fantastic Fungi (the film is also available on Netflix)

HeartMath Institute

Double-slit experiment - quantum theory

Connect with Allison Kirk:

Website| www.thebodytemple.us

Instagram| http://www.instagram.com/thetemplepriestess

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

The health of women is crucial to the health of the world. That's a big statement and one I stand behind.

This episode with Dr. Mary Shackelton is a master class and indepth conversation about women’s health, beauty, empowerment, sisterhood, hormones and more.
Mary is my doctor, my friend and her energy is contagious. She takes intense science and makes it easy to understand while inspiring with her clarity.

As the founder of Holistica Integrative Care in Boulder, CO, where Mary has been practicing naturopathic medicine with an emphasis on women’s health for 25 years. She also has a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) which focuses much of her work in the area of prevention and health promotion.  Her current focus is on Environmental Medicine and the conditions associated with toxic exposures including auto-immunity, chronic fatigue, cognitive decline, hormone imbalances, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neurologic conditions.  

Dr. Shackelton has recently authored a book "Preconception Detox: Cleaning up your internal and external environment to have the healthiest baby possible"  for women who are contemplating conception to help them reduce the lifelong impact of chemical exposures, creating the foundation of a healthier neurologic terrain beginning in utero.  

Dr. Shackelton has also co-founded numerous companies and projects including Insulite Laboratories, a company dedicated to reversing disorders related to insulin, and PridePads Africa (PridePads.org) whose mission is to provide sanitary pads to girls in Cameroon, Africa to keep them in school.  She has been an avid lifelong gardener, runner, tele skier, and hiker and has raised 3 children with her husband in Boulder, Colorado. 

Please enjoy this episode with Dr. Mary Shackelton.

Connect with Mary:

Website| https://holisticacare.com

Website| http://maryshackelton.com

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

This episode is with Daniela Schroeder. Dani has spent her life studying multiple forms of holistic healing - from nutrition to intelligent movement methods to the best way to support clients with their individual well-being - namely through Reflexology and GYROKINESIS® which both relieve the physical, mental, and emotional body of pain, stress, and anxiety by calming the nervous system.

Dani understands how thoughts and feelings manifest in the body and for this reason, she is gifted at understanding clients' individual needs.

She focuses on what is at the heart of the matter, allowing her clients to regain inner strength and clear stagnant energy. 

We talk about movement, specifically Gyrokinesis, and why it’s so important at any age, but definitely during midlife. Daniela also shares her story about feeling isolated and alone when the symptoms of menopause started creeping in to her life, and the tools she used and still uses to break the spell and move into wellness.

We also talk about one super simple practice that can instantly shift how you feel, and takes less than one minute.

Tune in and find out!

This was such a fun conversation and I hope you enjoy. I know I did.

Connect with Daniela:

Instagram| www.instagram.com/menopause_healing

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

Chris Muse is a Somatic Sex Educator, relationship and intimacy guide and co-founder of The Verdant Collective. She is devoted to helping people quiet their voices of doubt so they can get to know and trust themselves more fully. She has seen entire lives transformed as people form deeper relationships with their bodies and a greater understanding of their sexuality. Her approach is experimental and experiential, following moment-to-moment curiosities in a compassionate, safe space for exploration. Helping people liberate themselves from shame, anxiety, trauma, limiting beliefs, and harmful patterns is her calling that’s life affirming and incredibly rewarding. 

I met Chris while participating in The Verdant Collective 4-month Immersion starting in January 2022, of which she is one of the facilitators. I’ve since then also worked with her 1-1 in her private practice, and so has my husband. It’s really hard to find the words to accurately describe how the work of the Verdant Collective, and personally with Chris, has impacted me, my marriage, and my experience of living.

This conversation will give you a glimpse into the world of embodiment, the importance of nervous system regulation, what TRUE eroticism means, the power of being in community and how ALL of this weaves a tapestry of being a WELL woman.

This one is really juicy. Enjoy.
 
 Connect with Chris:

Website| https://www.chris-muse.com

Learn more about The Verdant Collective: 

The Verdant Collective Website

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

This episode is with Shauna VanBogart. Shauna is an intuitive change-agent that shows business owners how to build, run, and scale sustainable businesses that feel as good as they look. With a graduate degree in Communications and Leadership Studies, mastery-level certification in clinical hypnotherapy, and 15+ years mentoring business owners running everything from start-ups to multi-million dollar brands, Shauna knows what it takes to evolve the human behind the business so that elevated service, revenue and company growth occurs as a natural result of creating cohesive alignment within. 

Whether you are a business owner, an employee, not working right now or somewhere in between,  I highly recommend this episode because we go a lot of places. We talk about intuition, receiving, creation, relationship to money, thinking and so much more. We even found that we share a recurring dream with the same animal and what that possibly means for each of us. I’ve known Shauna for several years and I always learn so much from each interaction and am fed by her energy and clarity. Please enjoy this transformational conversation with Shauna VanBogart.

Connect with Shauna:

Website| https://shaunavanbogart.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/shaunavanbogart

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

This conversation is with Paul Smit, a Dutch philosopher and expert in neuroscience. He’s written 13 books about philosophy, psychology and neuroscience and is one of the most in demand speakers in The Netherlands.

Now, you may be wondering why I chose to speak first to a man from the Netherlands about Non-Duality and philosophy when this show is about women in midlife.

I wanted to start here because these are foundational principles that support me, my body and my mind, in daily life. They may seem esoteric and highly philosophical at first glance, but I hope you can hear this with curiosity and openness. We talk about thoughts, where they come from, changing habits, the practical application of these ideas or “pointers” and a bit about the brain as well. 

Paul is a friend, a collaborator with my husband Scott (they wrote a book together called A Cloudless Mind) and someone who walks his talk like no other. Paul is a rare human and it was truly an honor to have him on the show. 

To get a digital copy of A Cloudless Mind email me at [email protected]. 

Or, click here for a physical copy.

Also, for fun, here are a couple of videos Paul, Scott and I made about non-duality for business and leadership 🙂 You can see more on Paul’s YouTube channel linked below.

1. How to have a Feedback Conversation: https://youtu.be/mxASmo6_904
2. The Doing Nothing Business Plan: https://youtu.be/Joy3ZTxl30o

Connect with Paul:

Website| https://www.paulsmit.nu/english
Instagram| https://instagram.com/filosoofpaulsmit
YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/@AdvaitaNondualiteit

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe

Hello friend. Thank you for being here!

Welcome to the Midlife Magic + Mayhem podcast! A show for women (mainly) in their 40s and 50s who are sitting with the questions…Is this it? Who am I? Where have I been? What do I want? Where did the magic go? What now?

I'm Angie Byrd and each week we will walk together down the path of what it means to be a modern woman in midlife. The show will go many places and hopefully some edges around health, wellness, sex, relationships, career, neuroscience, the nervous system, eroticism, pleasure, power, sisterhood, life transitions, pivots and many alternative therapies. There’s no place we won’t go.

This is something I’ve been thinking about for awhile now, and after coaching women for over a decade, becoming an empty nester, moving across the country, deep reflection and reaching the ever-moving line of midlife myself, the voice of, “Do It Now,” was loud and clear.

And I don’t think I’m the only one.

Stepping away from, knowing we can come back to, the status quo and the conventional “7 Steps to –” information currently available, and play outside all the boxes we have been programmed to stay in.

My sweet spot is being a curator and a student, walking with women who are also curious and inspired by uncommon conversations. Entering questions from a place of exploration and not needing an answer, but being with the juiciness of the journey.

What I know about you is this: no matter what you have going on in your life, how chaotic, wonderful, heartbreaking, busy, quiet, fulfilling or flat it may seem, who you really are is infinitely well and powerful. We all are. I've seen it. Felt it. Heard it. 

In these uncommon conversations, we'll explore together how we can take our gifts and change not only our own lives, but the world. 

Because it starts with us. Now. This...is our time.

Thank you so much for listening!

Connect with Angie:

Website|www.angiebyrd.com

Instagram| https://instagram.com/angie.byrd

YouTube| https://youtube.com/@angiebyrd

Subscribe to Angie’s Newsletter: www.angiebyrd.com/subscribe