As some of you may know, this last year I've been on a deep physical and spiritual journey with mold. What a ride it has been.

Challenging, illuminating, and transformative, I consider my journey with mold to be an initiation unlike any other I've experienced.

Many women - especially postpartum women - are struggling with health issues and depletion. I made this podcast episode with all of us in mind, not only those of us dealing with mold.

In the episode, I relay basic information about mold: how one might identify it; test for it; recover from it.

Perhaps more importantly though, I talk about the soul growth this experience offered me and how its medicine- the medicine of decline and decay - may be important medicine for our times and how women may just be the canaries in the coal mine.

I speak about:

-self trust and standing for what we KNOW

-the difficulties of living in a world that trumps feeling and prioritizes thinking

-the story my body is telling me through burnout and depletion

-the body as the deepest layer of the unconscious

-when we can't symbolize our personal hardships, we somatize them

-our cultural stories around rest and self-worth

-the symbol of the Siren as a woman who can traverse the unconscious

-depression and 'going down'

-working with our dreams

In this episode I speak with Andrea Terrones: a mother, healer, and educator.

Her work weaves traditional healing practices of her Mexican indigenous lineage and modern science. Her hands-in hands-on bodywork practice is the culmination of years of diverse study including doula training, sexological bodywork, hypnosis, and traditional Mexican midwifery. Andrea is the co-founder of Ma School, a project dedicated to training women in sexual and reproductive health across the womb continuum.

In this episode we talk about:

-From medical school to women's health and postpartum care, we talk about Andrea's journey including going back to her indigenous Mexican roots

 -The task of translating the Feminine

 -The Feminine emerging in the collective consciousness

 -The enormous shift that is pregnancy & postpartum

 -Rest as the main medicine in postpartum recovery

 -Birth as initiation and a rite of passage

 -The unconscious content that can arise during birth

 -Honoring the psycho-spiritual aspects of birth and its impact on a mother's health

 -Sex and centering your pleasure after birth

 -The "Golden Window" of the postpartum time

-Overcoming shame through body literacy

 -The Wisdom of the Pelvis & the Pussy

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did :)

In this episode, I'm delighted to bring you an interview with a friend and colleague whom I respect and adore.

Stacey is an old friend who is a mother, a somatic practitioner, a wise woman, and a master space holder. Her way of being with the "unsavory" parts, her brilliance in the way of myth and imagery, and her equal parts potty mouth + incredible intelligence made this episode funny, poetic, real, and deep.

We touch on:

-female friendship

-co-dependency

-mythology and symbology to make meaning of the mysterious

-soul as the animating force of the body

-the connection between the state or posture of the body and the psyche

-the real definition of "virgin"

-mythology without dogma

-how to know Truth in our bodies

-the power of speaking our experiences

-thoughts on polarity/relationships/post-honeymoon phase

-Stacey's experience of motherhood, postpartum, and the reorganizing of her lifeforce and erotic identity

It was a real delight to have this conversation with Stacey and get real about motherhood, sex, dogma, religion, and more.

I hope you enjoy!

Stacey Ramsower is a somatic practitioner specializing in women's reproductive and sexual health. Using Somatic Experiencing, Ayurveda, and holistic counseling, Stacey creates a space for women to tell the truth about their lived experience and to be transformed in the process. Her mantra is, "all of you is welcome here.... Yes, even that part."

www.staceyramsower.com

This was such a beautiful conversation with teacher and creator of the Feminine erotic mysteries, Shaney Marie.

Her subtle attunement, mythopoetic orientation, and open heart made this conversation a pleasure to experience for me.

In this episode we talk about:

-Meeting God through the erotic

-The Feminine as the deep undercurrent that moves life

-Opening too quickly and being able to metabolize our experiences of opening

-Ritual as transmutation of life energy

-Descending well, pain initiations, and death portals as birth portals

-The transmission of the Mother as it relates to Eros

-How to find true nourishment in our Eros

And so much more...

I love Shaney's honest and raw transmission here. I hope you enjoy.

In this episode, I speak with my powerhouse of a friend, Po-Hong Yu. Po is a somatic healer, embodiment teacher, medicine woman, and host of the Tao of Po Podcast.

Po's fierce motherlove and deep sensuality have inspired me greatly on my journey and I'm so excited to share her with you.

In our talk, we dive into the topic of anger - especially in the context of motherhod -and Po talks about her unique approach to anger; a "yin" approach.

We talk about what happens when anger calcifies, how to mother ourselves through feelings of deep anger, and the connection between anger and orgasm.

We speak about:

-Mother frequency for mothers and non-mothers alike

-Motherlove as fierce and sharp (when needed)

-Self-mothering through having boundaries with ourselves

-The connection between mother frequency (the heart) and eros (sex)

-The connection between anger/resentment and orgasm

-Po's yin approach to anger and resentment

-Anger and people-pleasing

-How to parent our "little ones", especially the inner children who are full of rage

There is much gold in here, especially if you have people-pleasing tendencies or deal with feelings of anger/rage (or the absence of them!)

If you want to dive deeper, Po has an upcoming program called RIP Resentment, which you can learn more about here:

https://www.taoofpo.com/rip-resentment-course

In the episode, I also share about an exciting new community forming around the podcast (!!!) which you can learn more about here:

https://blaire-lindsay.com/siren

In this episode, I speak with writer, astrologer, and recently bereaved mother Damascena Tanis.

Damascena lives on the shores of Lake Erie with her three earthbound children. Currently, Damascena is most involved with learning how to parent a fourth child who has journeyed beyond the veil. She writes about this journey, astrology, spirituality, and her messy human life on her popular website.

Damascena's writing has been a heart-opening resource for me since becoming a mother, including and especially anything she writes about her losing her son Tanner and the journey with grief.

Witnessing the depth of love for her son and her devotion

In this episode, we speak about:

-how mothering can continue beyond the veil and what that looks like for Damascena

-vulnerability and what it's like to share the deepest parts of ourselves online

-opening to eros through grief

-the patterns that stop us from grieving fully

-motherhood and grief

-grief as aliveness

-birth as a roadmap to teach us how to grieve

-what we can learn from the ancient practice of keening

This is an intimate conversation that had us both in tears.

I also had a big a-ha! moment in real-time and we honor Damascena's son, Tanner, throughout.

I loved it and I think you will, too.

You can find all of Damascena’s work, including her

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Kristin Hauster: a mother, acupuncturist, herbalist, and somatic sex educator who supports women to create lasting hormonal resilience and fertility through postpartum.

Inspired by the ancient wisdom of Chinese Medicine, the modern understanding of hormonal physiology, and a deep reverence for the innate intelligence of the body, Kristin is a deep well of experience and wisdom.

In this episode, we speak at length about what Kristin calls the Mother Victim story: the spot where we mothers can feel victimized by the responsibility and intensity of mothering.

We speak at length about the medicine of responsibility, something we have both been served in our mothering journeys.

We speak about the "yin" undercurrent or female physiology of mothering that supports our arousal and pleasure.

We speak about how accessing our power in birth and motherhood sets the stage for the influx of eros and eroticism.

I really loved this conversation and really appreciate Kristin's expertise. I think you will too.

Show notes:

4:18 - The split between motherhood and sexuality

5:45 - The energetics of the yin state and how that relates to mothering and eros

7:72 - Radical responsibility for our sexuality and leading our partners

10:30 - The feminine frequency goes first

14:47 - The Mother Victim archetype

16:25 - What does motherhood provide for women?

18:30 - Kristin's experience of Mother Victim

22:11 - The underworld journey of mothering

29:00 - Disorientation and the deconstruction of our identity post birth

33:30 - Holding sensation and eros

34:30 - Birth and eros

37:19 - Rewriting the stories of our pelvis in birth

46:00 - Supporting a yin state and the pleasure we experience

50:00 - Birthing in power and eros immediately postpartum

58:30 - Pleasure as yin tonic and Kristin's upcoming course Mother Alchemy

In this episode, I get candid about my journey with eros, sex, feeling sexual shut-down and closed, motherhood, and the major shifts that took place after I had a baby.

I lay out some of the energetic patterns that played out for me and kept me locked out of body and sexual expression. I talk about how motherhood set fire to these old patterns and allowed me to not just birth a baby, but a new version of myself.

I talk about the energetic pattern of Feminine starvation vs. Feminine nourishment and I also talk about the damsel patterns that kept me looking outside of myself for answers.

:::Show notes:::

2:48 - On vulnerability

3:30 - An invitation to my audience

5:10 - Quick fixes vs. rewiring deep patterns

7:55 - My story. Who I wanted to be vs. what life wanted for me

10:00 - Studying sexuality abroad

13:00 - Meeting my husband

14:30 - When eros began to shut down for me

17:55 - My study of somatics to "heal" and what it couldn't offer me

22:00 - Feelings of superiority killing my relationship

26:30 - Eros beginning to flourish after years of struggle

33:00 - The energetic pattern of Feminine starvation

35:25 - Thinness, restriction, and control

37:00 - The lie that eros has something to do with what our body looks like

39:55 - Embracing my hunger

41:30 - Is your nervous system dysregulated or are you just not eating enough:

42:00 - Nourishment and sexual opening

48:50 - The damsel pattern

52:00 - Motherhood and birth as an initiation into radical responsibility

58:00 - Sovereignty, responsibility, and what it has to do with our sexual opening

In the first episode of SIREN, I lay out essential concepts of the Feminine and introduce the fundamental split in our culture between mother energy and erotic energy. What is the cost of this separation? And how do we begin to bridge the two?