To bookend the first season of The Soul Maven Podcast I've invited four dear friends to debrief about the Mother Blessing they hosted for me in June and the importance of these rituals and creating sacred sisterhood.  We affectionately call ourselves The Five Pillars and had the best time opening our hearts up to you!

These women each have their own amazing podcasts, a body of work dedicated to women and hold powerful motherhood and womanhood codes each in their own right. I'll share their info below and I encourage you to connect with one or all of them as they might be holding a medicine just for you!  From Akashic Records to Womb Medicine, Birth Advocacy to Financial Freedom, this is a powerful collection of wise women.  Enjoy!

Thank you for all of your support with this endeavour of podcasting while doing other things.  As I approach my due date to have my fourth child, there will inevitably be some time away.  My hope is that you can catch up on any missed episodes, share one that might resonate with someone you care about or on your social media, and leave a review.  It means so much.  Till the next time!  

Connect with the FIVE PILLARS

Amy Belair ⁠@cosmic.oracle⁠

Victoria Nicholas ⁠@the_noble_mother⁠

Kasia Diana ⁠@kasiathetemple⁠

Dagmara Gomez ⁠@thrivs⁠

Jessika Marie ⁠@soulmavenhood⁠

Let's dive in with author and Master Coach Erin Aquin. I knew I wanted to befriend Erin right away. She is a woman who walks her talk, leads with love, is drama-free (yes!), is a present mother and spouse who also has a juicy rock and roll meets spiritual teacher meets business guru vibe that you can't help but love and want to be around. She also makes a mean homemade pasta from scratch - I know from personal experience. Please enjoy this coversation with an open heart and maybe even a pen and paper to take notes from a fantastic coach! Read on to learn a little more about Erin & don't forget to check out her new book coauthored with her husband Steve Haase titled, SuperAbound: Live The Life The Universe Is Dreaming For You. You can find it on Amazon now!Erin Aquin's BioErin Aquin is a Master Certified Coach who has helped hundreds of coaches and entrepreneurs stop overworking and create their own Superabound business. She is the author of four books and the co-host of The Superabound Podcast. Erin has taken her company from a part-time side business to a multiple six-figure corporation that has done over $1,000,000 in under 3 years. Erin started her career in the music industry, having managed tours for top Canadian acts including Sarah Harmer and The Sam Roberts Band. Late nights and life on the road led her to the wellness industry where she became a full-time yoga teacher and acupuncturist. She lives in Ontario with Steve and her two young children and enjoys knitting warm things, traveling to warm places, and sitting in hot saunas. Erin coaches and leads with humor, curiosity, and a sense of magic to help people tap into their own innate wholeness and discover their true vision for their business and life.Connect with Erin:Superabound book: https://besuperabound.com/bookErin's IG; https://www.instagram.com/besuperabound/The Superabound Podcast: https://besuperabound.com/podcastConnect with me:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulmavenhood/Website: www.soulmavenhood.com

What an electrifying conversation! I was vibrating for a good hour after my talk with Whitney Ullom. She is a woman on fire! Her charisma, her embodiment, and her attunement to soul, psyche, archetypes, somatics, and sexuality make her a powerful guide for women who are ready to be lit up from within and make a deeper connection with their power - dormant or otherwise. Whitney values process and has a gift for working 1:1 with women and couples. She hosts a weekly FREE circle on Sunday mornings called MotherFire and facilitates incredible retreats that in her words "let you bump up to the women around you" in other words it's not a spectator situation, which if you know me, I LOVE! Check out her bio below to hear more about Whitney along with links to all the things.

Whitney's Bio:

All my life, I could subtly sense this fiery, creative, fully expressed part of me, but it was buried so deeply under shame and fear and numbness, I couldn't access it.

Maybe you can relate?

When I could no longer ignore the ache of those desires, I left my life as I knew it and committed to my own feminine reclamation.

Learning how to come home to my body, awakening the profound power and beauty of my sexuality, and going on the deep initiatory journey from Maiden to Mother, brought me back to life. 

I want you to be able to feel yourself in the deepest of depths.

To know the sacred elixir of your own touch. 

To have the space to come home to the truth that is desperate to awaken in you.

To feel at home in your body. 

To know the innate power & beauty of your sexuality. 

To be in relationships that are built on truth and connection. 

To own your magic and your medicine, and be able to share it unapologetically.

To trust the wisdom in you that they tried to sever through centuries of patriarchy.

To experience the Great Mother - the radical fierce feminine love that helps us step out of the collapse of our wounding and into the initiated adult woman.

I'm here to take you to those depths so you can reclaim the truth and live a deeply soulful life of joy, purpose, and pleasure.

Website: https://www.whitneyullom.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitneyullom/

Credentials: https://www.whitneyullom.com/about

Upcoming Retreat: https://www.whitneyullom.com/tendingthewell

MotherFire: https://www.whitneyullom.com/motherfire

Mentioned:

Sil Read (Reynolds): https://www.silread.com/

Kimberly Ann Johnson: https://kimberlyannjohnson.com/

Rachel Maddox: https://www.rebloomtogether.com/foundations

I always love connecting with Kristin Hauser. She is a grounded, confident, way-shower and a game changer when it comes to birth, motherhood, and taking personal responsibility for the healing potential we all hold within us. When I work with her 1:1 or chat with her through messages, I know I'm going to receive authentic listening and a beautiful balance of wise ancient, embodied wisdom and skill along with practical, day-to-day, real-time in this modern world meeting you where you are at energy. Basically my most favourite combination and exactly what I'm looking for in a practitioner of women's health, and fellow woman and mama on the path. Her bio below says it all, and I encourage you my appreciated listener to reach out to her with confidence if any of the topics today strike a chord or you are at any stage of a healing journey in relationship to your hormones, gut health, fertility, or pelvic health story both in the physical and psychospiritual. Kristin is a trusted guide and extremely knowledgeable! Just go through any of her AMA's on Instagram and you will see what I mean. She is the creator of several deeply informative courses including her upcoming Vital Pregnancy Collective. I'm delighted to welcome Kristin to the podcast. Enjoy!

Kristin's Bio

I am a Licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist, somatic sex educator and birth witness. I’m also the founder of Womb Medicine, a transformative online platform and community for womb and sexual health education. I am a woman and mother of three.

I am devoted to helping women and mothers awaken to their inner healing potential, embodied wisdom and true power to inspire radical personal and cultural evolution. I have many roles, as we all do, yet ultimately I am a woman and mother walking the Earth during these perilous times with a fire in my belly and a deep well of hope for the future.

My approach weaves East Asian Medicine, somatic sex education, modern understanding and reverence for our physiology and innate intelligence. I value finding the root cause of modern diseases. My work is a reminder that a woman’s soul path and her embodied experience are deeply connected.

https://healingiswithinus.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinhauser/

Courses/Workshops: https://www.wombmedicine.com/Courses-and-Workshops

This episode with Kate Pope of Wild Nutritionist was a pure delight. Right off the bat I was surprised and delighted by her origin story and was instantly inspired. We talked about her history with dance and its healing power, working with youth in juvenile justice, how and when she learned to prioritize her mental and physical health over beauty standards and the love she has for her body and its innate healing potential. She shared her knack for the 'good life' and sourcing local grass-fed/finished meat, how she bootstrapped her way into becoming a chef, became a nutritional therapist and GAPS practitioner to her current path of educating and supporting mothers and their babies in creating and sustaining a healthy microbiome.

You will see her on Instagram eating cuts of meat with her hands you may never have heard of, prepared in the most delicious and exciting ways! She shares her motherhood journey online with an ease and authenticity that embodies flow and living in alignment with her purpose. Kate is real, smart, and funny and I know you are going to enjoy listening to her storytelling while learning so much.

Kate is the founder of the Regenerative Cooking School and offers several incredible masterclasses on things such as meat stock, mother-baby microbiome, fermented foods, sourcing local and so much more. She co-wrote a digital seasonal cookbook with her husband Alex (a butcher of course!) called Cooking: An Act of Love. She generously provides invaluable free resources on her website and Instagram page. She is also a Jaguar Alumni through Kimberly Ann Johnson and MotherCircle Facilitator with Kimberly and my previous guest Jessica Connolly.

Kate is working on a Fourth Trimester Foods cookbook and course with Kimberly that you are going to want to keep an eye out for this fall!

Enjoy this episode! I know I did and I expect we will do an encore in the near future because I had so many more questions are areas I wanted to explore with her!

Resources:

Website: https://regenerativecookingschool.com/

Instagram: @wildnutritionist

Meat Stock Guide: https://regenerativecookingschool.com/meatstockguide

Jaguar with Kimberly Ann Johnson

You can find me on Instagram @soulmavenhood or on my website www.soulmavenhood.com to learn more about me!

Please share this with anyone who might benefit from the conversation, tag me on Insta if you share and leave a friendly review - means so much!

Thank you!

In this episode, Jessica Connolly and I dig into what it means to create MotherCulture and how the power of circle is the perfect vehicle. Jessica is the co-facilitator of MotherCircle designed by Kimberly Ann Johnson and helped to distill the work into the arc of the course. She has been leading with Kimberly this past year in both MotherCircle itself (an eight-week-long online course that takes the participant on a journey exploring much-needed discussion around areas such as myth, cycles, body, sex, money and so much more as well as co-teaching in the MotherCircle Facilitator training. I have participated in both and highly recommend you check out the resources provided if this speaks to you.

Jessica is a mother of four daughters, something we both agreed in this conversation is a calling unto itself. She describes how her transition into motherhood, shortly after grad school, took her into her own process of defining what womanhood meant to her and how she could guide her daughters on this path often left for a girl to figure out on her own without much of a roadmap. These explorations and having three more daughters led her into areas such as doula work, women's work, and creating and participating in circles that honor transitions and allow participants of all ages to give voice to the changes that are occurring.

Jessica offers a rich conversation that includes some of my favorite things including poetry, prayer, myth, and the tender and raw reflections that come from two mothers talking with a shared passion for motherhood as a soul journey. We talk about how mothers can be better served and honored in the rite of passage from maiden to mother and beyond.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed participating. Please share or leave a review - it really means so much. You can find me at www.soulmavenhood.com, but I mostly hang out on my new IG account @soulmavenhood

Resources:

Instagram

@mother.circle

@moon.daughters

@kimberly.ann.johnson

Website

mothercircle.com

Mother Blessing Checklist - Free Resource!

Poem Read by Jessica

Mary Magdalene’s Blessing by: Jan Richardson

If you liked this conversation and are curious about the archetypes, particularly the Maiden, Mother, VIRGIN, and Crone I encourage you to listen to episode 4 with Sil Reynolds who talks more about this and will also be guest teaching a class in this round of MotherCircle.

I am honored to share my conversation with Sil Reynolds with you. Sil has been one of the most influential women in my life, and I consider her a mentor. Please enjoy this podcast on a walk, in a quiet space, or on a drive where you finally get a moment to yourself. Wherever you are, however you are - I know it will have an impact.

Sil's Bio

Sil is a mother, a crone, a bestselling author, a teacher and a coach for women. For two decades, Sil had the incredible opportunity to learn from a master teacher and elder- Jungian author and analyst Marion Woodman. She credits her for inspiring her work of guiding women through the process of awakening to their destiny, and of living at home in their feminine body on this precious Earth. 

Sil brings 40 years’ experience working with women to her coaching and teaching: experience as a nurse practitioner, psychotherapist, workshop leader, author, and a Mothering & Daughtering coach.

She guides women in reclaiming rejected parts of themselves so that they can experience wholeness and embrace their destiny: their own unique and true life.

She guides women in finding meaning in their healing process so that they can come to deeply experience a soul-led life with self-love at its core.

She helps women to heal their motherline and to make peace with their body and food. She teaches women how to learn to listen to- and to be guided by- their dreams.

Sil leads Marion Woodman-inspired programs where she teaches the transformational power of feminine archetypes, how to work with dreams, and the practice of holding space- for self and other- using Woodman’s mirroring and containing practices.

How to find Sil:

Websites: https://www.silreynolds.com/ & https://motheringanddaughtering.com/

Book: Mothering and Daughtering: Keeping Your Bond Strong Through the Teen Years

( I highly recommend this book even if you do not have a daughter, but you are a daughter.)

Connect with Me:

Website: https://www.soulmavenhood.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulmavenhood/

Resources Mentioned in Episode:

Marion Woodman Book Mentioned: Addiction to Perfection: the still unravished bride: a psychological study

Audio Version on Apple: https://books.apple.com/ca/audiobook/addiction-to-perfection/id1460304583 (this is a lecture based on the book)

Marion Woodman Documentary: Dancing in the Flames (I purchased through Vimeo - it's a little tough to find, check youtube.com as well)

I am so pleased to share with you my conversation with Amy Belair of @cosmic.oracle and the host of the popular Third Eye Awakening podcast. Amy is a mother, an artist, a retired midwife, an Akashic Soul Guide and more. She has helped many people break free from false programming and move toward the life they were called to lead. She has a brilliant mind that spends much of her time contemplating the nature of reality, all while tending to her children, running her business, and keeping a close connection to her Spirit Guides and her calling to channel important information. I am honoured to call her a friend.

Amy is currently offering an Akashic Training and Certification that will no doubt be transformational. We dive into a variety of topics, many that are outside of my scope or usual course of discussion, and I had such a good time being expanded by our conversation. I hope you will too.

I would also like to share that I have an upcoming day retreat called Becoming A Maven, taking place at Ascent Strength and Embodiment in Conestoga on June 4, 2023. Please visit the link provided for more details and get the chance to experience the best of my offerings in person.

Connect with Amy

Instagram: @cosmic.oracle

Website: https://www.amybelair.com/

Connect with Jessika

Instagram: @soulmavenhood

Website: https://www.soulmavenhood.com/

Retreat: Becoming A Maven Day Retreat

Brandi and I met back in 2012 at a retreat at the Kripalu Centre, MA.  There she was assisting the facilitator and we talked about the importance of holding the space at the 'back' of the room and the important shift into becoming someone at the front.  Brandi shares her experience being married to a professional hockey player and how traveling around supporting his career shaped her.

She shares powerful stories about all the ways life guided her to important decisions, as well as other pivotal moments including a car accident that resulted in a head trauma forcing her to reevaluate how she defined her worth and identity.  We differentiate between nutrition and nourishment and why it matters.

Brandi indulged me with all the juicy details about her book-writing process.  The ups and downs as well as the importance of claiming your work!  For anyone who is thinking about or in the process of writing a book (as I am), you will not be disappointed with this part of the episode and I hope it inspires you as much as it did me!

We then dive into her book Love Your Gut: A Six-Week Guide to Restoring Your Nutrition and Trusting Your Intuition, discussing the ways our gut health affects our ability to access and trust our intuition.  She shares a bit about her client 'Mia' who we meet in the introduction of the book that really speaks to the 'Mia' in all of us who may outwardly seem like we are doing well, but at a closer look is struggling with confidence, inner health, and disconnection with our powerful voice.  We also go through aspects of the book that set it apart from a regular elimination diet including the important self-inquiry and centering practices that personalize it for you!  I get a little personal at the end about my own gut health and Brandi responds with her thoughts.

Please support Brandi by purchasing her book at brandimackenzie.com/book  

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms below this book is a beautiful guided resource that feels like Brandi is right there with you guiding the way!

Enjoy this episode mavens!  Remember to like, share, and leave a review.  As a brand new podcaster who is learning the ropes in her 40's, mothering 3 kids and doing her own personal work, I thank you for your support during the early learning curve and trust you will find what is right for you and be gracious with what isn't.  Sign up for Soul Notes at www.soulmavenhood.com and follow me on Instagram @soulmavenhood

Thank you for being here!

Bio

As a Nourishment Coach, Brandi Mackenzie helps you identify the root cause patterns in both your health and habits that keep you stuck in an endless cycle. Brandi teaches that if food feels hard and you struggle to change your diet, you don’t have a problem with willpower, you have a problem with nourishment.

After a decade with debilitating digestive conditions, Brandi began searching for her own solutions when the diet changes, supplements and treatments her practitioners were advising weren’t enough. That journey showed her that true nourishment was about more than food. Whether you’re trying to restore your digestive health, have more energy, or feel more connected to your body, Brandi’s proven framework will transform your relationship to food, and your health.

Brandi is the author of Love Your Gut: A Six-Week Guide to Restoring Your Nutrition and Trusting Your Intuition which empowers you to better understand your body in a personalized way so you can feel nourished—beyond food.

I've known Debbie for nearly seven years.  She and I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in 2016 and have become great friends over the years, meeting up as often as we can to hike the trails and get out in nature to just simply, walk and talk.  I have an enormous amount of respect for Debbie not only as an elite athlete who has run several ultramarathons, summited 6 of the 7 Summits to date with plans to climb Mt Everest next year to complete her mission, but also as a mother, a wife, a businesswoman, and friend.  She walks the talk and is an amazing example of what women can do when they put their minds to something.  I hope you will enjoy this conversation as much as we did having it and I welcome you to my very first, unedited, podcast episode.  Get ready Mavens, Debbie's stories from her running and climbing career are truly incredible.

Bio

Debbie Bulten is a mother of 3, a joint business owner with my husband, and a multi-sport endurance athlete.

Debbie has been fortunate to enjoy a long career spanning more than 3 1/2 decades. She was the first female to complete a 200-mile trail ultra in Canada and is currently on a bid to climb the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peak on each continent around the world.  Debbie undertook the Seven Summits project because she thrives on challenges that engage both mind and body, and strives to push the limits of her own potential in her endeavors. Through endurance sport, she tries to show herself and others that we are capable of more than we think, and the potential of our bodies and minds can be realized when we put ourselves out there.