Let’s talk about the spiritual lifestyle aesthetic often portrayed on social media and main stream culture. The portrayal paints the picture of a perfect life : living in harmony with nature in an eco lodge in the rain forest. Spending your days practicing yoga, meditation, eating fresh fruit picked right from the tree... Cliff jumping into the pristine waters of a sacred lake…

The reality of this instagramable “spiritual” lifestyle is that it is not a true reflection of how the local indigenous people of this land and ancestry live their daily lives at all… and so we get into unpacking the issue behind this in today's episode.

Today Lizzy Torres Dockstader is on the podcast to share her mothers story of having to leave her home town in Guatemala and flee for her safety to America when she was just 16 years old. Lizzy enlightens us on the stark contrast of how privileged and tone deaf these sort of “woke spiritual” communities can be because they portray a privileged lifestyle selling the instagramamable spiritual aesthetic, when in reality this way of living in unrealistic and unattainable for most Guatemalan people living there.

Lizzy shares with us the corruption of the MS 13 Gang occupation in Guatemala and how that effects the local people and their business’s. She talks about the racial hierarchy and how the local people view these developments of foreigners coming in to buy up land. And we get into talking about the problem of modern day colonization in countries like Guatemala.

I understand this a complex  and controversial topic with many different aspects to consider, and we’re obviously not covering everything there is to say in a 90 minute podcast episode, but Lizzy and I share about our personal connection to this sort of topic and what we are talking about today is centred around spiritual elitism, and exploring the darker underbelly of spirituality and our own experiences of cultivating a more ethical spiritual practice.

We also talk about :

• Modern day colonization of 3rd world countries and how this effects the local people living there
• The racial hierarchy complex
• Laws in Guatemala do not protect Indigenous people and their land
• The complexity of supporting local people in these communities
• Pay walls in spiritual communities
• Cultural appropriation vs appreciation
• The problem with buying land on a sacred place
• How to sustainably, and respectfully create a spiritual community
• Giving back to the indigenous communities
• Exploring ethical tourism 
• Ideas on how to respectfully engage in these indigenous medicine practices/ceremonies

Connect with Lizzy @lizzy_lunas

Follow Lizzy’s art accounts @casalunaarte and subscribe to her youtube channel for more art content!

Watch : Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia

https://www.vicetv.com/en_us/show/hamiltons-pharmacopeia

Resources for practicing ethical spirituality :

https://www.embodyinclusivity.com

 https://snehasacred.com/

Follow @thisiswomenpodcast for more updates about the pod!

Ps. I will be treeplanting for the summer and will be taking a break from uploading for a few months! Sending you so much love and see you soon xx

Female Alchemy is the perfect name for what ceramics artist Tatiana Cardona's art represents: an embodiment of the magical process of creation held by female creators.

Tatiana's pottery is known for the iconic luscious lips that she sculpts to create beautiful, yet functional ceramic art pieces that enliven and up-level any space in which they are on display. The lips are an ode to the 60’s and 70’s feminist movement where women would wear bright red lipstick as a symbol of protest and empowerment.

Today Tatiana is on the podcast to talk about how she turned her love for ceramic art into her successful business known as Female Alchemy, her mission as a female artist, and to share her advice on trusting your vision and committing to your artistic practice. 

We talk about :

• Pursuing art as a career
• How Tatiana transitioned into being a full time ceramics artist
• The origins of Female Alchemy
• The symbolism behind Tatiana’s iconic signature luscious ceramic lips
• Paying homage to the female artists that came before us
• Expanding her business to a bigger studio
• Manifesting your vision as an artist
• Tatiana’s process of creating her iconic ceramic vases
• Tatiana’s latest collection – Out of This World
• Social media comparison
• The importance of committing to your art practice
• Advice for starting from scratch and pursuing what you love
• Utilizing social media to market her business
• Female Alchemy’s jewellery line

Connect with Tatiana:

@female.alchemy

www.femalealchemy.com

Tik tok :@female.alchemy

Follow @thisiswomenpodcast for more updates about the pod.

Aria Z Young is a radiant healer, yoga and meditation teacher and divine channel for light language transmissions, and just an overall absolute beam of light and love. Aria embodies many different healing modalities to assist you in reconnecting with your soul’s authentic essence and expression.

Today Aria is on the podcast to share her many gems of insight and divine channelled wisdom. In conversation Maddy speaks with Aria about finding “the magic in between” when we are going through times of uncomfortable transitions in our lives, the two discuss the aesthetic of spirituality on social media vs what being spiritual actually looks like IRL. Aria shares how she connects with Source by cultivating her relationship with Mama Gaia, the healing magic of Yin Yoga and meditation, and how she embodies her true self through sharing the messages of divine guidance she receives through light language transmissions.

We talk about:

• Embodied presence through the changing seasons of our life
• The importance of the magic in between
• How main stream spirituality is portrayed on social media
• How Aria connects with Mama Gaia for Her guidance
• Connect with nature as a divine healing modality
• Connecting with the energy of the moon and honouring our own internal cycles
• The power of practicing yin yoga and meditation
• The simplicity of spirituality
• Embodied manifestation
• Light Language expression

Connect with Aria

@ariazyoung

Aria's YouTube channel 

Visit Area's website to book a Healing Light Journey session, 50% off until the end of April : https://www.ariazyoung.com/

Read : The Great Mother Bible Or I'd Rather Be Gardening by Mare Cromwell

Follow @thisiswomenpodcast for more updates about the pod 

Meg Webster and Dominique Di Libero are veteran tree planters who have had many a summer’s experience tree planting up in BC Canada.

However, it doesn’t take a well-seasoned vet to see the incidences of sexual assault and harassment that is, sadly, a prevalent issue within the tree planting industry…

Well aware of this issue, Meg and Dom began having conversations about how they could go about creating change within the sexual harassment policies and procedures in the industry and started to have solution focused conversations about how they could make camp life a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone.

Meg and Dom expanded these conversations outside of their personal zoom calls, and began hosting meetings with the Womxn In Silviculture Facebook group community to hear what many other planters had to say about this issue. They eventually gathered this collective information together to speak at the 2021 Western Forestry Contractors Association Conference (WFCA) this past February!

Today Meg and Dom are on the podcast to talk about what they discussed in their presentation on solutions for creating safer community within the tree planting industry and to share their ideas on how to create actionable change within the Tree Planting industry when it comes to harm reduction, camp party culture, and creating policy that not only includes insuring the physical safety of planters, but for the mental wellbeing of workers as well.

We talk about: 

• Creating positive change in camp culture
• Approaching issues from a solution viewpoint rather than story telling
• Policy change to help facilitate truly incorporating this work into the fabric of camp life
• Addressing drinking culture in camp
• The importance of pre season education and training leaders in camp
• Creating community accountability
• The importance of vulnerability in leadership
• Policy change as a learning process not a destination
• How to create harm reduction in camp

Resources : 

Master Resource List compiled by Meg and Dom:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qz-WiSk9q6NpAp44jtSVITF8gad_TQnwm8SKIcWDxnU/edit

Join the Womxn In Silviculture Facebook Group

To join the Sexual Harassement/Assault & Mental Health Policy Meetings Facebook group

Meg's email : [email protected]

Follow @thisiswomenpodcast for more updates about the pod!

Megan and Dan have been together in relationship for over 10 years now. Megan and Dan’s enduring relationship rooted in love, faith, respect, patience, creativity and this sacred union of the masculine and feminine energies is all that they have poured into this conscious brand that is Soulstice Steam. 

They have combined their skills of artistic expression, entrepreneurship, carpentry and the ritual of ceremony to create wooded stools, made from beautiful sturdy pine or cedar, that act as sauna's to be used for yoni steaming. 

Soulstice Steam offers you support and guidance throughout your yoni steaming experience in order for you to leverage this ancient healing modality to cleanse and connect deeper to your womb. Their services include herbal mixes for yoni steaming, womb reiki sessions, and guided yoni steaming offerings. 

I met Megan a year ago in Guatemala when we crossed path in the powerful vortex that is lake Atilan, and Megan has been such a powerful and graceful expander in my life for all things holistic health and self love…. Like yoni steaming.

We talk about: 

• The language around menstrual terminology and what these words actually mean
• The benefits and profound healing properties of yoni steaming
• What a balanced womb connection truly looks like
• Healing vs the process of healing … the difference between striving to be 100% healed vs. living in a way that is moving the eb and flow of life
• The spitual aspect of yoni steaming to connect deeper to our womb wisdom
• The different herbs to use for yoni steaming and their healing properties
• How to know if yoni steaming is the healing modality that is right for you
• Megan's photography business Goddess Unveiled
• Seeing your true light
• Vulnerability being the first step to uncovering your true self

Resources:

Connect with Megan @meganlendmanphoto on insta

soulsticesteam.com

@soulsticesteam 

For more updates about the pod follow @thisiswomenpodcast on instagram

Clothes are omnipresent in our lives. We spend our lives living in clothes, waking up each morning to dress our body in fabric and garments that help us to outwardly express who we are, or create a fabricated identity.

This idea inspired Sole to write her university thesis on the concept of adornment as a way to add beauty to our (already beautiful) bodies. She was fascinated by the magical and mystical textile practices of the indigenous Shipibo tribe in Peru. For the Shipibo people, their textile and weaving practices embody a sacred connection to the divine Mama Pacha (Mother Earth). 

Today Sole is on the podcast to share with us her wisdom and knowledge on this beautiful and magical topic. 

We talk about : 

• The sacred textile weaving practices and body ornament of the Indigenous Shipibo tribe
• How Ayahuasca ceremonies play a vital role in the ritual of creating the designs and patterns in their sacred textile patterns
• The spiritual and ritualistic meaning of dress and adornment for the Shapibo people
• How the feminine creative energy plays an important role in the weaving practices
• The Shipibo people’s intimate relationship with Mama Pacha
• Colour therapy and how it is connected to the Indian tradition of the chakra system
• The concept of adornment and creating ritual around clothes and dressing one’s body

Connect with Sole on instagram @s_ole_m

Resources :

Hitomi's instagram post that connected Sole and I 

Sole's pinterest board of the Shipibo tribe's textiles 

Documentary on the Shipibo peoples 

Follow @thisiswomenpodcast on instagram for more updates about the pod :) 

This week on the podcast I am talking with Jordan of Bright Side Blondie. Jordan is a beautiful beam of light who assists you in activating your divine feminine essence and remembering your souls powerful truth.

She was at school studying to get her degree in social work when she realized that she was looking for something more profound to fill her cup…. And soon after she discovered the power of working with crystals and that lead her to the beginning of cultivating her relationship to her spiritual practice.

We talk about:

• Jordan's ever evolving relationship to spiritually 
• The Akashic Records
• Rethinking the way your practice spirituality
• How trauma and shame can manifest physically in the body
• Healing through movement
• Engaging in embodied, conscious sex
• Giving yourself permission to ask for support along your spiritual journey

Connect with Jordan on instagram @brightsideblondie to stay up to date with all her magical offerings.

Meditate with Jordan here

Visit Jordan's online store @thebrightside.shop to purchase her unique handmade crystal jewelry. 50% off everything until February 28th.

Read : Mysteries of the Dark Moon by  Demetra George

Image of the Hindu Goddess Kali

Follow @thisiswomenpodcast on instagram for more updates about the pod. 

Today on the podcast I interview my dear friend Ian. I met Ian two summers ago tree planting, and I truly feel so lucky to have met Ian in this lifetime.

Ian shares his childhood dream of wanting to become a porn star when he grew up. He talks about his experience attending a Sacred Sexual Awakening retreat, and the lessons about sex he learned there. He also shares insights about his evolving relationship with his sexuality.

We also talk about:

- Reconnecting with his masculine energy

- The importance of living in balance with our masculine and feminine energy

- Ian’s experience with starting a men’s circle

- Exploring touch beyond the reason for sexual purpose

Connect with Ian on facebook : ianfdb

And follow @thisiswomenpodcast on insta for more updates about the pod.

Thank you so much for tuning in!

Hi Babes,

This week's episode is a solo one. It’s just me, your host Maddy. This one is short but sweet, where I clarify my intention for starting this podcast and I share news of starting my training to become a Red Tent Facilitator with Laura from @priestessingtheparadigmshift.

Stay tuned for next weeks episode as it will be back to regular scheduled programming. Thank you for tuning in!

Follow @thisiswomenpodcast on instagram for more updates about the pod. :) 

Send a 15-30 second voice memo sharing with us what being women means to you to [email protected] to be featured in the show.

Today’s episode is the menstruation lesson you never learned in high school sex ed class. I sit down with Grace as she walks us through the biology of our menstrual cycle and discusses the social stigma surrounding our periods.

Grace is a nurse studying at the University of Ottawa. She is on the pod today to share her passion and knowledge of women’s health and sexual education. Grace enlightens us on:

-the different phases of the menstrual cycle

-period misconceptions

-gender inclusive terminology when talking about menstruation

-alternative menstrual products

Connect with Grace on Instagram @grace__poland

Sexual education resources as recommended by Grace:

-period tracker app @clueapp

-get the facts about menstruation from Canada's experts at   yourperiod.ca

-check out @dame on instagram and their blog Swell by Dame for all things sex and wellness

-shame free products for periods and sex @sustain on instagram

Make sure to follow @thisiswomenpodcast on instagram for more updates about the pod!

Submit a 15-30 second voice memo sharing what being women means to you at [email protected] to be featured in the show.