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From the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) lens, the first 40 days postpartum are a key time to deeply tend the body, mind and spirit after birth.

According to today's guest, Madeline Ishmael, this time is characterized by a need to replenish both the blood and qi -- and while there are a number of ways to do this, she focuses largely on deeply nourishing foods in her practice.

She blends her western medical background as a public health professional and registered nurse with her training in both functional medicine and TCM to offer a truly integrative approach to this tender time.

This conversation is deep and rich and embodied. She tells her own story of how it was the process of weaning her first child that alerted her to the lack of actual postpartum care in the more conventional medical environment, where she was essentially dismissed rather than listened to.

These stories are so common. And unfortunately we still don't have enough people offering the level of truly restorative care in this foundational time that can have an impact on the coming decades in our lives.

Maddy shares about what to focus on food-wise so you'll definitely receive some practical wisdom from this conversation, but she also shares about the deeper reasons this is all needed. And how her newest offering - postpartum meal delivery - emerged almost alongside her most recent babe, during the early postpartum window itself.

We speak to all of this and so much more. I'm excited to share this conversation with you!

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Grab links to Maddy's IG and email!
• Free guided womb connection meditation and clearing
• Episode 25: Immediate pp care the herbal way w Liz Philbrick
• Episode 148: 5 key herbs for every mama's apothecary w Mel Mutterspaugh
• Episode 152: The power of "two-eyed seeing" w Amy Eldredge
• Episode 182: Deeply replenishing pp care the Ayurvedic way w Coco Genevieve

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Click here to send me a quick message :)

So many of us feel deep grief, overwhelm and even lost in the midst of the ecological and upheaval we are facing collectively. It's not easy to know what to do, where to turn, what actions are meaningful and worth our time.

The truth is our nervous systems are not made for the level of constant stimulation and overflowing awareness that we are being exposed to. We need to honor our capacity, and yet it is so hard to look away.

So what can we do? What can help the earth around us, our communities, ourselves?

We chat all about this - from an ecological lens Kendra Hoffman calls EarthCare - on today's episode.

She's developed a framework including 4 core principles and practices that align with the directions and the seasons, and are really accessible to help begin or deepen your reciprocal relationship with the earth and other beings around you.

We chat about traditional ancestral lifeways and how returning to the roots of our roots is needed in these times, and how you can explore this no matter whether you live in a city, the suburbs or a more rural place.

There's so much embodied earth wisdom in this one, I'm excited for you to hear it.

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Grab links to all Kendra's offerings + resources
• Free visualization: Womb Connection & Clearing meditation
• Song by Mo Washburn on YouTube
• Episode 41: Nature connection as stress relief (science & more) with Efan Hsieh

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Click here to send me a quick message :)

It's officially Springtime here in the northern hemisphere, which means so many of our plant friends are returning!

Some of those wild weeds might be exactly the herbs that can help you as we transition from deep winter into the heat of summer.

But the term "spring tonic" can be confusing and vague, like what does that even mean?

And how can we effectively incorporate them into our lives -- which actions are most important and what herbs are good options?

I cover all of this and more in this week's episode.

Resources:

• Free: Dandelion Recipe collection
• Today's shownotes: What are Spring Tonics?
• Episode 26: Premenstrual breast or chest tenderness
• Episode 62: Embodying Spring with seasonal wisdom

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Click here to send me a quick message :)

Postpartum is an immense time of transition that includes not only having a new baby, but also navigating a massive hormonal cliff, recovery after birth, body changes, erratic sleep schedules, identity change and so much more.

So where does pleasure, sexuality, sensuality and eroticism come in?

And how do we enter into that space with attunement, tenderness, self-awareness and... perhaps most importantly embodied consent?

Most mamas and birthing parents are given the go-ahead to engage in sex again at 6 or 8 weeks by their provider, but many are not ready - at all (let's normalize this).

Just because your tissues are healed enough to safely engage in sexual intercourse does NOT mean you have to start doing it again. There are SO MANY WAYS to experience pleasure and orgasm and sex that do not have to involve intercourse.

And listening to your body, your mind, your spirit is paramount. What you want and what you like might be entirely different from before.

Sexological bodyworker and sex educator Gal Mar-Qz shares all about these topics and much more on today's episode.

We also explore some practices you can bring into your body, your partnership or even your parenting life that may be very helpful as you re-discover who you are now as you blend the identities of mother and erotic being.

I hope this conversation feels like a gift for you!

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Grab links to Gal's offerings
• Free visualization: Guided Womb Connection & Clearing meditation
• Betty Martin's Wheel of Consent
• Episode 185: Enhanced orgasms w Susan Bratton
• Episode 190: Awakening erotic aliveness w Usha Rose
• Episode 192: Pleasure as medicine w Dr Emily Wilson

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Click here to send me a quick message :)

What if relieving menstrual pain or releasing stuck emotions in our wombspace could be fun, engaging, and... include twerking? It can!

To be honest, I've tried twerking in the past and maybe it's because I've compared myself to others but I just figured I was bad at it, and it wasn't for me.

Today's guest, Twerk Temple teacher Abigail Morrissey, laid it all out in a way that actually felt approachable for me.

I didn't know that there are 5 separate movements that can be included in twerking, and some of them are easier or more natural for some of us.

She also guided some really simple steps to get started, and encouraged just 2 minutes a day of the "booty pop" which is like, so possible for most of us.

But before we got into twerking, we talked about her healing journey which I think will be very relatable and inspiring to listen to.

From being a hospital nurse to experiencing an injury that catalyzed her to re-assess her life to getting off hormonal birth control to cycle synching and becoming more integrative in her approaches...

And then a huge life upheaval which led to her finding twerking and experiencing near total relief of her menstrual pain symptoms...

And her deep trust in the unfolding of her life.

There is so much here. I'm excited to share this conversation with you!

Resources:

• Free recipes: Dandelion Recipe Collection
• Today's shownotes: Get links to Abigails offerings + playlist
• Episode 82: Herbal vinegars, oxymels & shrubs
• Episode 209: Sacred rage w Andrea Thompson

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Click here to send me a quick message :)

Wait, what? The moon affects your hormones? Well, kinda. It can at least.

In this week's episode I share both about how this works from a physiologic lens (yes there is actual reasons this can happen), but also how our bodies - so full of water - are obviously also impacted by the moon.

Is the tides of the ocean can be pulled, why wouldn't the waters of our bodies as well? We are not separate from these cycles, and the more we attune to them, the more we can embrace the absolute magic that exists -- even in times that are as profoundly disturbing as the ones we are in.

I also share about the qualities of the moon, and how that can relate to herbs from a bit of an astrological herbalism lens. This is not how I typically practice, but it's an area of interest for me, and one of the many ways we can understand energetics of plants.

I also speak a bit to how the qualities of the moon reflect some of the qualities of this transitional time that is entering into Kapha season. And some herbal allies that may be supportive for you to counteract some of the allergies, congestion, dullness, heaviness or stagnation you might be experiencing as we gradually shift from Winter into Spring.

Resources:

• Free guide: Gardening for Your Menstrual Health
• Today's shownotes: Moon, hormones, lunar plants, Kapha season
• Episode 83: What is astro-herbalism? (and mugwort)
• Episode 140: The medicine & magic of mugwort
• Episode 184: Ancestral lineage healing and womb lineage healing

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Click here to send me a quick message :)

So often when we hear the word "intimacy," we think of sexual connection or relationships.

It's so common to limit our sensual, emotional or physical closeness to our primary partnerships because that's really what we're socialized to believe is appropriate.

But what if... there's more a spectrum around intimacy?

And how could exploring this "platonic intimacy," as today's guest Nala Sudo calls it, actually be a healing force in our lives, especially in relation to other women?

And how can something like ritual rope help us with deep healing around sisterhood, trauma, or other deep-seated patterns in our lives?

Today's episode is an incredibly rich conversation exploring all of these topics and so much more.

I loved hearing Nala's depth of embodied practice and wisdom, and hope you do too!

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Grab the link to Nala's work
• Free practice: Guided Womb Connection & Clearing
• Episode 190: Awakening erotic aliveness with Usha Rose

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Click here to send me a quick message :)

I'm sure every single one of us have experienced a craving for chocolate either during our premenstrual days or when we're bleeding.

Our bodies crave chocolate with an innate knowing at different times of our cycle, really. Mine does at least!

But today's guest, founder of Emerging Wisdom Cacao Samantha Veitch, shares a much deeper story on the ways cacao can support us through each phase of our cycle.

And instead of just speaking to dark chocolate, she brings forward embodied wisdom around the more ritual and ceremonial nature of the cacao plant itself.

Her experience with cacao began in Guatemala, where cacao holds a lineage of indigenous story and practice.

And what's so interesting is that at exactly the same time cacao came into her, so did her awareness of the power of cyclical living.

She shares her meandering organic journey of weaving drinking cacao and cyclical living together, becoming more and more deeply infused in both practices over time, and then learning ways to incorporate cacao *into* cyclical living practice to enhance each phase of the menstrual cycle.

It's a really fun and beautiful way to interact with our cycles.

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Grab links to Samantha's cacao blends + offerings
• Book: 4 seasons in 4 weeks by Suzanne Mathis McQueen
• Book: The Fourth Trimester by Kimberly Ann Johnson
• Closing tomorrow Feb 22nd: Natural Contraception the Herbal Way 2026
• Episode 156: The Universal Mother Principles with Christine Eck

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.