The Becoming Podcast | Season 4; Episode 7 | Kimberly Ann Johnson on the postpartum revolution, women's nervous systems and reclaiming embodied power + authenticity

It’s my great pleasure to have Kimberly Ann Johnson join me for a rich and wide-ranging conversation on The Becoming Podcast this month. I’ve been following Kimberly’s work since her seminal book, The Fourth Trimester, rocked the worlds of mothers and birth workers alike when it was released five years ago.  Since then, I’ve come to view Kimberly as someone who sees the connections between seemingly unrelated things and brings us insight and wisdom from intersections in the worlds of birth + postpartum wellness, somatics, sex and trauma. Here’s a little more about Kimberly:  she is a Sexological Bodyworker, Somatic Experiencing practitioner, yoga teacher, postpartum advocate, and single mom. Working hands-on in integrative women’s health and trauma recovery for more than a decade, she helps women heal from birth injuries, gynecological surgeries, and sexual boundary violations. Kimberly is the author of the Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use It for Good, as well as the early mothering classic The Fourth Trimester, and the upcoming co-authored book with Stephen Jenkinson, Reckoning.  She is the host of the Sex Birth Trauma podcast. The conversation I had with Kimberly was so generously informative and thoughtful – I can’t wait to share it with you.  We talked about: > Kimberly’s new book, Reckoning, co-authored with Stephen Jenkinson, on navigating grief in the times we’re living in. > How Kimberly’s first book, The Fourth Trimester, was truly a roadmap for the rite of passage into motherhood….and also what she feels are the necessary next steps in our culture’s approach to postpartum wellness. > How female nervous systems are unique, and how Kimberly’s recent book The Call of The Wild invites women to understand their nervous systems and learn what they need.  Hint:  it’s not more deep breaths and hot baths. > How learning the particular language of your nervous system allows you to experience deeper authenticity and power – even in circumstances, like birth, that are often vulnerable. > “Hold it” moments, and how we can metabolize important moments in our lives, no matter how tiny or tectonic their impact.