Welcome to the Sacred Window Podcast. I'm Christine Eck and I'm excited to be joined today by Jennifer Summerfeldt to discuss her unique approach to mapping out a mother's healing journey. Jennifer is the founder of Ask Therapy and author of Healing After Birth. Jennifer's own birthing experiences ignited her passion for supporting mothers in their journey. She has trained as a holistic doula, midwife and counselor to provide trauma and childbirth informed support. Her goal is to contribute to the dialogue around maternal mental health and offer guidance to those navigating similar experiences ..read more

This episode discusses how to maintain loving connections with people despite differences in perspectives or disagreements. Lauren Pick shares a vulnerable moment from her therapy practice where a client felt misunderstood after an emotional outburst, but Lauren responded with even more love and empathy. She emphasizes the importance of drawing closer together rather than separating during conflicts. Lauren discusses relationship dynamics and how disagreements don't need to divide people if they are willing to work through issues with curiosity rather than avoidance. Connecting during conflic ..read more

This episode discusses the importance of sustainability for both postpartum doulas and new parents. Guest Joanne McIntosh shares her journey providing postpartum support in Australia and the healing she has experienced through this work. Joanne reflects on experiences with traumatic birth and lack of support for her own mother that inspired her career. Through bodywork, she helps clients integrate memories and feelings from their perinatal experiences to promote healing. Postpartum is a sensitive time when changes can happen naturally with guidance. To feel nourished in her caregiver role, Joa ..read more

Vera Skough is a doula based in Townsville, Australia. She runs a business called Mother Birth and Postpartum, supporting new mothers through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Originally from Sweden, Vera moved to Australia 10 years ago where she met her partner and had her son. Without family support in a new country, Vera's own birth experience led her to pursue helping other mothers. In this podcast, Vera discusses two key aspects of her work. First, she explores the importance of honoring the placenta through practices like encapsulation, printing artwork with placenta impressio ..read more

Lauren Pick MS LIMHP LMHP LPC CYT is a psychotherapist in private practice focusing on Grief, Trauma, & Life Transitions. She is currently located in Lincoln, Nebraska (of all places). As a certified yoga instructor, Nia instructor and mindbody fitness professional, Lauren enjoys weaving somatic modalities into her work with clients. Find out more at www.laurenpick.com In this episode, Lauren discusses the challenges of disconnection, grief, and the tendency to overlook the value of each day in the hustle of life. They reflect on the concept of going to bed to wake up again, finding ..read more

Roshni is the Work Study + Student Advisor at CSWS. She is an Artist, Healer, Activist, Educator and former palliative care nurse. She is the Founder and Creative Director of Cardamom and Kavate, and the co-founder of Marigolde, an educational resource for postpartum healing, grief and trauma. In this episode, Roshni emphasize the idea that Ayurvedic cooking for postpartum is not limited to Indian cuisine but is tailored to individual needs for balance. They delve into the concept of ancestral foods, emphasizing that Ayurvedic and ancestral foods are closely connected. Roshni encourages liste ..read more

Samantha Veitch is the founder of Emerging Wisdom Care. She is an Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula and Elimination Coach. Elimination Communication (EC) is the practice of learning your baby’s elimination cues and being able to anticipate the process, thereby reducing the need for diapers. Essentially, it’s infant potty training, though Samantha explains why she doesn’t often use those words. In this episode, Samantha shared how she explains Elimination Communication to her clients. She discusses how this is an age old practice rather than a new fad families are exploring. We discuss incredibly valu ..read more

This podcast episode welcomes back Stephanie Peers, a student and member of our Sacred Window Studies Community. Stephanie and I are hosting a Forgiveness Workshop: A Practice for Giving and Receiving on August 30, 2023. Register for the Workshop Here for Free! If you missed it, please don’t worry. There are many more learning and experiential opportunities to be had through Stephanie’s work (links found below) and here at the Center for Sacred Window Studies. Stop for a moment and think about any shame or guilt you are holding onto. Whenever you think about this incident or happening tha ..read more

In this episode, I speak with Christine D’Esposito, Director of Programs at Birthing from Within. During my own first pregnancy in 2007, Birthing from Within was an incredible support model for me in exploring the more subtle aspect of birth readiness, and harnessing my own feelings of empowerment to trust my body and honor the changes I was going through. Now, as a proponent of conscious postpartum care, I love how the tenants taught by Birthing from Within support the foundations of our work! This is a beautiful episode you don’t want to miss! Christine D'Esposito is a Mentor, Doula and Fac ..read more

This year we are expanding into a theme of the different ways people come to the Postpartum Path. We each follow our own call - we have unique stories, and it is a shining example of how the need for better postpartum care culturally is impacting each of us - directing us to this work. Stephanie Peers is a Kundalini Yoga Instructor, a mother and has specialized her work in Ayurveda to women’s health particularly in the childbearing year. She is a current student of the Conscious Postpartum Caregiver Program. You can learn more about Stephanie’s work by visiting www.empoweredmamma.com  ..read more