Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause

"This body does not bare destruction well.

This body likes warm drops of rain and bare feet. Toes grounding in rich soil, and having my scalp greased. To move and to stretch just a little beyond reach, There is glory over there, a hallelujah in my feet.

This body likes hot sun on bare shoulders, summer rain and not running inside. This body likes first morning light in her arms, new day sun streaming through open windows.

This body likes warm fingers on the dip of my back. Lips brushing the hollow between collar and neck. This body clings to warm embraces, wishing and praying, praying and wishing that I never have to let go.

This body likes mango juice dripping down onto my flesh. This body likes letting the current guide my steps and the moment of release."

Collective Sun Reshape the Mo(u)rning, SpiritHouse, Inc.

Menopause, if anything, is an opportunity to listen to your body. It is a time when your body is recalibrating it's navigational system and will send you new messages around what it needs to be healthy, vibrant, safe and satisfied. It is also an invitation to more deeply understand who you are as you are evolving (again) and what that might mean for your relationship to your body and to the people in your life. In this first episode of SEASON 4 of the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, we had the great fortune to interview Syd Yang and M'kali-Hashiki (see bios below). We were able to explore "what flows and what fits' in this menopausal journey which is deeply connected to who you are in all your intersectional identities. We unearthed the notions of menopause that were formed or informed by our race, ethnicity, gender identify, sexual expression and lived experiences. We also talked about the connective tissue between menopause and internalized agism. Such a rich conversation unfolded around wanting to genuinely love and know our bodies better that allowed us to explore...

• Sex, pleasure and the menopausal body
• Queerness and menopause
• Decolonizing menopause
• Embodiment 

Enjoy this journeying together. 

Episode Notes:

Syd Yang, IG: @bluejaguarlove

www.bluejaguarhealingarts.com

Syd Yang (they/them) is a mixed race/Taiwanese American queer trans/non-binary healer, intuitive counselor and writer who weaves together magic, possibility and intention as an energy healer and spiritual coach in the world through their practice, Blue Jaguar Healing Arts. Syd's work finds its resonance in the stories we each hold at the intersection of memory, body, sexuality and mental health. Syd works primarily with queer and trans BIPOC as well as regularly leads workshops, community healing circles and has been a group facilitator for over two decades, with a specific focus on grief, healing ancestral trauma, sexuality + spirituality, body liberation and eating disorder recovery

M'kali-Hashiki, IG: @fierce_passions

www.FiercePassions.com

M'kali-Hashiki is a Somatic Sacred Storyteller & Erotic Ritualist. Her Divine Purpose is helping folx heal their erotic wounds, deepen their erotic relationship with their body & The Divine, and move further along in their path to individual & collective erotic liberation. She offers group intensives, rituals, individual sessions, instructional videos, guided visualizations; as well as private events for companies & organizations. Her lived experiences as a fat, Black, queer, femme, trauma-survivor inform every aspect of her work.

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www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com 

https://www.patreon.com/blackgirlsguidetomenopause

Produced by Mariah M.

Hosted by Omisade Burney-Scott 

Theme Music by Taj Cullen Scott