The Courage to be Whole Hearted!

Eve covers herself and lowers her head in sham...
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Imagine a life with no shame… what if you were free to think and feel and act from your heart?  What if you could show who you are with your Whole Heart?  This is my topic this week on The Whole Woman, September 1st, 2011.  www.VoiceAmerica.com or i-Tunes – The Whole Woman.

I see many women who would like to have a home birth but hold back because they want to make husbands, mothers, in-laws or even their own children feel comfortable.  The courage to declare what you want without the fear of people being angry with you or losing their support is what it means to operate without shame.  Shame is about the fear of disconnection.

To give birth and allow yourself to  feel fully all the sensations of birth,  both the intensity of the experience and the bliss following it is also what it means to operate without shame.  Birth is not neat and tidy, it is alive and messy and vital.  You cannot numb out just the “bad” parts, you have to be willing to have a Whole Experience.   Part of this is a physical dimension of being seen – having discharges of blood, amniotic fluid, sweat etc. is also all part of being vulnerable and exposed (and alive)…

I love this quote by R.N., Susan Diamond:

“Most Western women have never been physically tested until we go through labour and birth,,,, have not gone eighteen or twenty-four hours without food or sleep…allowed ourselves to go a day or two without a bath or shower, without brushing our teeth and doing our hair and makeup.  Even fewer of us would allow anyone else to see, smell, or touch us, unwashed, sweat-soaked, naked, oozing mucus, blood and feces from our nether regions.  When faced with the forces of labour, we can’t hide the fear, the anxiety the responses to pain… all the inhibitions and trappings of our social selves are peeled away as our bodies thrust and heave, vomit and grunt, cry and leak.  The animal is there for everyone to see.”

isnt’ that brilliant! who would want to pass that up? HA!

be alive.

for more on this topic check out this insightful Ted Talk by Brene Brown on Shame and Vulnerability.

We will be discussing the work of Brene Brown and her findings about shame and connection on The Whole Woman this Thursday, September 1st/11

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

Talk to Your Baby – About the Big Stuff…..

I know that most women have a dialogue going on with their babe all the time but do you talk to them about important things?  By that I mean how you are feeling, what you are thinking, your perspective on something that you experienced together….

This might be:

  • your birth
  • nursing difficulties
  • illness – theirs or yours
  • separation
  • painful experiences
  • violence or negatively charged feelings in the house
  • witnessing an accident or being in an accident
  • grief
Babies are highly aware, capable of feeling and reacting to everything that we do.  Fill them in, give them the details so that they don’t have to guess and make assumptions about what is happening.  You will see a response in them, they may cry, start to sleep, kick, squirm, scream or coo.  They are excellent communicators if you are looking for it.  Open up the possibilities and start to engage more deeply with your babe.
For more on babies tune in to the Whole Woman tomorrow, August 25th at High Noon – http://www.VoiceAmerica.com.  I will be doing a whole show full of my best baby advice for mammas.  If you miss it live you can find it on i-Tunes to download for FREE!

Babies, Babies, Babies!

This week on The Whole Woman my topic is BABIES! There are not a lot of homeopaths in the world that treat newborns and so I have some unique perspectives on newborns, babies and children as I am lucky enough to know these little people from the moment they are born.  I am allowed to watch them unfold and have some level of understanding about the how and why they grow into who they are.

My oldest son in a random gesture of balance and peace!

I am going to discuss some of the foundation pieces of baby care like warmth, stimulation, how birth and breastfeeding affect children but also about what it means to be a conscious parent.  Don’t confuse this with conscientious parent – I mean an AWARE and AWAKE parent.  Governing your parenting by how things feels v.s what you think you should be doing.

That is a giant challenge – if you are up for it then listen in this Thursday, high NOON on http://www.VoiceAmerica.com – or download the show for your listening pleasure on i-Tunes.

The MOTHER of all Eating Issues

breastfeeding

This week on the Whole Woman I will be discussing The Mother of All Eating issues – Lac Humanum – a homeopathic remedy made from breast milk.  This food is the thing that unites us all as humans, connects us to the earth and invites us into our bodies.  How do we maintain this instinctual movement towards food that both nourishes us physically but also makes us feel happy, alive and vital?  How do we nourish ourselves as mothers to provide this for our children?  Food goes way beyond the physical aspects of what we eat and how much we gain, food is about love, connection and nurturing.  We are all capable of this communication with our own bodies – what if we considered teaching this way of being to our children?  Lac Humanum is a remedy I use often for addictions – to food, drugs, alcohol, TV – we are always searching to return to that feeling of bliss – what if it came through a real practice of self-love? The Whole Woman – is recorded live on Thursdays at High Noon – http://www.VoiceAmerica.com .  You can sign up to receive podcasts via my website at http://www.pipermartin.com.

Folliculinum – Re-establishing a menstrual cycle after coming off the PILL!

One of the reasons women seek homeopathic care is that after coming off the birth control pill there can be a period of time of either no menses or very irregular, erratic menses.  There is a remedy called Folliculinum,  made of homeopathic estrogen and it is one of the remedies that I use to help reverse some of the chaos created by the use of the birth control pill.  There are specific potencies of this remedy that have different effects on the body.  Here are some guidelines:

4C – stimulates or brings on menses

7C – is a balancer – if there is an erratic pattern to the menses

9C – is a retardant – for menses that are too frequent

It is best to connect with a classical homeopath to discover the best remedy and potency for you.  I have also done a live broadcast about this remedy on www. VoiceAmerica.com – Health and Wellness – The Whole Woman with Piper Martin – that episode is called

The Mean Girl Pill.  On it with my guest, Jenn Pike, we discuss how to recover from hormonal therapies through diet, nutrition and homeopathy – check it out.

Guess who will be my Guest on The Whole Woman…….!!!!!!!!!!

Plenty International
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I received the happy news that the super fabulous and groovy INA MAY GASKIN will be chatting with me on the Whole Woman.  If you are new to this blog The Whole Woman is a weekly on-line radio program that I do on http://www.VoiceAmerica.com.  The programs are recorded live and then archived to i-Tunes.  You can subscribe to the podcasts easily by visiting my website at http://www.pipermartin.com

Ina May is the author of many amazing books on Midwifery, Pregnancy and Motherhood including Spiritual Midwifery, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and most recently Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding.  I will be talking with Ina May about how she followed her heart to become a midwife, created the Farm midwifery community and surrounded herself with a circle of amazing women.  Join us at High Noon on August 4th, 2011.

The Whole Woman – Feedback from the Show

I seriously need to share this love.  This is some feedback from my first show, every day I continue to receive more love and encouragement and LOVE.  This week I will talk to Joelle Lydon, the creator of Crystal Source Circle – an on-line circle for women – open to all.  Talk about expanding the love.  Can’t wait to see where this leads….. Week one was all about the LOVE.

The Love List:

“The Whole woman was amazing!  I am so glad you are doing this for women everywhere.  One day I just know I will be sharing your wisdom with the little women in my life!”

“Piper…SO fantastic! I just finished listening to it… and I loved it.  I am so happy for you.. but mostly, I am happy for all the women in your circle of influence that we can share in your love and wisdom and then be more loving to one another as a result.”

“Finally got a chance to listen to the first episode.  I’m sure you’re hearing this all over the place but it was so awesome.  Flowing, beautiful and very inspiring.  I am so happy for you.”

“Piper, I just listened.  This is brilliant. If anything I am inspired to continue my work, both personally and professionally, just by being able to “connect” to your voice, spirit and wisdom.  I miss you.  Thank you for allowing those at a distance to keep in touch. ”

YEAH! onward we go…..

Folliculinum – Homeopathic Estrogen – Your Way Back to Yourself

I host an on-line radio program called The Whole Woman and this coming Thursday, June 16th, the topic will be The Mean Girl Pill.  This show is all about how the birth control pill overdoses us with estrogen, creating havoc in our bodies and disconnection in our relationships with other women.  My guest will be Jenn Pike, holistic nutritionist and the owner of Simplicity Yoga – Jenn is an expert in Estrogen dominance and will offer practical, relevant advice regarding supplements, food choices, health and beauty products to go towards or avoid.  This information along with the homeopathic suggestions about Folliculinum will guide you back to your vibrant, healthy body.  Tune in to http://www.VoiceAmerica.com at high noon on Thursday, June 16th.  If you can’t catch it live tune in anytime and listen to the podcast for FREE on i-tunes.

The Whole Woman – Homeopathy Live – On-Line Radio

On June 16th I will launch The Whole Woman, an on-line live radio program.  I will be on for an hour, once a week from 12-1 pm EST.  If you are not able to listen at that time the shows will be archived to i-tunes so that you can listen any time – for freeeeee!

To tune in:  www.VoiceAmerica.com  you can visit my website and sign up to receive an e-card for each week.  This will contain the information about the show for the upcoming week – topic and guest line up.  I invite you to let me know what you would like to hear in terms of subjects and people you would enjoy hearing speak.

My first show is called The Mean Girl Pill.  I will be discussing the remedy – Folliculinum – homeopathic estrogen – and the way in which I feel hormonal therapies such as the birth control pill create separation between women.  The idea that we are being put on the Pill at an age when we have not yet formed a sense of ourselves and our connection to the earth is making a huge impact on us.  The mental/emotional aspects of being hormonally controlled are not something often discussed and this information is important not just for us but also for our daughters.

Jenn Pike, Holistic Nutritionist will be my guest to discuss the idea of estrogen dominance and how to avoid yet more estrogen exposure through out diets and beauty products.  Jenn will explain why our entire digestive health is dependent on our hormonal system function and how to work towards balance in this regard.

The count down is ON!